Understanding How Bass Get Spooked

Spooking a bass is a bass triggered to a threat – scaring or alerting the bass. The threat will deter the bass from hunting some refer to as “being skittish” and may result in the bass to leave its current location.

Why is understanding How Bass Get Spooked Important?

It is important to understanding how bass get spooked or skittish to:   

  • Adjust Angler’s Location: By ensuring the boat is sufficient distance from the bass to help ensure sight of the angler or the angler’s shadow doesn’t make the bass skittish.
  • Select Best Cast Technique:  Choosing a roll cast, skipping or other techniques that minimize the lure splash.
  • Maximize Cast Location:  When appropriate, and possible, casting well past the bass strike zone to help ensure the lure splash doesn’t make the bass skittish, especially in calm water. 
  • Minimize Boat Noise: Minimize the boat noise to reduce the chance of a bass becoming skittish.
Understanding How Bass Get Spooked
  • Vision: Bass see a potential threat for example a boat, an angler’s shadow.
    • Sun in Bass’ Eyes: Some suggest bass have difficulty seeing objects in the sun for example a boat and angler approaching with the sun to their back. 
  • Hearing:
    • Loud Splash: Bass can be startled, get skittish and leave locations when there is a large noise.
      • Small Splash: Some suggest a small splash is good as it will alert a bass to a potential forage.
    • Boat Noise and Vibration: Some suggest talking, music, movements, closing rod lockers will impact bass
      • Electronics: Some suggest bass can hear the pinging of sonar making them somewhat hesitant. Some turn off electronics when not being used.
      • Trolling Motor: Some suggest changes in trolling motor speeds can make a bass more hesitant. Steady noise is ok.
      • Main Motor: Some suggest that a consistent noise of a motor does not impart or has little impact on bass.
        • In Gear: Some suggest the load clunk from putting a motor in gear will impact bass hesitancy. 
    • Background Noise: When the water is wavy it provides background noise making other noises less discernible. 
Large Lure Splash
Barefoot Fishing (some suggest reduces noise) - Matt Becker courtesy of MLF
Additional Considerations
  • Too Loud Lures: Some suggest that lures that make considerable noise in high lure visibility scenarios and when there is no background noise can make the bass somewhat hesitant.
  • Fish Barefoot: Some suggest fishing in bare feet will reduce boat noise. 
It's About the ALLURE™

Roll Cast Lures
Minimizes splash.

Skip Cast Lures

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