Ok, so I was fishing in rainy 65 degree weather and I was fishing a rage swimmer 4.75 inch on a swimbait hook. I kept getting strikes but no commitments. What and why am I doing wrong? Every time I change to a jig(any type) the fish ignore it.(I know this because I can clearly see them swimming right past the jig) What would you do in my position? 

1 hour ago, TKFactory said:

Ok, so I was fishing in rainy 65 degree weather and I was fishing a rage swimmer 4.75 inch on a swimbait hook. I kept getting strikes but no commitments. What and why am I doing wrong? Every time I change to a jig(any type) the fish ignore it.(I know this because I can clearly see them swimming right past the jig) What would you do in my position? 

if they are striking but not committing, you are either getting other species biting or getting reaction strikes.

around here drum are notorious for swiping at moving lures, but never getting it in their small mouth.

 

Sometimes bass simply react and swipe at the bait, but never get it in their mouth.

It is fairly common with single hook baits like swimbaits and spinnerbaits. 

if that happens I usually downsize.

Also,if you miss a strike immediately toss a ned rig or wacky rig in the vicinity of the strike.

 

if the bass ignore a slow moving bait like a jig, Instead of slowly dragging it around, I will retrieve it with fast snaps of the rod, sometimes you can get a reaction bite on a fish that was otherwise ignoring your bait. often times the strikes are violent.

I can't count the number of times, that I had a lure hangup in a brushpile, and while I was violently shaking it, trying to get it free,  a bass hammered the bait.

I actually caught my second largest bass of the year doing this.

 

god luck and don't give up.

 

When they dont commit, I'll try variations of what I have been doing using the same lure at first.

 

Speed up and/or slow your retrieve based on water clarity. If its clear water, move it faster.

I will also vary my retrieve, speed it up then kill it or use twitches and pulls instead of a straight retrieve.

 

If that fails, I'll try changing colors and then downsizing my offerings.

 

I will also switch to something like a chatterbait, squarebill or a different moving bait to see if that will trigger the bite after trying the above options

Ive had bass swipe at square bills like that and then switch to a suspending jerk bait  too  catch them . The specific lure is rapala x-rap .

I'm assuming since you can see this happening you are fishing somewhat shallow. Try a topwater bait. A popper would be my first choice. I've had this happen before as well and often the fish will get real violent on a moving target above them. Don't go too large at first because you don't want to spook them on lure touchdown. BassNJake had very good advice as well...

Thank you Thank you Thank you 

If you can see them they can see you most likely. I've caught all my larger bass by creeping up slowly in my kayak and making longer casts. 

 

Sometimes bass will follow a lure and suck it up and spit it back out. Did you try setting the hook when your feeling a bite? I mainly lipless crankbait fish and rely on them setting the hook as there's a lot of underwater cover in the areas I prefer to fish.

1 minute ago, kenmitch said:

If you can see them they can see you most likely. I've caught all my larger bass by creeping up slowly in my kayak and making longer casts. 

 

Sometimes bass will follow a lure and suck it up and spit it back out. Did you try setting the hook when your feeling a bite? I mainly lipless crankbait fish and rely on them setting the hook as there's a lot of underwater cover in the areas I prefer to fish.

I don't hook set, I just wait until I think the fish has a good bite and reel fast. New to hook sets still. 

They say when in doubt set the hook as hooksets are free. You need to set the hook. Depending on what your using you'll have little to no chance of success otherwise. Smaller hooks might grab but you need penetration to keep the fish on. Watch the video and you'll see what goes on down there. Video quality is lacking but the info is worth the watch.

 

 

I will watch this, thank you for posting this. 

So.... many.... bass....

Don't they make trailer hooks for swimbaits? You may want to give that a try if they do.