Q&A AI
How can I prevent short strikes when fishing swimbaits?
Preventing short strikes when using swimbaits can be a bit challenging, but there are several strategies you can employ to increase your chances of hooking those bass that are nipping at your bait.
Understanding Short Strikes
Short strikes occur when a bass hits your swimbait but doesn't fully commit to eating it. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as the fish being cautious, trying to stun the bait, or simply missing the hook.
Strategies to Prevent Short Strikes
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Follow-Up Bait:
- Video Context: As mentioned in the video "Short Striking Your Swimbait? Follow Up with This! by BassGeek," one effective method is to have a follow-up bait ready. If a bass short strikes your swimbait, quickly cast a smaller, more subtle bait like a soft jerkbait (e.g., Strike King Caffeine Shad) to the same spot. This can entice the bass to strike again, as they often see the smaller bait as an easy target.
- Tip: Match the size of your follow-up bait to your swimbait. If you're using a 5-6 inch swimbait, use a 5-inch soft jerkbait.
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Pause and Retrieve:
- Video Context: In the video "STOP Fishing SWING HEADS Like This.. by BassFishingHQ," it's suggested to incorporate pauses during your retrieve. When you pause, the bait falls, mimicking a stunned or dying fish, which can trigger a more aggressive strike from the bass.
- Tip: Experiment with the number of pauses during your retrieve. If you notice bass hitting during the pause, increase the frequency of pauses.
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Adjusting Speed:
- Video Context: Speed can play a crucial role in enticing bites. Sometimes, speeding up your retrieve can provoke a reaction strike, while other times, a slower retrieve might be more effective.
- Tip: Vary your retrieve speed to see what the bass prefer on that particular day.
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Downsizing:
- Video Context: Downsizing your swimbait can sometimes help. If the bass are short striking a larger bait, switching to a smaller swimbait might make it easier for them to commit fully.
- Tip: Try using finesse swimbaits or smaller swimbaits if you're experiencing frequent short strikes.
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Using a Belly-Weighted Hook:
- Video Context: The video mentions using a belly-weighted hook to ensure your bait sinks properly. This can help keep your bait in the strike zone longer, giving bass more time to commit.
- Tip: Use a belly-weighted hook, especially if you're fishing deeper waters. This helps the bait sink naturally and stay in the strike zone.
Gear Recommendations
- Swimbait: Choose a swimbait that matches the forage size in your fishing area.
- Follow-Up Bait: Soft jerkbaits like the Strike King Caffeine Shad are excellent options.
- Hooks: Use appropriately sized belly-weighted hooks to ensure proper sinking and presentation.
Final Thoughts
Short strikes can be frustrating, but by having a follow-up bait ready, adjusting your retrieve, and experimenting with different sizes and speeds, you can increase your chances of hooking those finicky bass. Always pay attention to the behavior of the fish and adapt your techniques accordingly.
Feel free to ask more questions or share your experiences in the comments. Tight lines!
Related videos
Transcript
Video01:41
04:22
Short Striking Your Swimbait? Follow Up with This! by BassGeek → fish okay so what you've got to think about is how far those fish you've really got to pay attention in your cast where was the last hits of that bait it's been a tough day of fishing and they're hitting right here beside of me figures huh anyway so you've got to pay attention to where the last hit is those fish will follow that swim bait so far before finally they turn off and they don't want to have anything to do with it most of the time it'll be as they as it gets closer to the boat i've seen them follow it all the way up and under the boat and actually got hit that way before now the follow-up bait so you've heard people talk about using a frog over a mat and throw a jig or some sort of you know flipping rig again the follow-up bait is simply this now you do want to match it to the size of your bait so if i'm throwing a five or six inch uh swim bait i'm gonna throw a five inch uh soft jerkbait now this hook i'm not gonna lie i had this on a four inch it's a i think it's a three ought belly weight so it's a little small i would definitely go with at least a four as it's wrapped around my tip always hate it when it gets wrapped around the tip anyway
Transcript
Video06:04
07:32
Short Striking Your Swimbait? Follow Up with This! by BassGeek → swim bait i always have this on deck somewhere it is on deck ready to go so that i can pick it up throw it out and hopefully catch those uh ornery bass that ain't wanting to eat my swim bait give it a try tell me what you think as always questions comments in the comment section below you guys know i love to talk about fishing with you hope you'll try the follow-up method and uh as always like it if you like it don't forget to subscribe make sure you ring that bell so you get the notifications when these videos come out guys i love all your support means the world to me and as always you guys rock
Transcript
Video00:00
03:22
