Set the hook.....Fast! 2024

Todd2 reply :

I was reading an article in a magazine over the weekend on a study they did with cameras that showed that a Bass can suck in and spit out a lure in 1/12 of a second. That's about .08 seconds.

So I did a quick search and found a study that shows how fast a human responds to stimuli. On average, it was .25 secs for visual, .17 secs for audio, and .15 secs for touch.

So on your best day, a Bass could take and spit the lure almost twice before you could even feel the bite to start to set the hook.

Just food for thought on your next bite at the lake....lol

A-Jay reply :

Interesting . . .

I imagine that my reflexes may have slowed a bit.

And there's a decent chance that a few young to middle age bass could come & go undetected.

But since I prefer to target the Older Slower bass - I think it sort of evens out.

So I'm OK with that.

A-Jay

Montanaro reply :

If thats the case then switch to a lure they wont spit as quick!

DINK WHISPERER reply :

@A-Jay That was a cheap plug for that fat girl pic, haha. Nice!

Todd2 reply :

On 12/12/2017 at 3:21 AM, Montanaro said:

If thats the case then switch to a lure they wont spit as quick!

You can bet if they're crushing a certain crankbait....I ain't putting it down. But sometimes it is what it is.. I'm in the swing early and often camp.

Catt reply :

On 12/12/2017 at 2:55 AM, Todd2 said:

I was reading an article in a magazine over the weekend on a study they did with cameras that showed that a Bass can suck in and spit out a lure in 1/12 of a second. That's about .08 seconds.

So I did a quick search and found a study that shows how fast a human responds to stimuli. On average, it was .25 secs for visual, .17 secs for audio, and .15 secs for touch.

I noticed the word "can"

That's averages for human but is that average for bass?

Average means some humans are faster & some humans are slower.

A-Jay reply :

On 12/12/2017 at 3:41 AM, DINK WHISPERER said:

@A-Jay That was a cheap plug for that fat girl pic, haha. Nice!

@DINK WHISPERER ~ Sure was . . . And Thanks.

#credibility

A-Jay

NHBull reply :

Heck, I guess I should just give then.....

georgeyew reply :

I may have had bass spit out my lures in fractions of a second but I never knew it. In the end, ignorance is bliss. I can't get too mad over something that I didn't even know took place.

scaleface reply :

I have seen those videos too . They opened my eyes . One of my favorite ways to fish is yoyoing lipless cranks in deep water . There are lots of times I feel or even hear the hit and miss the fish . I thought they were just bumping it closed mouth but now I think "after seeing the videos" that they are just faster than me .

IndianaFinesse reply :

I actually find that bass eat most baits (jerkbaits less so), but especially soft plastics and jigs, and don't readily let go on most days. They can and sometimes do spit in a fraction of a second, but often times they will refuse to let go even if you try to shake them off. Depends on the day and individual fish though.

Montanaro reply :

Ive seen pressured fish spit plastics super fast...means they know its a trick.

Also have seen them engulf crankbaits and spit them and never felt a thing. Just means you need to retrieve them quicker or switch baits

scaleface reply :

Search this in Youtube.. " Most Insane Underwater Bass Fishing Footage Ever!! GoPro Footage of Giant Bass Eating Lures!

Todd2 reply :

@Catt Had to go back and read...no mention of average for the Bass, but the Human study did say average, so that varies quite a bit.

I guess the point I took from the article is a Bass can (and often does) spit a lure fairly quick...even jigs and soft plastics here. Sure I'll get the occasionally walk off bite where the line kind of takes off to the side or sometimes right below your boat and you have no choice but to catch up with em and swing. But more often I seem to feel one small tap and that's it...those seem to be my bigger fish.

I fished with a good buddy from Texas for years. He's moved back home now. But we had two totally different hooksets...he'd get bit and say "take it baby, take it" and wait till the rod was bent before setting the hook. Id always swing at first tap. I never say a word...just swing fast. When I missed, he'd say "You didn't wait long enough." He'd miss and I'd say "They don't have hands, set the hook". Over the years we fished pretty even so I don't know if we ever proved which way was better.

Catt reply :

@Todd2 not questioning you or the report ????

I've seen similar studies with similar numbers but if .08 is average that puts plenty well above our .15 range.

Funny cause I got a friend that does the same waiting game yours does & wonders why he's never hooked bass over 7 lbs.

riverbasser reply :

Im keyong in on it sayin how fast humans react to stimula of touch. Are they measuring a body reaction(twitch) or the time it takes for the brain to react and perform(hook set)?

