Dead Sticking 2025
papajoe222 reply :
I rarely, if ever, see dead sticking mentioned here on the forums. I'm not talking a do nothing presentation like a Ned rig, but actually letting a bait sit motionless for more than a few seconds. I used to do it a lot, especially during the summer month's dog days. Top-water, suspending cranks and especially stand-up jigs like shakey heads. Lately I've all but abandoned it favor of finesse tactics. Just like I've done with some old tried and true lures and presentations, I'll be revisiting this one this season. Let's hear from some of the guys that still do this, seeing as I've let the cat out of the bag.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I got this one deadsticking a Slammer. First hint of movement she crushed it. I do it a lot with big topwater swimbaits. Anything to make it look like a big, easy meal. I'll do it with frogs too just because that's how a real frog will do a lot of the time.
NittyGrittyBoy reply :
When you say dead sticking, how long are you leaving the bait motionless?
In my mind the fish has too long to look at bait and will quickly realize it to be a fake?
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 2:29 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:When you say dead sticking, how long are you leaving the bait motionless?
In my mind the fish has too long to look at bait and will quickly realize it to be a fake?
That big Slammer fish had well over a minute to investigate the bait before I twitched it and never decided that it wasn't real.
papajoe222 reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 2:29 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:When you say dead sticking, how long are you leaving the bait motionless?
In my mind the fish has too long to look at bait and will quickly realize it to be a fake?
With top-water baits, I’ve let them sit motionless for a couple of minutes, especially when I ‘know’ a fish is eyeballing it. With soft plastics, about 1/2 a minute is as long as I can hold off without at least rocking or twitching it in place.
Mike L reply :
Agree
Some of the most violent strikes useing a top water especially a spook or frog, comes after a 30 sec pause then a sideways pull.
Mike
TOXIC reply :
I would give seminars on the tank at Bass Pro to show how dead sticking a senko works. I would toss it in the tank and if it didn't get bit by the time it got to the bottom, the bass would gather with their noses pointing down and their tails in the air watching the bait. I call it "Bird Dogging". I would leave the bait motionless for 30 seconds or more (doesn't sound like a long time but it really is) then I would give it a "hop" and one of them would always dart in for the bite. The whole purpose of the demo was to show how bass react to a dead sticked bait.
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
I dead stick senkos and ikas mostly. I throw them out set rod down and fish with another set-up usually a paddle tail. I make 10 or so casts with paddle tail then go back and either recast or retrieve senko/ika a few turns set back down. Just like shore fishing for catfish wait for the rod to start twitching.
Mr. Aquarium reply :
i dead stick big 8 inch jitterbugs at night, cool windy nights in mid fall. cast out reel in a bit, let it sit, the wind will continue to make the bait rattle but not move forward with the line. they smoked it
dead sticking slammers and other big baits works awesome
OkobojiEagle reply :
Are you the same guys that have a locker full of 8 or 9 ratio reels?...
oe
scaleface reply :
How long I dead stick depends on how bad the back-lash is .
Choporoz reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 9:09 PM, scaleface said:How long I dead stick depends on how bad the back-lash is .
That's me, too.
On 5/10/2018 at 5:45 PM, papajoe222 said:With top-water baits, I’ve let them sit motionless for a couple of minutes, especially when I ‘know’ a fish is eyeballing it. With soft plastics, about 1/2 a minute is as long as I can hold off without at least rocking or twitching it in place.
And THAT'S where my plan to deadstick...or dropshot....or jerkbait.....falls apart. I blame both the dingy water I fish, as well as being low to the water in a kayak, but I rarely see fish and often have little confidence that I'm on good ones. Especially, on a slow day. I'll go to finesse stuff that I can move around, figuring that I'd have a better chance of putting it near less active fish if it's moving. I just have very little patience, I guess. Like @scaleface, 30 seconds or more without moving my bait probably means I have a backlash. I do like the idea of letting something sit and fishing another rod, but I don't know if I can fish another and still watch the line on the first very well.
BassNJake reply :
I stopped deadsticking soft plastics as my experience is that is my highest ratio of fish that get gut hooked.
You wanna guaranteed bite?
Toss out a topwater and while your dead sticking it, use the bathroom.
Brad in Texas reply :
My experience is when dead-sticking is working best, it means by elimination that bass aren't acting aggressive and, say, biting on the drop or at the "thud." You can't get to the dead-sticking stage unless your bait/lure is first ignored.
