Don’t Lose that Bass!

Everyone has lost their PB at some point in time, ask our team and they’ll tell you they’ve each tangled with a good few 10-12lbers that have got the better of them. Here are their 8 tried and tested recommendations of what to do when a trophy bass strikes. Don’t use the wrong gear ratio reel There is no one application that fits all reels, and for good reason. For example you don’t want to run a deep diver at lightning fast speed with an 8:1 reel, and you also don’t want to go flipping with a 5.4:1 cranking reel either. Besides presentation efficiency, matching the wrong reel to the technique will lead to disaster when a big bass strikes. High-speed reels are designed to take up slack rapidly in case a fish is swimming toward you, while when fishing crankbaits a lower gear ratio reel offers more torque to keep sustained pressure on a fish, which is key to keeping them pinned on treble-hooked baits. When fishing techniques where bass exert a considerable amount of force when they strike, such as with topwater and jerkbaits, you need to use a mid-range 7:1 reel to combat the slack they knock in your line without overpowering the bait. A prime example of why you shouldn’t have any slack in your line when a bass jumps. Never Ever Stop Reeling Slack line is your biggest enemy when fighting a bass and too often inexperienced anglers panic at the sight of a big ‘ole bucketmouth coming to the surface. There is a simple bit of physics at play that keeps a bass pinned, namely the force exerted by the line that holds the hook in place; even blunt hooks will still land a bass if you never give the fish an opportunity shake its head. With sustained pressure holding the hooks in place the fish cannot throw them. Use the right hook The bend of the hook and size of the gape are far more important than the hook point, you only need a sharp hook to penetrate a bass’ jaw but its the angle of the point that in fact keeps a bass pinned. Another important factor is to match the gauge of the wire and size of the gape to the rod and line you are using. This will enable you to exert the maximum amount of pressure on the fish without bending out the hooks or snapping the line. Important: don’t go flipping heavy cover with a 1/0 light wire hook as it will only end in tears. To test if your drag is set correctly, hold your rod in one hand and pull on the line until the rod bends parabolicaly and the drag releases line. Set your drag correctly Using your reel’s drag is advisable in open water applications and should be set correctly to enable the fish to pull line without creating slack or breaking off. To test if your drag is set correctly, hold your rod in one hand and pull on the line until the rod bends parabolicaly and the drag releases line. In heavy cover, big bass applications your drag becomes irrelevant - if you’re pitching with anything over 17lb lock that drag down, you can’t afford to give bass an inch to generate slack in the line. Match the rod Fairy wands and light line have no place around the thick stuff, but neither does a locked down drag on 10lb line and a heavy action rod. Your rod needs to deliver enough power to control the fish safely and needs to offer a certain amount of shock absorption when the fish is close to the boat to prevent the hook pulling free. Even good flipping sticks that feel like a broom-stick offer a bit of forgiveness when fighting a big bass. Tournament veterans understand the principles of getting a bass in the boat and that means using a net when necessary. Point the rod down A jumping bass simply increases the odds of losing the fish - when it gets airborne it has the upper hand, especially when fishing baits that it can leverage the weight of to pop them free. A bass can reportedly shake its head side to side twice per second and even more when not faced with the resistance created by water. To keep a bass from jumping you need to alter the direction you are pulling it towards you. High sticking a bass changes the angle it faces and the fish will then use all of its energy to swim in an upwardly direction towards the surface, and we all know what happens after that. To eliminate the angle point your rod down and stick it into the water as soon as you notice it rising to the surface. This will get it coming toward you horizontally. It is critical when lowering the rod tip to maintain a constant retrieve speed as often when fishing big baits you will force the bass’ mouth open, causing it to fill with water rendering it unable to leverage the weight of the bait to shake free. Don’t pull on the line We all do it when trying to get a bass within striking distance to lip, but it is an all round bad idea. Just like changing the angle you fight the bass, pulling on the line does the same thing, namely changing a horizontally positioned fish to one that can jump and shake without the shock absorption a rod offers. This often spells disaster when fishing low stretch lines such as fluoro and braid as hooks tend to pop free sooner. Cutting point hooks are good for hooksets but bad for fighting bass Use the smallest hook possible and in most cases skip noticeably sharp cutting points. Even if you follow all the above advice a cutting point does only one thing - it keeps cutting a bigger hole in the tissue and eventually pops free. Needlepoint hooks on the other hand create smaller entry points and the barb keeps the fish pinned.