Finicky Bass

I've been haunted by a tournament situation that came about last year. We'd been catching some nice fish in a high pressure area during the pre-fish, but they were all taken in the late afternoon. We let the other boats tucker themselves out in the morning and saved it for the last cast. We had to be back by 3:00 pm and it was a half hour boat ride. At about 2:15 we pulled into the spot to finish up and the wind was blowing pretty good so we anchored each end of the boat so we could really fish it. We finessed it to death for 15 minutes and culled two fish, but I had a real soaker follow a wacky senko right up to the boat without taking it. I yelled oh! sh!t, did you see that? My buddy said ya right and then on his next cast he did the exact same thing and was now a believer. I really enjoy the gut wrenching of a tourney, but it's extremely taxing on the brain and by this time I couldn't think of what to do to get these fish to take the bait. We had to leave and for the half hour boat ride I was sick because those two fish cost us the tournament. I feel like we did it right by waitng until the end to fish the spot, but we needed just a little extra. On the boat ride back it came to me I should have try some shad or craw spray on my bait. With the oxygen deprivation to the brain, I didn't think about at the time and was wondering what else I might have tried. Any suggestions with emphasis on technique and not so much a particular bait although any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Sorry, didn't mean to write a book.

Boldt

[wylie_cope]

I'd say a slight color change, obviously they liked what they saw just didnt convince them to eat... Other than that, you either try to get a reaction strike w/ something fast or downsize, maybe drop-shot and really slow it down...??? just some ideas

[Bassin_Dude]

did u post 3 of the same thing on purpose? it was probaly a mistake so ill let u slide . anyways ive had a bass follow my bait plenty of times but ive never been in a tourny and they wernt huge bass so i wasnt to mad about it. i Â*put scents on my baits and even followed it up with a slow technique like deadsticken a trick worm but it never worked. i would also like to know a good bait that would be a good follow up bait to catch the bass

[Infisherman1]

Change the retrieve some if ti isn't biting. Sometimes just a little added twitch will get the bass to bite. Also change up baits some, maybe try a senko an inch longer or a different color. Or you could just try a completely different lure.

[Rich]

You had their interest, so you know you were on the right track. In addition to a color change, downsizing the same color bait might do the trick.

Why not join the forum? We have some great folks with a lot of great info, and believe me, it can get entertaining around here ;D.

[macgyver]

Well I'm with you on the scent, it usually will help IMO. Also a trick I learned from a lot better fisherman than I am, is to just stop moving the bait, and let it hit the bottom and sit, the bass often will then go and grab it, usually a light bite, but a bite non the less. This technique has worked for me numerous times. I definately employ this is clear water, where you can see the fish well. Now on the reverse of that, many times folks say slow down, downsize etc... Well I'm a believer in creating a reaction bite. Sometimes increasing the pace of the bait or faster twitches of a plastic can be the ticket needed. And lastly, why not try to t-rig your senko weightless, even put a kink in it. It's a completely different action with the same bait.

Lizards

Sometimes you can entice a follower by twitching the bait and then reeling up the line faster making the bait look like it's getting away. Thus as Lizards said creating a reaction bite.

[mblk181]

Letting it sit on bottom is a great plan as mentioned by Lizards.......

Can also try switching to a zoom speed worm body minus the tail in watermelon/red fished weightless. Falls nicely and very slow on a 2/0 offset shank worm hook. If you were fishing a 4 inch Senko, cut the zoomie at 4 inches. Slow falling is a killer. Cast it out, let sink to bottom watching line....let it set up to 30 seconds....if nothing yet, lift two feet slowly to feel for fish....if nothing, let re-fall and rest 20 seconds...if nothing on the second lift, reel and and cast to another likely spot. Lizards' concept of letting it sit makes the bass feel intruded upon by having something foreign in their backyard and it's not going away! The zoomie casts well, can be skipped under limbs and docks and works well wacky rigged and drop shotted.

[inland27]

Hey!

Thanks for all the feedback. I employ most of the techniques mentioned at different times, but it's hard to do it all in fifteen minutes. I don't twitch a senko much. I feel like the senko fishes best with a more natural approach, but as much as I fish this type of bait, I probably need to experiment with that a little. Sitting slack on the bottom was how we got their attention to start with. It was tough to watch them follow within an inch of the bait right next to the boat. Thats why I thought perhaps the scent may have helped. It would have been a perfect situation to see if that dang love juice would have made a definite difference. I had a tex/weightless rig on one of my other rods and I do attract bigger fish with it on average, but like I said, we only had 15 minutes and I feel like if we had more time then things may have been different. Can't weight for the tournaments. I get fired up when I see the floatilla at daybreak. Thanks again for your comments.

[Rich]

Glad you decided to join us, Humboldt!