I know this has happened to you?

[garry77]

The other day I was fishing som lily pads and their edges.I was using a trick worm and I was fishing it through the cover slowly and kept this up till I was abot 10 or so feet away from the edge.Then I would reel it in quick and start all over.Well on one of these occasions I reached my predetermined reel-in point,lol,and just when I started to burn the worm in I got hammered and missed it.So my question is how far from the structure is far enough,lol?

[Gatorbassman]

It's not a set distance. The bass just told you something. It's all about what you do from that moment on. The next thing you do is back off and work from a few feet inside the pads and work it all the way to the boat.

[Alpster]

I have caught enough fish right at the boat, that I almost never "burn it in" for another cast. Bass will often follow your bait for quite a distance before taking it. JMHE

Ronnie

[Catt]

Swimming a worm is a killer technique under certain conditions and you were under those conditions. I would have continued swimming that worm until the bass proved to me they didn't want it anymore.  

One thing to keep in mind when swimming a worm is that the worm has now became a top water bait so hesitate until you feel the bass load up the rod and then set hook.    

[hi_steel_basser]

I have had times that deadsticking worked, but only if I reeled fast after I got the backlash picked out. Also there have been times like you described, where the bite came as soon as I stopped working the worm slow and really moved it. Sometimes it means that the fish want a faster presentation, but most of the time it just means that a fish was investigating your lure and you took it away. He had to eat or not, and he ate. IMHO, it's a hard pattern to duplicate.

[Guest avid]

the only way I fish the trick worm is to swim it.

I basically use two colors.  Either a natural like watermelon or a bright like merthiolate.  

for weighted t rig worming I find culprits, kut-talis, or other type worms more effective.

[skillet]

 I was fishing a t-rigged worm the accepted way and when I got away from the target, burning it back. Got really good strikes twice and started swimming the worm and caught several more fish. This was quite a while before I had ever heard of swimming a worm. SWIMMING A WORM!! What are you some kind of pervert? ;D I was really proud of myself until I found out how many other folks were doing it :'(

[Redlinerobert]

Sometimes literally right up to the boat.  You just never know.  

[burleytog]

I get strikes in the river all of the time while burning the bait back.

There is one hole that I fish where I always get a bite about 4' from the bank around a big rock.

I've pulled two out of there in the last three days burning a trap or worm through there.

Catch one, another fish takes it's place.

[justfishin]

I think you learned two things on that cast. One, what you had is a reaction strike. Two, they were out of the cover looking for a meal. For me at least, early in the day I back off of the cover, be it pads, wood, grass, etc. and as the sun comes out and it gets later in the day I tend to focus more on the inside of whatever cover I am working. I know there are know set rules in bass fishing, just guidelines. Its always good to try to change up your speed, place relating to structure, etc, etc. Let the fish tell you what they are doing at given times of the day and adjust to it. JMO.

[jomatty]

im sure every jig fisherman has experienced a bite when he was done fishing the cast and reeling the bait int he last few feet.  sometimes im not sure if this is a fish that is following the bait and then commits or if it is a fish that jsut sees this jig flying by and whammo.  anyways this is what first made me think that swimming a jig was bound to work at least some of the time.

a week or so ago i had a 3.5 lber nearly make me pee myself when it absolutely annhilated a jig right as i was bringing it out of the water.  viscious strike.  i was lucky enough to catch him, mostly because he ate it so deeply and my knee jerk hook set got the job done.

matt

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Wow, talk about coincidence! Minutes ago, I was fishing my pond with a black t-rigged tube, and as I'm shaking the bait to get the algae off of it, a bass came out from under the algae and hammered it! He was about a foot away from me when I saw him!

[Peter E.]

I was watching an infisherman specail one day and they were talking about the importance of working the bait as long as possible and even figure eighting them at the boat when you has fish that would follow the lure since wtching that I have been able to catch alot more fish on those days. I really use this when fishing for striped bass.

[Guest avid]

I think you learned two things on that cast. One, what you had is a reaction strike. Two, they were out of the cover looking for a meal.

that's a bit of a contradiction.

If thier looking for a meal then they are actively feeding

If it's a reaction strike then they were provoked into biting out of instinct, not hunger.

I suspect the fast swimming worm was hit by a feeding bass.

My own experience is that some days this is how they want it.

[justfishin]

Sometimes me and bass fishing is a contradiction Avid, LOL. ;D

[Guest avid]

Sometimes me and bass fishing is a contradiction Avid, LOL. ;D

I just re-read my post.  You really took very graciously.  If a snotty  know it all replied to me the way I replied to you I would put a mook hex on him.  

thanks for being a getleman.

avid