I'm sure of one thing, I ain't as quick as a bass

Maybe we should all be throwing mighty bite baits. They guarantee a fish to hold on longer

BassWhole! reply :

On 12/12/2017 at 2:36 PM, riverbasser said:

Im keyong in on it sayin how fast humans react to stimula of touch. Are they measuring a body reaction(twitch) or the time it takes for the brain to react and perform(hook set)?

I'm sure of one thing, I ain't as quick as a bass

Maybe we should all be throwing mighty bite baits. They guarantee a fish to hold on longer

I think the hookset on some presentations, particularly moving baits does not involve a conscious decision once someone has fished for a while, much like playing a guitar, you just strum g.

and, if hookset reaction time was the required skill to land fish, hockey goalies would own the AOY awards.

BigTerp reply :

I miss my share of fish on the hookset fishing for smallmouth in my local river. I'm switching out my 6' M/L moderate fast action rods for 6'6" or 7' M/L fast action. Thinking the increase length and faster action will give me a little quicker hookset.

Catt reply :

What opened my eyes was back in the 70s at a fishing seminar that featured the Hawg Trough (huge aquarium on wheels).

I was standing right up against the glass eyeing a 4# bass when the Pro flipped a worm in front of the bass & it flared it gills sucking the worm in & spit out before I know what happened.

After what happened sunk in my pea brain I thought...dude ya better set hook faster & don't wait on nothing!

BrianinMD reply :

I think most people would be shocked to see how many bites they actually get versus what they feel.

WRB reply :

The ability to detect unseen strikes from bass seperate the men from the boys. The fact that boys have faster reflexes tells you there is more to hook sets then quickness.

Tom

riverbasser reply :

On 12/12/2017 at 8:49 PM, reason said:

I think the hookset on some presentations, particularly moving baits does not involve a conscious decision once someone has fished for a while, much like playing a guitar, you just strum g.

and, if hookset reaction time was the required skill to land fish, hockey goalies would own the AOY awards.

I get what you mean and I'm no neuroscientist so there's no real point in me even commenting but I still believe that it is a conscious choice but that the choice is made quicker through repeated actions like setting the hook or mashing the brakes on a car.

I agree with what Tom said though. Its more important to know a strike occurred than having the quickest hook set

Who knows how many we miss that we never felt, I want to catch as many fish as possible but at the same time I'm fishing for enjoyment so its all good

38 Super Fan reply :

I still say fish that can spit a lure that fast are pretty rare. It's not something I worry about too much while fishing, who knows, maybe I'm missing a dozen bites a day though.

WRB reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 12:30 AM, 38 Super Fan said:

I still say fish that can spit a lure that fast are pretty rare. It's not something I worry about too much while fishing, who knows, maybe I'm missing a dozen bites a day though.

My educated experienced estimate is more than 50% strikes go undetected, even higher ratio for bass over 5 lbs.

Tom

Choporoz reply :

How do I count/measure undetected strikes?

Sorry...just the smartazz in me....

My eye openings were Big Mouth Forever (spittin cranks) and at the other end of the spectrum, watching Bobby U fishing a demo tank and pulling bass 10 yards or more....with Megasticken plastics, but no hooks....the spectrum is wide. I will admit that I've caught plenty of bass that I never felt -- if the line hadn't been moving sideways, I'd have never known there was an actual fish involved with those casts. That doesn't mean that they spit it fast, but they certainly can spit fast enough if they're subtle about the whole thing.

WRB reply :

My 1st experience trying to hook a bass I could see was a bed bass when I was about 8 years old. The bass would nose down on my crappie jig flare it’s gills the jig would disappear and I would set the hook missing every time. I learned to set the hook when the gills flared, before seeing the jig disappear. Never felt the strike and I was watching the bass.

My eye to hand reflexes as a teen were extremely fast and help me as a gymnasts and drag racing, not much as a bass anglers because it takes time missing strikes before learning what a miss fells like. Strike detection is very important in bass fishing, can’t set the hook until you feel or see and process the strike.

Tom

WRB reply :

Feeling missed strikes; working a bottom contact lure and feeling rocks where there are no rocks. Your partner is catching bass on the same lure you are using without success.

You haven’t caught s big jig bass where big bass are known to live.

Tom

Turtle135 reply :

I combat this problem by using lots of Megastrike! My jigs are so tasty the bass don't want to give them back.