So, I see it the way Toxic explains it, that non-aggressive (cold weather?) or bass not in an actual feeding mood, that if you throw something into a "fishy" area, and it sits there, it doesn't mean the fish aren't keeping an eye on it. This is where they'll often pick a bait up and drop it really fast, so you have to really be ready to set the hook.
And, often several fish are close by and that likely accounts for a lot of fish not all that hungry floating close by, then after the dead-stick, the angler pops the bait and there is some competition or just natural predator response to hitting it.
*** This year? What has worked exceptionally well for me all through April was to throw a weightless Keitech 4" Shad Impact soft jerk bait, let it fall like an injured/dying bait fish to the bottom, and if not bit on the way down or at first contact, I have been dead-sticking it. Dead-sticking a jerk-bait. Go figure!
I have been so surprised at the lengths of the actual delays before the Keitech is actually picked up and swam off with in the fish's mouth. Up to a minute delay, I'd say. Line watching is imperative.
Could be the salt in Keitechs which is pretty strong. I recently bit the head off of one where it was torn. I had been using it for a good while but noticed that it still had a distinct salty taste.
Brad
Armtx77 reply :
I have dead sticked Crick-Hoppers up to a 60 count when the cricket hatch is in full swing. Often times, that first subtle twitch, after the dead period, will produce a strike.
I have had the lure in the water for up to 5 minutes at a time and had a fish hit it.
It is painfully, difficult fishing for me, but the excitement of watching topwaters get blown up is fun stuff. I dont throw topwater baits very much, eventhough I know I should.
geo g reply :
I only use this tech when things are really slow. I will let it sit for almost 30 seconds and then two little jerks and then sit again, jerks only shake the bait. The hit often comes after the jerks and it sits again. Being curious I think they move into the strike zone and watch the bait. When it shakes they make a strike. It has saved many a slow day. I often use trick worms, beavers, hollow tube baits, and even flukes. Almost any plastic will do.
geo g reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 9:09 PM, scaleface said:How long I dead stick depends on how bad the back-lash is .
Been there done that! But it does send you an immediate message!
N Florida Mike reply :
I catch most of my fish deadsticking various soft plastics. 20 seconds is usually about the maximum I let it sit before starting to work it back in.
I once caught a 6 pound bass over a deep hole in the middle of a day in The summer after letting the 10 inch Mann's Jelly worm sit there for 15 MINUTES..
I caught more big fish over that hole using 5-10 minute waits.
scaleface reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 3:42 AM, geo g said:
Been there done that! But it does send you an immediate message!
Yeah , there are better ways to land a fish than to bring it in hand over hand .????
BuzzHudson19c reply :
Spooks I dead stick for a bit before starting my retrieve. I would say 1/4 of my strikes on them come from that first twitch after the bait has just been sitting there.
One of my favorite way to throw frogs is cast onto the shore and slowly creep them into the water. Once they touch water I let them sit for a 30 sec to a minute sometimes. Again, I get a lot of strikes as soon as I start to move the bait after that long pause.
Catt reply :
We live in a world that wants instantaneous results!
My Dad taught me when you throw out a top water lure ya let it sit until all the ripples have disappeared before ya move it.
With bottom contact techniques it called establishing a rhythm!
After the initial fall ya may need to let it sit before moving it or ya may have start moving right away. Ya may have to make short hops with long pauses or long hops with no pauses.
Establishing rhythm is the simplest thing to pattern but most anglers are oblivious to it because they're to busy fishing fast.
TOXIC reply :
IMHO, deadsticking a soft plastic imitates a favorite food of the bass and found almost universally....a crawfish. If you've ever watched them, they sit motionless until disturbed and then they aggressively flick their tail in an exagerated reverse move. Bass have been conditioned for a very long time that a movement like that is one of their favorite foods.
frogflogger reply :
I use to roll my own cigarettes - cast the frog - roll a smoke - light up and watch - some days this was the way to get 7lbers -
NHBull reply :
Just a side note.......I find guys that hunt, especially bow hunters don’t have problems slowing down and using slow or stop techniques. I also noticed that kids that grew up “casting” struggle with the same. Think about it, if your a kid on the bank, you went to the same opening often. The bite was sporadic, so you enjoyed casting to pass the time. This becomes learned. Kids that used a drop line in a boat, learned the opposite.
When I first started sky diving, hearing I had 6 seconds to decide if I liked the canopy or had to cut away, made me nervous. Truth be told it is an eternity. So.......2-3 minutes are a life time
Dens228 reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 7:37 PM, NHBull said:Just a side note.......I find guys that hunt, especially bow hunters don’t have problems slowing down and using slow or stop techniques. I also noticed that kids that grew up “casting” struggle with the same. Think about it, if your a kid on the bank, you went to the same opening often. The bite was sporadic, so you enjoyed casting to pass the time. This becomes learned. Kids that used a drop line in a boat, learned the opposite.
