how much is lure splash a concern when fishing in

[deepsessions]

anything under 20'? curious to know how much I need to be on my partner about him depth charging the lake   more times than I care to tell

also how far apart do you guys like to cast away from eachother? I'm sure it depends on the structure but generally speaking here

[Brian_Reeves]

I've pulled fish in with my partner out of the same hole on the same cast...probably merely inches apart.  You wanna avoid that unless a big splash is helping you catch fish.  Sometimes it does...most times it doesn't.

[Sam]

It depends on the attitude of the fish.

If they are agressive then a splash is no problem.

If they are resting then a splash can spook them and have them swim away from your lure.

As for how close to fish?  We fish in the same direction all the time.  We even cross lines.  It does not matter that much unless you are in a tournament and you want to control and protect your territority.

To find out more about how fish feed and what the bait can do I suggest getting the Bigmouth series of videos, Bigmouth, Bigmouth Forever and the Feeding Habits of Bass.

You can order them by calling 800/661-4286.

After viewing these videos you will have a strong grasp on how the fish look at your bait, etc.

[roadwarrior]

I think a big splash attracts fish if you are casting. With flipping and pitching in close quarters that might not be the right approach, but I prefer long casts and the splash is part of the presentation. For subtle, up close or sight fishing, having two lures presented close to one another might spook a big bass, but otherwise, I don't think it makes any difference where you and your partner cast as long as you are not crossed.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I'm with RW here.  I feel that a good splash can get the initial attention of a bass.  I think it trigger's a "hey, what's that?" reaction to at least go look.  after that it's up to you and your lure.

[deepsessions]

some good feedback here.....thanks guys! I will be looking into the Bigmouth Series have heard too much abouth them

[Shad_Master]

There is a guy that I fish with some.  He knows the lakes around here better than he knows his own front yard.  He has been teaching me about structure fishing this summer and will often tell me to throw right on top of where his lure landed.  The result has often been that we will double up on a cast.  He gets mad at me if I am more than 6" off from his point of entry.

[Landis76]

I'm with RW here. I feel that a good splash can get the initial attention of a bass. I think it trigger's a "hey, what's that?" reaction to at least go look. after that it's up to you and your lure.

Yep. Unless they are spooky.

[FatBoy]

In just the past couple of weeks I've have bass grab both fat ikas and super flukes almost instantaneously after the bait hit the water (on long casts).  I think the bass turn to see what made the splash and look up and see a slowly falling fish shaped object.  It probably looks like it was chased to the surface by another bass and got whacked or something enough to stun it.  The bass decides to grab the easy meal before the other bass can get back to it.  It's basically a reaction strike.  At least that's how I imagine it.

Watch the sample video clips from Bigmouth here: http://www.questforadventure.com/videosamples.htm

In the first one, from Bigmouth Forever, you see this guy throw a spinnerbait at a stump twice, but nothing.  No sign of a bass.  Then he puts down that rod and picks up one with what looks like a t-rig worm.  Tosses it to the other side of the stump.  Out of nowhere TWO bass dart over as soon as it hits the water.  One strikes but misses.  The other sees his opportunity to grab the meal the first one missed and BAM, fish on!  

Watch it all the way to the end.  I find something comical about the three fish that cruise by.  Don't know why...

[nboucher]

FatBoy, I had the same reaction as you when I first saw those two fish appear out of nowhere. I had to watch the video a couple more times to make sure I hadn't missed something. I mean the difference is so abrupt and immediate! I don't know what kind of editing or video tricks might have been used there, but it is an AMAZING clip.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I'm with RW here. I feel that a good splash can get the initial attention of a bass. I think it trigger's a "hey, what's that?" reaction to at least go look. after that it's up to you and your lure.

Yep. Unless they are spooky.

If they are spooky, they are getting hit with soft plastics as opposed to topwaters.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I have gotten on people's cases before for making a big commotion when their bait enters the water. I think the deeper you are fishing, the less noticeable your splash is going to be. Especially when throwing a spinnerbait to shallow structure (less than 3 feet) I tend to make as silent an entry as possible. If I am throwing a 1 ounce c-rig in open water, I couldnt really care less.

Good Fishing...

