The need for speed!

If you have read any of the articles posted about kayak tournaments this year, there is a fairly common reoccurrence. Speed! Whether it's a fast darting jerkbait, the fast and erratic retrieval of a chatterbait, or speed cranking on deeper structure. I have been glued to a fast and furious approach this year on the water, and honestly it hasn't really let me down so far. Now, over the last couple years there has been an increased push towards bfs and tactics that lead themselves to a more natural presentation to individual fish seen on forward facing sonar. Unfortunately for me, at this point in time I do not have that type of equipment but who knows, down the line that might change. Having said that, it seems like that leaves alot of historically pressured fish out of the equation, either because they are in too thick of cover to be seen, or areas where some lighter approaches seem inadequate to use in those scenarios. I'm not complaining, it's actually helping me this year. I feel like alot of the areas I'm fishing in tournaments or even just out for fun are now getting passed up for other areas more friendly to lighter line and ffs technology, and what has gotten me majority of my bites this year has been speed. It's no secret that bass are opportunistic predators, if something that looks like food comes within striking distance, chances are they will do just that. However if you give an uncertain fish an opportunity to think it over before they instinctually act, they may decide to let it pass by. You could say it's a catch 22 because I am sure there are fish that I send my crankbait blazing by that would have bitten a jig crawling along the bottom but couldn't be bothered to play catch up to chase down the crankbait. So there is a time and place, and while on any given day you can trigger a reaction bite in some fish, it's not a fool proof plan. Okay so when does it work? The answer is all the time. "But wait didn't you just say it didn't work all the time?" Kind of, but not really. See there are a couple different techniques and baits typically used for this general fishing style.

Crankbaits, while they are my personal favourite and what I find myself throwing more and more, are not the end all be all. Crankbaits in this category serve me best in three cases: the first being during any kind of noticeable weather change, but especially when talking about wind. Another is when I am blind fishing, just fan casting and covering as much water as possible trying to locate fish. Lastly, right after a bite has died off I can usually get 1 or 2 fish to go even after the bite has slowed (sometimes this can even fire a school of fish right back up and get them going all over again). Starting with weather, I can't count the times when I have been out on Lake Erie, Simcoe or Georgian Bay and the weather switches and the first thing I reach for is my cranking rod. Or if the wind picks up and I'm debating calling it a day I'll pick up that rod and give myself 5 or so casts ,"just to see" and more often then not I'll hook up on at least one of those casts. It can literally be something as small as it was a sunny day and now some clouds have rolled in or something as dramatic as an approaching thunderstorm, but just something noticeable, if you start your day and the water is flat calm and while your fishing a breeze too light to even generate waves kicks up, I wouldn't stress it, but if it was flat calm and then the next thing you know the waves are a foot or bigger, bingo! Or if you go from no rain to something that registers as more than "spitting out", it's go time. Now if I have never been to a body of water before and I'm seeing depths in 8 plus feet, this is another time when I will instinctually reach for the cranking stick, because I haven't fished there I know I'll be on the move moreso than if it was a familiar plarce with specific honey holes and while I might not get every fish to go speed cranking, I know I'll be getting infront of alot and it's just a numbers game at that point. Paying attention is key in this case, both to your electronics (if you have them) and to what your bait is doing and how it feels. Are you casting and burning it passed weed clumps like I did at the 3rd okbt event this year on Long Point which landed me in the money, seeing the weed edges on my Sideview was a vital part and understanding the pattern early on was critical to my success in that event. Other times, such as a small area on Georgian Bay last year, where there was a rock pile surrounded by a softer sand like bottom and I quickly learned that if I didn't physically crash into those rocks I wouldn't get bit, being able to feel that difference was crucial. Finally before you leave a productive spot it is always a good idea to throw a reaction bait a couple times through the area, now it won't work every time but it will likely work enough times to warrant it becoming a habit, after all who does like a couple bonus fish. This is true of all reaction baits you just have to fish the right lure in the right areas and situations, don't go throwing a deep diver after your topwater bite dies off, (unless you saw them go that deep) but instead look to something that generates the same type of response but stays up high in the water column, que up the jerkbait.