When I first started sky diving, hearing I had 6 seconds to decide if I liked the canopy or had to cut away, made me nervous. Truth be told it is an eternity. So.......2-3 minutes are a life time
Ha, I've bowhunted for 40 years........I took up fishing a few years ago. I'm the opposite. The thing I like about fishing is being able to be more proactive....this summer I've pledged to slow it down!
WRB reply :
Dead sticking isn't something I do very often, longer pauses yes.
Rip Nunnery I believe still holds the single day heaviest B.A.S.S. limit at 98 lbs 15 oz (15 bass limit) back in 1969.
Rip was a dead sticker or sorts. He would make his cast using T-rigged worms or jigs, pull off about 5' of line while the lure sank, sit his rod down and watch the line and wait for it to move. Rip would pick up the rod and set the hook or pick up the rod after waiting awhile holding the tip high and whip it (hard shakes) several times and set the rod back down watch the line. Worked for Rip!
Tom
Rip Nunnery only fished 1 B.A.S.S. event because of his agoraphobia (fear of traveling).
Fishing Cowgirl reply :
That is a favorite method of mine and my husband. Fantastic for Florida even in the murkiest of water. One thing I noticed was fishing the open was the boaters were fishing very fast with the trolling motors wide open (it seemed that way when I'm having to feed out line to get my bait deeper in the water no matter how far I cast). Mostly Stick baits and Flukes. Cast it, pop it a couple times, let it fall and sit. Twitch it after 20-30 seconds then let it sit. I also used Megastrike crawfish formula for scent, if it's really nasty or dark waters. I always had my finger under the line and you can usually feel the little "tic" of the line or it just feels different when you pick it up and they are doing the Ninja bites. When my day 1 boater watched me put two in the boat dead sticking, and he had none, it clicked with him. Too late for day 1, but he thanked me the next day in the weigh in line saying he caught fish doing what I showed him. He said it was like a light bulb clicked on for that type of Florida fishing. I gave him a few more tips but dead sticking is my favorite style especially in the Florida 99 degree heat we get. My biggest bass was 8.29 pounds dead sticking.
J.Vincent reply :
I've tried dead sticking Senkos and Slug-os and Hula Grubs, but I never have enough patience to wait longer then 10-15 seconds. I've heard about and read about anglers who will let a bait soak motionless for 5 minutes or more. Just not my cup of tea or at least it's not yet in my confidence techniques.
ratherbfishin1 reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 3:11 AM, Active_Outdoors said:I've tried dead sticking Senkos and Slug-os and Hula Grubs, but I never have enough patience to wait longer then 10-15 seconds. I've heard about and read about anglers who will let a bait soak motionless for 5 minutes or more. Just not my cup of tea or at least it's not yet in my confidence techniques.
I know, I go like 15 seconds when I try to dead stick and then I tell myself that if I haven't caught one already I probably won't and I'm just wasting my time.
Paul Roberts reply :
I do it. You can't have spent much time sight fishing without it! It trips the triggers on the larger fish too.
Pauses in a retrieve can trigger fish. Duration of the pause can take us into "killed" or "dead-sticking" territory. While I don't often "dead-stick" for extended periods -without a darn good reason- I will "kill" a bait while checking out activity levels and if I suspect there might be more, or bigger, fish in a location.
lonnie g reply :
I recently was on lay lake in bama just on boat ride relaxing and observed a man using this technique, he was very successful. As I was watching I just seemed to know that he was going to catch fish. You could see his confidence level. I think this is greatly underlooked!confidence in a bait or technique seems to make a huge difference
FishDewd reply :
I dead stick quite a bit, but haven't really noticed a big difference yet when it comes to strikes. It works best for me to pause a crankbait briefly, or pause a topwater for a long time. I've gotten several on the plopper after I let it sit for about 5-10 seconds then made it move again. I'll usually stop it over an area I think is promising and let it soak for a moment. Been pretty effective, caught more that way this year than other way so far. I want to get into poppers. I saw BPS had a nice looking poppin perch that I think would have promise.
Catt reply :
Only thing that worked yesterday was letting it sit still!
blckshirt98 reply :
I deadstick my dropshot all the time, lots of subtle bites I don't believe I would have gotten doing anything that requires a moving bait.
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