Recently I have been mostly fishing with crank baits the bomber A craw w/ orange belly to be exact and have been getting numerous strikes right at the boat.  When I switch to a different pattern the majority of my strikes seem to come much closer to structure.  I thought this might be because I was retrieving too quickly but after slowing it down I still had lots of close strikes.  I also position my boat very far away from the area I fish so I know that the fish have plenty of time to locate the bait.  So my question is are these close strikes a result of a flawed presentation and could it be costing me fish.

Whenever that begins happening I start off thinking the bass are reacting mostly to the bait rising as though beginning to flee. As a lure gets closer to the boat it's rising above it's earlier plane of travel. On the next cast, if the lure can sink or dive, I'll pause it then jerk it high. That ought to get a strike, on the rise. You already know they are not biting on the fall or a straight retrieve. Another change is to swing the rod tip far left then far right between a few cranks of the reel, changing lure direction. The idea is to make the lure appear to have got nervous then try to escape.

Jim

If the visibility is very poor that happens quite oftenly, they happen at the boat because the fish has been following the bait until it is able to locate the motion, when it jumps on it that happens almost right at the boat.

A theory says that the Bass see the boat as a hiding place for the 'bait'(forage fish) and so they finally commit at the last moment.  This is when a properly set drag can save losing a Bass to a busted line.

Dan

Okay think I figured this one out.  I have mostly been using a straight retrive but tend to crank the bait faster and pull up as my lure approaches the boat.  Ill try a more distressed retrieve with jerks and changes in reeling speed next time out.  Thanks for the help!

This happens to me atleast 50% of my cranked bass. Thx for the advice.

i get that a lot with pickerel but so much with bass.  looked down the other day and a monster pickerel is staring me in the face from 3 feet away  

whenever im getting a lot of followers i will make subtle color changes as sometimes this will make them commit earlier.  this is probally not the case for you since it dosent sound like they are having trouble committing just that they are doing it late but i thought id throw it out there.

matt

Just try to modify your presentation a little, add maybe a feathered treble hook to the back of your crankbait, or maybe add some bait attractant.  These could help you get a strike.