Todd2 reply :

So worst case, a Bass holds it .08 seconds..what's best case? Most of us never know because we're swinging, but I know some guys shake off a fish when pre fishing. For the sake of the discussion let's say best case is 20 secs? So somewhere between .8 and 20 secs that bass is letting go. In any portion of that range, it's in their mouth....so why not swing fast?

Now..the ones we don't feel, not sure what you can do about that...but I've caught many fish on setting the hook when in doubt of whether it was a bite. I've whiffed a bunch too.

scaleface reply :

Sometimes a bass will hold it for ten seconds sometimes for a tenth of a second . Either way I'm setting the hook as soon as I detect it .

Team9nine reply :

It's not always as straightforward as 'set as soon as you can.' That works for some baits and some situations, but certainly not all. Likewise, the fact that bass can inhale and exhale something that fast doesn't mean they do (or will). I've had plenty of bass hold baits for upwards of 45 seconds or more before finally dropping the bait, and we've all had fish that swallowed a bait - those don't come back out.

WRB reply :

Big difference between a bass strike and that same bass deciding to eat what it struck. We all catch the bass that eats our lures.

Tom

scaleface reply :

If one feels a hit , sets the hook and the bass has done spit it , waiting longer isnt going to help .

Team9nine reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 4:07 AM, WRB said:

Big difference between a bass strike and that same bass deciding to eat what it struck. We all catch the bass that eats our lures.

Tom

No difference to me because both actions are part of the exact same process on the basses part, one just occurs later, but they both begin with the strike. They strike, they taste/feel, then they swallow or reject. We can't always control or predetermine what the outcome will be or how fast the process will occur, but my bigger point is that there are certainly some baits where immediately setting the hook on detection, whether by feel or by sight, is not the wisest thing to do, topwaters/frogs as just one example. With some other baits, the opposite is true. I guess that I don't consider "always set the hook ASAP" as a good all-around rule.

On 12/13/2017 at 5:57 AM, scaleface said:

If one feels a hit , sets the hook and the bass has done spit it , waiting longer isnt going to help .

Just an observation or...?

scaleface reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 6:42 AM, Team9nine said:

Just an observation or...?

I'm not following you .

I dont think the OP was thinking about sight fishing or top water strikes , good point though , just how fast can a bass can reject a lure .

WRB reply :

Since bass don't have hands or paws with claws they can only strike using their mouth.

Artifical lures may look like something they want to eat, depending how aggressive the bass is, they check it out by striking it, then decide if it's editable and continue killing and eating. Another strike response is a warning or simply to kill the lure when on beds, they don't eat it. If the bass is aggressive and fully committed to eat a prey the strike engulfs it, crunches it to kill and swallows it quickly, those bass we have a high probability of getting a hook set because the hook is deep into it's mouth.

Tell me why we wait or hesitate hook sets for a surface strike? I hear everyone saying the bass doesn't have the lure in it's mouth, where do they have it if not in it's mouth?

Surface lures we can see the strike, that is the only difference. Bass don't use different strike technique for different lures other then to check something or kill something.

Hook set timing depends on where the lure is inside the basses mouth and that depends on if the bass wants to eat it or not and how big the lure is so the bass can kill and swallow the prey.

When I first started using soft plastic worms the standard technique promoted by pro's was to let the bass move off with the worm by watching the line moving before hook setting. Today we don't wait knowing the bass may reject the lure quickly and set the hook the instant we detect it and make timing adjustments depending on success or failure.

I watch bass in crystal clear pit lakes and never witnessed a bass slap anything ever. What does slap mean? Hitting prey with their tail or body? Bass either strike prey with their mouth or mis judge and miss it.

Tom

georgeyew reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 3:03 AM, scaleface said:

Sometimes a bass will hold it for ten seconds sometimes for a tenth of a second . Either way I'm setting the hook as soon as I detect it .

Some times the bass will hold on to a plastic lure long enough to swallow it....imagine that.

N Florida Mike reply :

I fish with a floating line with my primary bait choice , which is usually some kind of soft plastic. I watch for the twitch as the bass takes the bait and usually try to set the hook in the opposite direction from the way the fish is moving. I guess you could say Im in the slower camp but have tried to speed up some so I dont gut hook the fish. I rarely use any attractant and I feel confident that I rarely miss a fish picking up a bait. One reason for this is seeing the twitch. Another is that I maintain some contact with the bait so I feel them pick it up. I dont know if its the plastics I use , but its uncommon for me to have a fish let go of a bait once he took it , An exception to this is a bedding fish moving the bait off the bed and quickly dropping it.