Wayne

[Raul]

Begin fishing with swimbaits and you no will no longer have cook your brains and begin to worry about if a big splash is going to spook the fish, there is no way you can make a 6-12 inch, 1.5- 8 oz swimbait enter the water "quietly".

[Valascus]

When I am making long casts I could care less about how much of a splash I make. It's those short itty bitty flips or pitches that I make that are in some weeds or vegetation no more than 10-15 ft of me that I try (and fail most of the time) to plop it in the water as quietly as I can. The splash may or may not spook the fish, but I have no way of telling that until I make the splash. So I will just try my best to err on the cautious side and not make the splash.

[Shad_Master]

I have been fishing in the spring, just before the spawn, and seen lots of cruising fish near the shore line -- these fish are hard to catch, but I have thrown to them and had the bass turn completely around and swim to a lure thrown within 2-3 feet of them.  As some one who does not alway make the soft feather casts that I would like, my impression would be that the "splash" does not spook the fish unless they are already jittery from loud trolling motors, banging rod lockers, tackle boxes dropped in the boat, etc.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Later when the fall feeding frenzy starts into full swing it doesn't seem to matter. But this summer it's been a toss-up about noisy entry. Sometimes I've had bass almost intercept a lure, taking it the instant it hits water. In that case more noisy entires follow if that works. Other times I see major swirls of bass vacating, passing under my boat or a neighboring boat. A guy in another boat said the other day, "Man, you sent me some nice 6 pounders on that one, but they just kept going."  If the lure permits I'll try fixing a noisy splash down by adding more splashes like a shad skipping. That seems to turn a bad situation around instantly. If with a partner that can't be soft, I'll go right to his spot and thrash the surface, then both of us can get bit sometimes. For lots of fishermen the only casting practice they get is while fishing, and it sure shows.

Jim

[deepsessions]

I've watched the Kevin Van Damme dvd collection(3) from BASS and he makes quite an emphasis on entering the water as quietly as possible depending on the water clarity or length of cast. This is a little strange since he's a known spinnerbait assasin. From what I gather you don't want to make alot of noise if you are fishing in a high pressure lake that sees dozens of lures in a day and/or if you are pitching 10 feet away.

[Way2slow]

Shallow bass in general don't like splashes near them, especially over them. That's why many of the old timers tell you to wait until the rings completely clear a top water plug when you cast it before you make it's first movement. If it does spook the bass when it hits, if there's no other commotion, many times they will swim back to see what spooked them.

You seemed suprised that Van Damme stresses a quit entry because he's a spinner bait fisherman. A properly cast spinner bait makes almost no splash, barrely even a ripple when it inters the water. If you're busting the water with a spinner bait, you a missing a lot more bites than you're getting. About the only time splash doesn't matter on a spinner is when you're make super long cast to cover a lot of area where there are lots of stickups, weed lines or over grass beds. If working tree tops or pin pointing cast to a certain spot, it had better inter without any spash.

Trying to call up deeper water bass, sometimes the more splash the better, especially when they are out pushing shad.

As for how far apart to cast, many times we cast to the same spot several times each.  Bass don't always hit the first thing they see, sometimes they will get aggrevative and nail hail out of it after it goes by several times.

[deepsessions]

Shallow bass in general don't like splashes near them, especially over them.  That's why many of the old timers tell you to wait until the rings completely clear a top water plug when you cast it before you make it's first movement.  If it does spook the bass when it hits, if there's no other commotion, many times they will swim back to see what spooked them.  

You seemed suprised that Van Damme stresses a quit entry because he's a spinner bait fisherman.  A properly cast spinner bait makes almost no splash, barrely even a ripple when it inters the water.  If you're busting the water with a spinner bait, you a missing a lot more bites than you're getting.  About the only time splash doesn't matter on a spinner is when you're make super long cast to cover a lot of area where there are lots of stickups, weed lines or over grass beds.  If working tree tops or pin pointing cast to a certain spot, it had better inter without any spash.  

Trying to call up deeper water bass, sometimes the more splash the better, especially when they are out pushing shad.

