We have a houseboat on Lake Oroville, currently sitting in about 125 feet of water. Because we have no boat launch facilities left because of the draught we haven't had any bass tournaments for the past couple of months. I know that bass stay under our houseboats and I've caught my share of them.

 

This morning my rod had a ned tied so I threw it in and leaned it again the rail. The water was perfectly still and the line usually hangs vertical at about 10-15 feet. I was was watching both the line and the tip of the rod,  no movement at all.  It was hanging at about a 45 degree angle away from the boat.  My wife came by and asked why it was hanging out instead of down. We both stared at it for about 5 minutes while drinking our coffee and nothing moved. I finally picked up the rod, felt some weight and a fish diving down under the boat. After a short fight I was able to reel in about a pound and a half smallmouth. 

 

My question is this, what was he doing and how did he do it without moving the line or tip of my rod? He was there when I picked up the rod and started reeling in and definitely not a strike as I was reeling in. I'm new to bass and thought you could shed some light on their behavior. 

Crappie do the same in cold water. If they feel no resistance they just stay there. The line is the giveaway.

 

5 minutes? Did you gut hook him or hook him in the mouth?

Pretty common among fish to take in a bait and leave it in their mouth for a period of time. A bite you didn’t feel or see. 

very possible he sucked it in while it was sinking and you never knew. Probably swam a few feet before you settled in and just hung out until your wife said something.

 

If I need to cast and have the bait drop straight down I need to pay particular attention to how long it drops and think if it matches the time id expect it to take to sink to the bottom at that depth. If that checks out or is close the first thing I do is get a tight enough line to see if I feel or see the line do something funky...may give it a smidge of a drag or hop before i start whatever retrieve I'm doing.

We've had many threads on light biting fish in the past. Almost any type of jig lure can be sucked in with no tell tale signs. The fish are there when you lift the rod or begin to reel in.

It was hooked in his mouth.  He put up a good fight when I started to bring him in. Water temp was 73 degrees where he was located. The line was in the water about 3-4 minutes before I noticed it wasn't vertical, I was starting breakfast on the BBQ. I usually cast along the side of the boat and let it swing down to the vertical, then reel in a couple of feet and set it down. 

If he didn't get hooked deep he probably just held onto it, or you picked it up pretty soon after he picked it up.

You wont really "see" anything when a bass hits it and rises in the water column.

With a float 'n fly...we have a special float that leans over when a fish hits it and rises.

Maybe he was like a soldier that quickly realizes that they have stepped down on a land mine and then freezes in place before lifting their foot.

 

If you fish often enough, you will witness odd behavior by the fish. That it happened is one known. Why it happened is something something that only the fish and their hairdresser know for sure.

Anchored boats "  Collect fish under it. "  I get that all the time.  But some are just resting in the shade.  May go out to check out your offering.  A different line angle is always a  pickup.

A slow dropping bait is usually attacked.  Problem is detecting the hits. from a suspended fish. I find they take it back   UP  to the suspending height. Usually a very slow line change.