With worms , I usually hook the fish in the mouth near the edge. With flukes , I try to set the hook faster , because flukes gut hook fish more than any other bait I use.

My opinion is that I lose more fish with an immediate hookset than not. I often will set immediately if its a very weedy or structure filled area so the fish doesnt bury himself. Otherwise , I get myself set and see which direction the fish is heading and set the hook.

I know thats not the popular opinion but to each his own.

What Im saying is I know a bass can very quickly spit out a bait but it just doesnt happen to me that often.

ptomacbass reply :

If you're using the right thing the right way, most bass aren't gonna be spitting it in 0.08 seconds. That is unless you're fishing for bedding bass.

scaleface reply :

I feel and "hear" a lot of hits where the bass reject the bait before I can hook it . Sometimes when in a school I'll get a bunch hits on the same cast . Theres noway of telling if the bass is going to spit it quickly or not . Only thing I can say is I have never hooked a bass after the lure gets blown out unless the fish gets foul hooked .

Catt reply :

Each bass is different

Each bite is different

Each fight is different

I don't care about the bass that can spit my lure in .08 seconds, gonna probably miss that fish anyway!

I don't care who you are everybody misses bites, it maybe because of the bass, it maybe operator error but it happens.

Those classic thumps, bumps, taps, & line movement are easy, but there will be times when you feel or see nothing.

Don't be surprised when a 2 lb bass inhales your 1 oz jig without any tell-tale line movement and proceeds to sit there until you apply too much pressure at which time they spit it!

Troy85 reply :

I was fishing a Texas rigged worm. I cast it out and let it sink(was in about 4ft of water) and I felt the slightest bump. I remember thinking, is that a fish, or did my weight just land on a stump. I decided to set the hook anyway, turned out to be my PB. That could have easily been a missed strike, if I hadn't decided to set the hook on what I was pretty sure was just my weight landing on a stump.

Montanaro reply :

I will follow greg hackneys advice....give them a second to really mouth it and then hook em. Youll miss more fish and lose more fish swinging for fences at first thump. They dont always inhale lure, sometimes only lip it.

You will get spun out QUICK if you convince yourself that your bass are spitting your lures in .08.

Mike L reply :

All good comments and advise

All I know is if I'm useing any type of bottom contact plastic and I feel or even think it was a hit, I'm swinging.

It takes less than .08 sec to reel down and swing. If I miss her, I miss her.

Mike

DINK WHISPERER reply :

I think this is especially true right now here in FL during the spawn. It's been my experience that these bedding fish will half way grab the bait and spit it out of the bed so fast it's unreal. If you know what you're doing you will feel the strike but it's usually too late and you will get a tungsten weight flying at you at high speeds! You have to keep agitating them until they inhale it.

BassWhole! reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 11:07 PM, Mike L said:

It takes less than .08 sec to reel down and swing. If I miss her, I miss her.

Mike

If you're a mongoose, I just did the experiment, I get .20 to .60

Mike L reply :

On 12/14/2017 at 12:55 AM, reason said:

If you're a mongoose, I just did the experiment, I get .20 to .60

Fair enough... And I'm sure you're faster than me.

Dang decibels always confuse me. ????

Mike

WRB reply :

Remember the dollar bill test? Have someone put a dollar bill 1/2 way down between your index finger and thumb. When the dollar bill drops if you can catch it without dropping your hand just using the 2 fingers, it's yours. Reflex time is about .5 seconds the bill drops about 4" in .25 seconds, easy way to win a dollar.

The point is your reflexes are faster when you are focused on what is going on around you, a lot slower when not being focused.

Increasing your catch ratio to strikes is only important if that matters. For me knowing the biggest bass in the lake often create the least amount of line movement when striking, so staying focused helps me.

Missed strikes also tells you the bass is interested but something isn't right, you need to make a change, color, size, cadence, something.

Tom

MassYak85 reply :

Most techniques I am either seeing or detecting a bite, and sweeping the rod immediately, or working something like a frog or jig where my rod is not necessarily pointed right at the fish, reeling down until it is, and the swinging. For no technique do I ever wait after feeling a fish, unless I know for some reason it spit it out already, or missed it completely (topwater).

BassWhole! reply :

On 12/14/2017 at 1:12 AM, Mike L said:

Fair enough... And I'm sure you're faster than me.

