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Posts: 1286
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | An old saying---most fish hit in the first or last 10 feet of the retrieve. What do you try in order to make the mid part of the retrieve (when hook up % should be higher) more productive? Speed changes are the most obvious choice, but direction changes are a little more difficult at a distance. Any ideas? |
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Posts: 2024
| Bucktails, spinnerbaits, topwater:
Every 4-5 cranks give the handle a really fast 1/4 turn. If you're using a bucktail the bait will flare, rise, and give off more vibration - kind of like a fleeing baitfish. Same goes for spinnerbaits. Topwater is interesting. Do the same thing with topwater and it will (obviously) throw up more water but the bubbles the blade(s) creates will become larger and push deeper creating, yet again, the illusion of a fleeing baitfish as well as a sound change. Basically, the sound of the bait sounds like the thump of a bassdrum when the above technique is executed properly.
Gliders:
Usually I try to vary the retrieve up as much as possible. If my overall retrieve is slow to moderate I'll throw in two quick back to back pops and then a pause. Reverse if my overall retrieve speed is quick.
Twitchbaits:
Midway through the retrieve POP the bait three times (3X) without reeling up slack. By the third pop you should just be snapping the end of the slack which feels like you've taken your rod and smacked your boat partner upside the head after botching a net job... If you have access to a clearwater lake, try this and see what it does. That bait will "check it's side and rearview mirrors " (courtesy Mr. Cain).
Just experiment but make it erratic whatever you do; something out of the ordinary that might make a following fish commit. |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I fish a lot of topwater baits and many times I will stick my rod way out to one side to do a slight direction change, this has resulted in quite a few extra fish in the boat. The same thing works with spinnerbaits and bucktails. |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Personally, about halfway through my retrieve I have been giving a few good cranks on the handle to get the minnowbait down, then let it do the dead rise. I have seen a bunch of fish just rise up out of nowhere. When they rise, I normally give the bait a couple of quick taps to really get it kickin out.
Lazer |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | Esox50 hit all mine right on the nuts, except for the " i know there is a fish following this cast" part. |
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Posts: 103
Location: Land O' Lakes WI | If you followed logic to the end of this assumption would an angler be way more efficient if we only made 20 foot casts each time we lobbed a bait out??? The bait would always be in the first 10' or the last 10' of the cast.
Hmmmmm,,,,
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Posts: 1046
| Mark, only drawback to that logic is not covering the same amount of water. Dead stop in the middle, check it out once! |
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Middle retrieve