Do bass follow lures?

[Bazoo]

The other day I was at one of my regular spots, a private pond just up the way from church. It had rained for several days and the water was about a foot higher than normal.

 

I fished the normal easy access corner to start, first with a grub, then a squarebill crankbait. Then I dug through my box and and I thought, heck, I'll try the Shad Rap. I'd tied the hooks on this particular one. I made a few casts and only about 3 feet from the edge of the water, I got a hit. I set the hook, and as the fish swam to the side, getting closer, I got a look and it was a nice bass. I played him only a few seconds and slid him right up on the shore after seeing he was hooked sufficiently. It weighed 4lb11oz.

 

The interesting thing is it seemed like the fish was following my lure. Now... I haven't any evidence of this.

 

Last year, at the local city lake, which is hard to catch from because of all the pressure, I had a similar instance. I was fishing a gold squarebill and I'd fished up the shore, and when the crankbait got closer to the edge, probably about 5 feet, I got a strike. It turned out to be a 4lb7oz bass.

 

Again, no evidence, but I think the bass followed my lure.

 

So, is what I describe common? Is it a known thing bass do? Do only larger bass do it?

[king fisher]

I have more experience with bass running away from my lures.

[J Francho]

Every single bass I've caught has followed my lure. So, the answer is yes. Sometimes they also bite your lure. 

[TnRiver46]

Nice fish! Yes they follow and bite less often than they don’t 

[Mike L]

The only way a bass won’t move is if you Drop a lure on her head or in front of her nose and hope she reacts or hungry 

 

Whatever, if you’re throwing a moving bait she’s gonna have to move to get it. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[BigAngus752]

Most trips out I'll have a bass follow all the way to the boat and turn off as I'm pulling the lure out of the water.  Occasionally they will hit it as it makes it's final rise right at the boat, which is when you get to set the hook and boat flip the fish at the same time.  I have moderate success with that technique.  And by moderate I mean once out of every 50,000 bites at the boat.  

[928JLH]

Fished a lot of glide baits. They will definitely follow the big baits.

 

Whenever I fish an 8 or 10" magdraft they are guaranteed to follow and never ever bite! Ever!

[Pat Brown]

Topwaters getting follows is often how I learn where a fish hangs out.

[softwateronly]

I still have to remind myself that the usual best practice for a follow is to speed up.  And if no luck, the next cast is burn/pause.  Kinda counterintuitive, but for sure has given me more bites.

 

scott

[BigAngus752]

2 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

I still have to remind myself that the usual best practice for a follow is to speed up.  And if no luck, the next cast is burn/pause.  Kinda counterintuitive, but for sure has given me more bites.

 

scott

Definitely agree.  I'll give them a second chance with a different retrieve on the same lure and then drop that rod and throw something completely different.  Sometimes they just want a worm slowly falling in front of them. 

[Bazoo]

Very interesting. I guess it never occurred to me that bass will be following any moving lure. Thanks all.

[gim]

Quite often I get smallmouth that follow my jerk baits.

 

What it tells me is that there are fish in the area and I need to change my pauses or the color of my specific jerk bait.  That usually elicits a strike.

[WRB]

Definitely!

Tom

[Bird]

Follow ❓ I'm not sure, never seen it for much distance.

Jerkbaits in clear water I've seen bass just appear.

Chasing from cover I'd consider a reaction strike.

 

 

[Harold H]

Yes

[Big Hands]

I have seen it many, many times. Often several at a time, sometimes competing for it. At times they are super curious about anything that moves through their area only to swim away just as it gets to the boat. At times, they will follow and hit a plastic worm as it's being retrieved.

[Lottabass]

I think when you are fishing a crankbait and the lure changes direction as it gets close to the boat or bank that direction change triggers the bite.  So, yes bass follow our baits more often than we know.

[IYAOYAS]

I fish a fluke weightless pretty much all spring and summer. The number of follows I get is maddening. Three things happen when I start to see alot of follows.

 

1. Killing the bait and letting it sit right in front of the bass following will sometimes trigger a bite and if that doesn't work

2. Change colors. I fish mostly a shad color but sometimes switching to a green pumpkin or vice versa will get bites and if that doesn't work

3. Change baits altogether or have a follow up bait, Most of the time when I get follows and I can't get them to hit the bait I'm fishing no matter what I do i can throw a wacky senko back where the follow was and get a bite. Either way this lets me know there are fish in the area.

[bowhunter63]

As much as Muskies do

[Susky River Rat]

Yes, I see this often.  I’ve seen trout and walleye follow as well. 

[JHoss]

Absolutely. See it all the time on Livescope. The trick is finding the right lure, color, or retrieve to turn that follow into a bite. 

[Standard]

16 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

Occasionally they will hit it as it makes it's final rise right at the boat

 

AKA when I get the crap scared out of me and almost fall out of my kayak.  Seems like it only happens when I'm starting to zone out.

[Tackleholic]

I had a big scare when I was about 12.  I looked over the side of the boat just as I was raising my lure, straight into the eyes of a big Muskie;  first one I ever saw.  Dad responded to my trembling and fumbling by calling it Muskie Fever.

[Bankbeater]

They follow around here where the fishing pressure is heavy.

[Harold H]

19 hours ago, Big Hands said:

I have seen it many, many times. Often several at a time, sometimes competing for it. At times they are super curious about anything that moves through their area only to swim away just as it gets to the boat. At times, they will follow and hit a plastic worm as it's being retrieved.

I have found with the 10" Power worms if you dip the tails in almost boiling water for 10 or 15 seconds they get softer and have better action