how fast are bass

[kid with a rapala]

how fast are bass are they actualy fast enough to catch like a burining buzzbait on one of those 30" per turn reels and stuff cuz i havent really tried buzzbaits and i can reel in really fast and it seems like its too fast.

[j-bass]

Think about it this way, if a bass if quick enough to chase down a baby shad, it's quick enough to catch your lure. Also, consider your water clarity.  If the water is really murky, you don't want to zoom a quick retrieve lure past it faster than it can see it.  Fast isn't always the key.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I don't think to you can reel faster than a bass can move no matter how hard you try.  Now whether they actually want it that way is a different story.  Sometimes they want it slow sometimes fast.  Just experiment with your retrieve speed until you find out how they want it.

[KYbass1276]

Another way to look at it is next time you catch a bass and turn it loose hold it in the water for a few seconds and watch how fast it takes off most of the time they put the hammer down and what the other 2 posts said that might help you some

[Nick_Barr]

I red somewhere in  an In-Fisherman bass book that a largemouth can go up to 35MPH at a 20 foot radius, A smallmouth can go 5 mph more in a 20 foot radius. Out fo that radius they cant go very fast, unlike a sailfish, tuna which could go that speed for hours

[afroengineer]

I'm not sure how fast they actually are but I know there are times when i make a bast cast or something and I want it back in a hurry and I am reeling back as fast as I can with a 6.2:1 baitcaster and a bass will hit it. So I'm sure I cant reel in faster than a bass.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

This quote is from the below reference article

http://www.umpquavalleybassmasters.com/bassbook.htm

When angered, startled, or provoked into attacking a prey, the preferred feeding strategy of a bass is to strike instantly when the prey (or lure) passes within relatively close range. In this event it will usually grab the prey and quickly dash away, returning to its station of safety. Largemouth Bass have a burst of swimming speed of about twelve miles per hour, but their sustained swimming speed is much less.

[Nick_Barr]

LBH, i think i mixed up the speeds on my thread after reading your qoute. I guess i thought that bass were powered by nuclear power!!LOL

[KU_Bassmaster.]

LBH, i think i mixed up the speeds on my thread after reading your qoute. I guess i thought that bass were powered by nuclear power!!LOL

I have heard numbers similar to Nick_Barr's.  I think I have heard something like up to 30 mph when striking a lure.  Now that's not a sustained speed, just a burst.  I think I either heard it on Angling Edge or In-Fisherman.  Who knows. :-/

[Chris]

If the Bass wants the bait you can not reel fast enough to keep it away for it.

[BigCheese]

A little story on this...

I was up on Lake Winnapasaki in NH a couple years ago.  I pulled up to a shaded bank and spotted two nice Smallies in the gin clear water.  I purppossly threw my Spalsh-It 20 yards behind one of the fish.  When it hit the water the bass spun around and sat there looking at my bait floating on the water.  I twitched my rod tip and made the bait pop once.  That smallie turned into a brown streak and in a split second inhaled my bait.  After seeing that I don't think you could reel fast enough to keep a bait away from an agressive fish even with 7:1 gears.

[Matt Fly]

http://mdc.mo.gov/kids/out-in/2001/02/2.htm

How a bass swims.

[BD]

Bigger bass usually aren't one to chase, unless the right conditions present themselves. I have seen bass in bursts swim fast.

[Shad_Master]

All I know for sure is that they can swim faster than I can reel most times when they are charging the boat after being hooked.  That's where that 7:1 ratio can really come in handy.