The deepest jerkbait (kidding, kind of) fish I have caught to this date comes off of that exact scenario and I was in floating over 97 feet (they weren't 97 feet down) and throwing topwaters at busting fish, when all of a sudden everything went silent. After a couple minutes of nothing coming up I decided it was time to try something different, given what I was experiencing earlier it didn't make sense for that bite to just stop and there was still the odd flicker from a fleeing baitfish from time to time, so I grabbed the jerkbait rod. For this deal I prefer something that stays within that 1-3 foot range unless I have reason to believe they moved deeper for some reason, however that was not the case here. It didn't take long and I was back on, I just didn't get the big blow ups for added excitement. So as with speed cranking, jerkbait fishing is speed driven. But where as a crankbait creates a reaction by blowing by the fish and pausing for a spit second in the fishes face as it racing to catch up, a jerkbait has the awesome ability to entice fish to come in just for a look, and then quick twitch with the rod sends the bait darting erratically as if frantically fleeing after spotting the now nearby predator, and in doing so triggering that reaction bite we all love. So when is the right time to throw a jerkbait? Well as stated above and like all reaction bites when a current bite fades out, but also what if you are around things such as wood that love to grab onto traditional crankbait hook (squarebills are a different animal with a different place in the zoo, for me at least) or taller sparce weeds, also have you ever thrown a walking topwater lure into a lily pad field. Nothing crazy thick that you need to punch into but there's enough to make you think twice about casting a treble hooked lure into. Try it and it is so easy to understand what it takes to walk a bait out of a seemingly impossible area, a jerkbait is no different other than it's subsurface, and the best part is as you are working it out of whatever the cover happens to be, your lure only looks more frantic and typically the first open shot passed the cover that the fish gets at the jerkbait is when they absolutely smash it. Which leads into the next point, if you are already looking for a reaction bite and your losing trailer tails or having follows or short strikes on the back treble, the ability to slow down and present an easy to target bait that triggers that same reaction is a difference maker. Due to the dart and pause action that a jerkbait provides, there are so many more chances for a bass to line up the bait and crush it. They come in and inspect the lure and then it darts away maybe 3 feet, only to suddenly stop and that fish has to react right away or let the bait get away. More often then not you'll get bit, there on the pause because they now can hone in and eat the second it stops. Another awesome time is post frontal conditions, I first noticed how effective a jerkbait could be post frontal a couple years back when I was confined to the bank as an angler, I had noticed that in this situation I would get alot of follows but hooking up was a struggle from more aggressive active baits. So knowing that I can work a jerkbait slower then pretty much anything and I don't risk the bait sinking into a rock or log or adversely floating up away from the fish as I attempt to pass an obstruction. Being able to stay in the fishes face is a difference maker, and due to the dart and pause action that a jerkbait provides there are so many more chances for a bass to line up the bait and crush it, they come in and inspect the lure and then it darts a foot away, only to suddenly stop. But that time the fish has already honed in and decide to make a meal of it, and rather than striking out at a moving target, they now can line it up and smash it the second it stops.

The chatterbait, few lures have caused such a stir and made such a racket both in the media as well as actually in the water. But when a lure works this good, you can understand. When I think of chatterbaits I think of three things, early morning weed lines or grass flats, skipping docks and hopping rocks or ripping grass. If I had to pick one as a favorite it would be skipping docks, just because who doesn't love the look of that perfect skip, can you think of anything that makes you think you're an actual pro more than that? But when it comes to docks both shallow and deep, more often than not we fish senkos, swimbaits or jigs all of which can be skipped fairly well, but they all have a rather subtle presence. Skipping a chatterbait under a dock into a fishes house would be the equivalent of me buying my 3 kids each their own drumset and having them play it in my room when I'm sound asleep. The only difference is, it wouldn't be socially acceptable for me to bite my kids, but a fish doesn't have such rules and as a result when you get under that dock, if they're home, you're going to get bit! Next would be those low light hours, primarily mornings, and working parallel to weed edges or fan casting over grass flats. Even throwing into the mess and hopping your way out into open water can call fish in and generate bites. This is mainly due to the way in which a chatterbait can be fished. Can you just steady reel it back and get bit? Yes! Will you miss out on alot of what makes a chatterbait special and a ton or bites as a result? Absolutely! The speed aspect of a chatterbait isn't how fast you get it back to the boat or bank, but how fast and crisp you start and stop with your reel. Quarter turns, half turns, full rotations, 5, 6 rotations and everything in-between at random get that bait dancing and bouncing underwater in a way bass cannot resist. It is the erratic action that makes this lure a standout and perfect for situations just like this when you want to capitalize on aggressive times of the day. Having said that, this lure can also switch gears and when the weed growth or bottom structure allows it can be fished along the bottom. Short hops just enough to get that blade to vibrate and then fall crashing back down on rock or ripping through the grass letting it pop on top and again having it crash back down can not only trigger a response because it looks like potential fleeing baitfish, but switch up the trailer to a craw imitation and it's a whole new look and appeal, but the same bite. It's not uncommon for this lure to get hung up or fouled with weeds and when you pop it off or shake the weeds off you get smashed right then.

So the next time you're out and having a rough go on the water, or conditions change or you're in a new lake/area, don't be afraid to look for that reaction bite. Where it's speed cranking open water during a weather change, triggering a bite with a jerkbait when bass seem lethargic, or getting aggressive with a chatterbait along a weedline. Not only will it help you cover water and break down the area quickly, but it might also land you the biggest fish on the spot. But at the very least when that bite does come you'll likely agree that it just might be the best bite in bass fishing.