As for how far apart to cast, many times we cast to the same spot several times each.  Bass don't always hit the first thing they see, sometimes they will get aggrevative and nail hail out of it after it goes by several times.

some good stuff there W2S....I've always tried to enter the water as quiet as possible when fishing...I've noticed how bass get spooked when your watchin' over them in the shallows and they hear something drop in the boat....

it's interesting that a majority of people say splash isn't much of a concern but alot of the pro's say its key

[Way2slow]

For shorter spinner bait cast, learn to do a little under hand roll of the rod tip.  This is best done while standing and the rod held downward not  more than a foot or so off the water.  You don't cast it by bringing the rod back and fourth, you leave six inches or so of free line between the tip and the lure.  You just make a quick roll of the rod tip.  You release the lure so it's never more than a foot or so off the water and only only inches off the water as it gets over the spot you're casting to.  Stop the bait in the air when it reaches your target.  Your are actually casting slightly beyound your mark and stopping on your mark.  The bait makes a very soft presentation into the water with almost no noise or splash.  Many times you will see a big boil where the bass hits it as soon as it hits the water.  I can easily roll cast one 40 - 50 feet and still make a noiseless, splashless entry but seldom cast that far when fishing cover, usually 25 - 30 feet max.   This is also about the only time I use a pistol grip rod.  A 5'6" bait caster rod or short handle 6' trigger rod works best for this type cast.  Hossing big fish in cover with a short pistol grip can be a job so if you're catch bigger fish or fishing thick cover, the trigger rod works better.  Use the long rods for those long overhand cast when you're not as concerned about splash.  Even on the long overhand cast, if you learn to cast just beyound your mark and stop it when it's only inches above the water at your mark, it still makes a very soft presentation.

[Keithscatch]

I think the only time a splash hurts your chances at catching a fish is if it lands right on top of them. Then they will get spooked. But if it lands a few feet away from them then the splash actually draws them closer to the lure. Bass are oportunistic feeders. Splashes are things they investigate.

[deepsessions]

For shorter spinner bait cast, learn to do a little under hand roll of the rod tip.  This is best done while standing and the rod held downward not  more than a foot or so off the water.  You don't cast it by bringing the rod back and fourth, you leave six inches or so of free line between the tip and the lure.  You just make a quick roll of the rod tip.  You release the lure so it's never more than a foot or so off the water and only only inches off the water as it gets over the spot you're casting to.  Stop the bait in the air when it reaches your target.  Your are actually casting slightly beyound your mark and stopping on your mark.  The bait makes a very soft presentation into the water with almost no noise or splash.  Many times you will see a big boil where the bass hits it as soon as it hits the water.  I can easily roll cast one 40 - 50 feet and still make a noiseless, splashless entry but seldom cast that far when fishing cover, usually 25 - 30 feet max.   This is also about the only time I use a pistol grip rod.  A 5'6" bait caster rod or short handle 6' trigger rod works best for this type cast.  Hossing big fish in cover with a short pistol grip can be a job so if you're catch bigger fish or fishing thick cover, the trigger rod works better.  Use the long rods for those long overhand cast when you're not as concerned about splash.  Even on the long overhand cast, if you learn to cast just beyound your mark and stop it when it's only inches above the water at your mark, it still makes a very soft presentation.

yea the underhand roll is a nice way of casting its one thing I practiced lots in the backyard when I had no boat  :'( right now I have a 12' alum and it's impossible to fish out of with my mate who's 6'4 ....me being left handed its not really an option unless he drives(not an option)

for the most part I bring 4 rods one 7' med/hvy rod for big jigs,cranks,buzzbaits,,one 6'8 Lamiglass Spinning med/lght for lighter plastics and drop shotting 6'6 Daiwa Procaster baitcasting rod med/hvy for jigs,spinnerbaits,crankbaits,and a Fenwick 6'6 spinning med/lght for lighter finesse worms

I've found that my spinning setups have been the go to for the summer since I've been fishing warmer waters....I like the fact that I can cast out and let the line drop as oppose to swinging into me when I am trying to get down deeper...one thing is for sure baitcasters have much more control in targeting specific isolated structure...its weird how so many rods have different purposes at first glance it seems as if we are being suckered in then after trying them out you start to notice the effects of a good rod....less fatigue,more sensitivity,etc