Have you ever heard someone on tv talk about reaction fishing or someone say that they are looking for a reaction bite? Ever wonder what they ment by making the fish bite? Its when you force the fish to eat even when they don't want to. But how do you do it? One way i do it is making a perfect pitch into the middle of a bush and make the jig crash to the bottom then hop it twice then pitch it to another spot. By doing this the jig is dropped infront of the fish's face and forced to bite out of surprise. I do the same thing with spinnerbaits or bouncing crankbaits. What are some of the things you do to get a reaction bite?

Burn a stickbait or rattle trap. Or my fav. buzzbait. Need I say more!

Rattle trap burned over grass!

One of the biggest ways to make fish react is to make the lure look like its trying to get away or when a lure changes speeds or direction.

i dont think a lipless crank can be beat when looking for a reaction strike, they are very noisly and can have alot of flash.

I love soft jerkbaits when you drop them next to cover and twitch them really quickly away.. the bass sees an easy meal and just has to eat it, whether he's hungry or not!

:oI like the DOUBLE Fluke rig for a reaction bait. The two flukes dance and chase each other. Works awesome!! I learned this rig from a Woo Daves Video. When the fishing is slow this works well. I also like the jig technique mentioned above!!

Tight Lines,

Fatdaddy 151

One way i get a reaction bite is to take a slug-go and rig it so the nose of the bait is swooped up. What i do is pitch it in a spawning bed and let the bait sit in the middle of it. Then i shake it like a tube until the bass sits infront of it with its nose to it. Then i take my rod and make the bait jerk hard.

When i do this the bait shoots up infront of the fish's face and he reacts to it by hitting it. Force feed southern style lol

Crankbaits....!  

Buzzbaits in summer, jerkbaits in fall, jig in winter and a jerkbait or soft jerkbait in spring

If you hit 'em on the head, everything works!  Otherwise, I'll agree with several other posts, lipless crankbaits (LV 500 or Rat-L Traps) are the most productive for me.  I think the deal is, the fish must either strike or the bait is "gone forever".  It's yes or no, not maybe.

Maybe skipping a bait if your really good at it? Anybody tried skipping baits for a reaction bite?