Fast vs Slow

[Seth]

I base my retrieve speed on the clarity of the water to start out with. The dirtier it is, the slower I fish and I speed things up as it gets clear. My three biggest river bass have all come on a trick worm fished relatively fast and high in the water column. Two came from really clear water and the other was in fairly stained water and I just happened to throw my bait right in it's face while it was tucked up next to a log. Very rarely do I do well fishing really fast in dirty water or really slow in clear water. I figure the fish need more time to locate a bait in dirty water, but I don't want them to get a real good look at my baits in clear water. As for big fish, they just seem to randomly happen for me and usually in areas I don't catch many fish from. I tend to do best in clear water while others I know struggle. They will usually outfish me in stained or dirty water though.

[Al Agnew]

I don't do enough reservoir fishing anymore to be able to have much of an opinion, but when it comes to river smallmouth in the warm months, I've never subscribed to the "slow is better for big fish", or as one well-respected angler on Riversmallies always put it, "BDS...bigger, deeper, slower".  Big fish in Ozark streams relate more to cover and current than depth in the summer.  If active, they will be in reasonably shallow water, because that's where most of the food is.  If not active, they don't necessarily move deep, they move deeper into cover.  There is a lot of cover that holds inactive big fish that is nearly impossible to fish either fast or slow...rootwads, undercut rocks or rooty banks, logjams.  And here's the thing...big fish gotta eat, so they gotta be active for a portion of the day, at least.  My theory is, why try to catch inactive fish in deep water or heavy cover, when sooner or later, they are likely to get active?  And if they are active, big fish WILL go after faster moving food.  

I know a lot of guys catch a lot of big fish on slower moving, bottom bumping jigs and soft plastics in the summer.  But that's because they have confidence in those lures and they fish them most of the day, therefore they are fishing them to active fish.  Active fish are likely to eat them, but they are also likely to eat faster moving stuff as well, it's just that those guys aren't using the faster moving stuff.

Now, having said all that, I'll add a major caveat.  In the heavily pressured, larger rivers, the fish tend to concentrate more in specific areas.  Using fast moving lures, you cherry pick a few fish from a given area, but then the bite stops and you move on.  If you slow down and fish those areas with slower stuff, you PROBABLY pick up some more fish.  You may also catch your bigger fish that way.  If you know the river well enough to know some of those specific banks and eddies that can produce big fish, then it's probably better to fish them a lot with slower stuff.

But on the smaller, clearer streams, I'll be fishing the fast moving stuff 90 plus percent of the time.

[Gavin]

If you are fishing from a paddle craft in a river it is hard to  fish slow unless you eddy out or hang the bank and cast back up. The fish will tell you how they want it. Best usually hit on top or on the bottom and you can fish slow or fast on top or on the bottom. Observation, presentation, and persistance.

[fishinwrench]

I catch more big shallow largemouth by using a heavy jig, worm, or lizard and dropping it right in his face.  A lighter bait that kinda sashays it's way to the bottom doesn't get eaten near as often as one that sinks fast and then just sits there and quivers for a few seconds.  Not sure why but I assume it is a reaction thing.  Something suddenly crashing in on his turf gives him an adrenaline rush, and if it's small enough to fit in his mouth he just eats it.

But then there are Senko's and flukes.... Sometimes that slow quivering/gliding fall gets the nod.  

I find that most times it works opposite of how you'd expect though.  Active fish do better with slow retrieves, and inactive fish are easier coaxed into biting by surprising them with something that's all of a sudden in his face.   Trying to slowly "finnese" inactive fish to bite just doesn't work for me.

During the slow times here on the lake in Summer most guys cast a worm way past the brushpiles and work the worm over and through them.   Not me.  I'll try to land my worm/jig so that it sinks right on top of the brush, and be prepared to set the hook as soon as the line goes slack, or shortly after.    If the fish see or hear that worm coming from 8-10 feet away I think they just look at it and let it go.  But if it suddenly falls right within a few feet of him he'll eat it.

Bill Dance says "use the lightest weight possible that still allows you to feel it, and come through the cover"...... That's Malarky !    Put on a HEAVY weight and crash that fishes party.  You can't change an inactive fish's mood by slowly creeping a little wiggly thing along near him, but you CAN change his mood by startling him.

[patfish]

13 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

That's Malarky !    

ladies and gentlemen.... it's official.   Malarky has been called.  

[Mitch f]

1 hour ago, patfish said:

ladies and gentlemen.... it's official.   Malarky has been called.  

Is Calling Malarky anything like Declaring Bankruptcy?

[fishinwrench]

See what happens when you can't cuss ??

If I could have just said bull$#!t, like I wanted to, then everyone would have understood.  

[Gavin]

Good post FW...best bottom fish usually hit on the initial drop, or within a five count. Sometimes the strikezone is anything withing 20'...Sometimes its the size of a frozen pea. The fish will tell you.

 

 

[fishinwrench]

Just imagine that you are a big ol'bass sitting in a brushpile.  You sense something tickling it's way closer to you, so you lazily turn to see.....   Awwwe it's a pretty little worm, look at it with it's glossy tungsten head and pretty little sparkles.   I just love those, they are so cuuute.   Don't hurt it !

Now, same bass..... A big nasty looking brown and black snake suddenly comes crashing down almost hitting you in the head.  SONUVABITCH!   Gulp!  

It's like sitting in a lawn chair on a gravel bar when a butterfly comes flittering by, vs. when a horsefly comes ripping by your head.   Which scenario makes you jump up ready to kick some @ss ?

[joeD]

I thought I was fast and smart. My wife caught me in 1991, using the less is more approach. I was a lunker that succumbed to a slow and steady retrieve, ensnared before I even knew I was caught. Unfortunately, I was kept, and not released.