Dang decibels always confuse me. ????

Mike

I hate it when they scream the metric system...

OCdockskipper reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 1:35 AM, WRB said:

...My eye to hand reflexes as a teen were extremely fast and help me as a gymnasts and drag racing...

The image of Tom in a singlet, doing handsprings & cartwheels as he jumps into a 1969 Dodge Hemi Challenger and tears down the quarter mile are now seared into my brain...

OCdockskipper reply :

On 12/13/2017 at 7:16 AM, WRB said:

...Bass don't use different strike technique for different lures other then to check something or kill something...

I have seen a bass in a Koi pond use different strike techniques depending on what he is eating. For Goldfish or other prey that could quickly get away, the attack is quick & savage. Even if he misses, he tends to knock the prey around & stun it, so he can nail it on the rebound. However, when he eats nightcrawlers or steals the meal worms intended for the resident bluegill, it is a very slow slurp (both as they sink or if they are floating on the surface). No rush, he just takes his time and glides over to eat it.

Sometimes when the koi food pellets are bunched up on the surface, he will hammer those, causing them to break apart. He usually will suck one or two of those in, mouth it for a few seconds and then spit it out. I think these are a case of mistaken identity.

Another surface prey he is aggressive towards are dragonflies. When they are dipping into the water, he will follow after them, and crash through the surface. He may have bad aim, I have never seen him catch one.

I don't know if this behavior translates to truly wild bass, but this pond boss has a few different techniques up his sleeve (well, if he wore a shirt...).

WRB reply :

How adult size bass approaches prey depends on the prey. Crawdads a lone bass has no issue getting close enough to engulf it, the bass may move slowly to get close but once it strikes it's the same quick gill flare and engulfed prey. Largemouth, Smallmouth and spotted bass all have different strike techniques. I believe smallmouth and spots have smaller mouths so their strike with crawdads are often to grab the bug by it's claws instead of engulfing it,then the crawdad drops the claw arm to escape, the bass engulfs it quickly.

Watching bass attack larger fish like trout that are faster then bass is interesting. Often big bass group up to successfully catch trout they heard against the surface or structure. You don't see lone bass feeding on trout very often. The bass attack trout with a fast rush and strike it at the head, clamping down to kill it, then engulfs it.

Never noticed any bass strike slowly, they may move close slowly but the strike appears to be fast every time, blink and you miss it.

Good thread and hope everyone improves the strike to hook up ratio.

Tom

Ratherbfishing reply :

A decent argument, perhaps, for getting a more sensitive rod but I'm not sure if it changes anything for me otherwise. If I don't think I've gotten a hit, I'm not not going to set the hook. There's a lot going on down there in the water and not everything is a bite so I don't want to jerk a bait out of the strike zone prematurely.

Short of setting the hook more often (which I'm unlikely to do) the best thing to do is to be better positioned so that when I DO feel a bite, the time required for a proper hookset is minimized. And buy a better rod.

saamyb reply :

I do know one thing for a fact , you can't reel a bait fast enuff to get it away from one who want's it . Found that out trolling redfins for stripers in 46 degree water and caught more bass than stripers.

ClackerBuzz reply :

I can't tell you the quality or quantity of bass I've lost by not setting the hook fast enough. I can however tell you endless stories about losing bass every season b/c I was too fast on setting the hook. Watch enough pro seminars and you'll hear them all tell stories of trying to shake fish off a lure during practice b/c they want to come back and catch them during the tourny. They all are amazing how long a bass will hold on and swim around with a lure in its mouth even while they're trying to shake it off (try it sometime). Greg Hackney went into detail about how his hook up percentage was amazing during practice but went way down on game day. He admitted it was b/c he's so much faster and full of adrenaline during tournaments that bass never has time to fully take/commit to the lure. Compared to being relaxed and consciencience of the fish/specific bite during practice. He slowed way down during tournaments and his percentages went back up. I've since become more aware of different types of bites, which seem to change daily. For me not setting the hook fast enough is rarely a problem vs setting it too fast usually is.

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 12/15/2017 at 8:10 AM, saamyb said:

I do know one thing for a fact , you can't reel a bait fast enuff to get it away from one who want's it . Found that out trolling redfins for stripers in 46 degree water and caught more bass than stripers.

Good observation. Welcome to bass resource.

lonnie g reply :

rattiling rouge those 4 set of treble hooks are hard to miss! i'm with a jay pick on the old slow girls.

10465

Set the hook.....Fast! 2024

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