Short Striking Your Swimbait? Follow Up with This! by BassGeek → they're hitting your swim bait like crazy but they just ain't eating it how do you get those fish to commit so like i said we've all been there we're throwing some sort of swim bait whether it be you know these the bigger swim baits or even the finesse swim baits or even an underspin they're getting hit now for you guys that don't know when you're throwing a swim bait you want to make sure you throw it out there and as you're reeling it back sometimes you're going to get hits you're going to feel do not set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish now the problem with that is sometimes you're gonna get multiple thunks okay so it's gonna be somebody you know we can probably put a beat to that anyway and no matter how calm you are no matter how under control you are and trust me it hurts it hurts i mean it there is nothing any more frustrating than that when you're reeling it in and they're just knocking the absolute fire out of it and not eating it sometimes you can downsize they'll eat it sometimes you can go to another spin big or small they'll eat it but i'm going to tell you one of the things that i've done that works almost a hundred percent of the time now you've seen me talk about this before when it comes to suspended
Transcript
Video09:46
12:12
STOP Fishing SWING HEADS Like This.. by BassFishingHQ → sudden you just kill it that bass will basically just run into your bait they they basically have to make the decision do i bite this thing or do i just swim on past it so there are a lot of times where i am bringing that bait across the bottom and i stop it and bam that's when a bass will actually pick it up so every time that i cast this bait out and make a retrieve i will pause it usually one or two times during the retrieve now if i find that every bass that i am catching is hitting it on the pause then i will do this a lot more than just once or twice during the retrieve i may up it to three or four times so that is something alone that can help you to get more bites than other anglers now the other thing that will really help you to get more bites with this bait is by using speed this is something again i use with a number of different techniques you know for example a deep diving crankbait sometimes the best way to catch big bass on a deep diving crankbait is by absolutely ripping that thing as fast as you can i mean just across the bottom and the same thing can happen with your swing head now the big thing when you are fishing a swing head fast that you
Transcript
Video00:00
02:31
Swimbaits For Summer Bass Fishing | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → At the summertime, I'm using that kind of
paddle tail bait. Do you know why? It's they go in deep water, and chasing shad
a lot. Also, they are make a schooling especially
summertime. So, before fishing deep water, we gotta using
the electronics, to found the school. That's most important. Then you gotta choose a little bit compact,
small heavyweight swimbait I'm using. I'm using the 3/8 jighead right here with
Keitech single impact 3.3. It's a little bit smaller, but they are looking
for the little bitty shad. They sometime eating big shad, but I recommend
to the 3.3 because it's easy to eat for them. So, that's why I'm using the little bitty
swimbait with the tiny, tiny 3/8th jig head. But basically, in the summertime the fish
going, it's pretty close to the 20-foot range, so it's okay the quarter ounce, but it take
a time... Also, I want to make a kind of reaction bite. So, the heavy-weight jig head make a reaction
bite, and make a slow retrieve, and sometimes faster retrieve, and it depends on where the
fish are. Then also I'm using the Shimano Zodias 7'2"
medium heavy and 14-pound Fluorocarbon Line. But the line, it depends on where you fishing. If you fishing close to the timber, I recommend
the 16, yeah, 14, 16. Then if we don't have anything around your
fish, I chose the 10, 12-pound fishing line for the baitcasting reel. Then I'm using the Shimano Metanium HG, which
is a little high gear ratio.
Transcript
Video03:04
06:17
Short Striking Your Swimbait? Follow Up with This! by BassGeek → so so i'd go with a four you know i just changed this over to show you um the big thing about this is how you fish it you know this is going to be uh and what i like because generally when i'm fishing my uh as a big generally when i'm fishing my swim baits i'm fishing them pretty deep so i like a belly weight i'm not going to put it on just a weightless hook i want it to sink that's why this is probably my go-to this is the caffeine shad by strike king which is very heavy very heavy in salt and it sinks so you put it on a belly weight and it sinks pretty good so let's talk about what's happening when those fish are hitting that bait what generally happens when those when bass come up and they hit a bait and they don't eat it they're doing one or two things they're looking to stun that fish or they're just missing that fish missing the hook in that case so a lot of times what happens when those fish get hit real hard it will stun them sometimes it'll even kill a shad and so what happens is is they'll start falling so this is why it's a great bait basically you throw this out now don't don't make as long as a cast as you did before you're going to cast about half the distance
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