Straight Retrieve for Bass Fishing – It’s about the Allure

Straight Retrieve

Straight Retrieve is a reel retrieve with very little rod movements typically limited to managing lure depth and secondary lure action. Most of the lure action is derived from the lure design.

Variants, Aliases and Comparisons:

Burn Retrieve is a very fast straight retrieve.
Slow-Roll Retrieve, also called Tracing, is a very slow straight retrieve (as slow as the lure will support) in some cases resulting in the lure glancing off bottom and cover.
Pop Retrieve is a straight retrieve with multiple horizontal rod pulls (short sweeps). Pop retrieve displaces water (commotion), varies lure action (e.g. flare a skirted lure) and varies speed.
- Surface Pop Retrieves: Although not always called a pop retrieve, surface pop retrieves is when the lure is moved with quick short rod tip movement with a tight line with a surface contact lure. It is different from a walk retrieve as a walk retrieve involves adding slack line after the quick rod tip movement to create the walk style lure action.
  - Slack Line: Some suggest the pop retrieve on the surface is better to add some slack line essentially a walk retrieve technique.
Wake Retrieve is a straight retrieve where the lure leaves a surface wake.

Why is Straight Retrieve Important?

Straight Retrieve is important to:

Impart Lure Action: Some lures require continuous reeling to impart their lure action.
Cover Water: Straight retrieve covers the most water.

Straight Retrieve Options

Retrieve Speed: Generally considered a retrieve for fishing fast with retrieve speed considerations:
- Optimal Impart Lure Action: Generally, lures that use the straight retrieve have a range of speeds that optimizes the lure action. The fastest speed may be called a burn retrieve while the slowest speed may be called slow roll retrieve.
- Trigger Reaction Bite: Some suggest fast retrieve, burn retrieve, will trigger more reaction bites.
Strike Zone: Pauses or reducing speed is often required to allow the lure to fall deeper to get to or stay in the strike zone.

Burn Retrieve is a very fast straight retrieve, essentially the as fast as possible for the reel and for the lure to maintain the lure’s action. Depending on the lure some call high speed retrieve “churning” for example with a bladed jig.
- Steady Speed: Some suggest a steady fast speed to help bass anticipate the lure location.
- Reaction Bite: Some suggest that bass will react to a fast moving lure in some cases going large distances.
- Cover Water: Burn retrieve will cover the most water.
- High Lure Visibility: Generally considered a retrieve where bass can see the lure from long distances.
- Shallow Technique: Generally, as the lure is moving fast resulting in the lure being shallow.
  - Heavier Lure: Some suggest a heavier lure to help keep it lower in the water column.
- High Speed Reel: Some suggest using a high speed reel over 7.0:1.
- Active Fish: Some suggest an effective retrieve when bass are actively feeding near the surface.
- Warm Water Temperature: Some suggest burn retrieve is only successful when the bass’ metabolism is at its highest in warm water.

Wake Retrieve is a straight retrieve where the lure leaves a surface wake – comparable to a wake left by a boat. Sometimes a result of a burn retrieve.
- Surface Contact Lures: Generally, surface contact lure – top water lures – create a wake.
- Slow Retrieve Speed: Generally, for surface contact lures, the goal is to create a slow wake to give bass ample time to notice and react to the wake created by the lure.
  - Fast for Sub-Surface Lures: Generally, lighter lures with a fast steady retrieve can be brought to the surface to create a wake.
- Steady Retrieve: To create a consistent wake the retrieve must be at a steady pace.
- Mimics: Some suggest wake retrieve mimics injured forage such as a wounded bait fish or a frog.
- Lure Design: Generally, lure with concave faces, propellers, or cupped lips that help them churn water for a better wake.
- Lure Size: Some suggest smaller lures for clear water and larger lures for murky water.

Slow-Roll Retrieve, also called Tracing, is a very slow straight retrieve for horizontal presentations (as slow as the lure will support) in some cases resulting in the lure glancing off bottom and cover.
- Slow Reel: This technique involves slowly turning the reel handle to keep the lure moving steadily through the water at a consistent speed and some suggest using a slow speed reel.
- Consistent Speed: Generally, slow-roll retrieve is completed at a consistent slow speed.
  - Not Dragging: Albeit, dragging is similar, dragging is generally a rod retrieve, and slow-roll is a reel retrieve, the lure is not considered being dragged on the bottom, more of a bounce on the bottom.
- Mimics: Some suggest that slow-rolling a lure mimics an injured bait fish or some other kind of bass forage.
- Colder Water Temperature: As it is a retrieve for slow fishing some suggest it is best for horizontal presentations in cold water.
- Turning Cover Contact Lures into Bottom Contact Lures: Some suggest slow-roll retrieve essentially turns lures that have been designed to come into contact with cover to lures that come into contact with bottom.
- Identifying Fish On: Some suggest that extra concentration is required to effectively distinguish a fish on versus coming into contact with objects on the bottom. Some suggest line watching as line pop could indicate fish on.
- Practice Shallow: Some suggest observing the lure on the bottom in shallow clear water to optimize the retrieve speed and lure action on the bottom.
- Pause to Re-establish Contact: Pauses is a quicker but more abrupt technique to re-establish bottom contact.
- Long Casts: As it is more challenging to keep the lure on bottom some suggest long casts and/or staying further away from the targeting spots.
- Lure Weight: Some suggest experimenting on the lure weight based on bottom composition as a heavier weighted lure is easier to keep close to the bottom but it also will get staged more easily.
- Hard Bottom vs Soft Bottom: Lure speed is generally slightly faster on soft bottom to keep the lure more above the bottom.
- Current: Cast locations may need to be adjusted when current is present as the slow-roll retrieve is susceptible to current.

Pop Retrieve, popping, is a straight retrieve with multiple horizontal rod “pops” (short sweeps). Pop retrieve displaces water (commotion), varies lure action (e.g. flare a skirted lure) and varies speed. Pop retrieve is sometimes referred to as twitching the rod not to be confused with the twitch retrieve.
- No Slack: Pop does not introduce slack into the retrieve as compared to a jerk retrieve or a walk retrieve.
  - Rod Tip: If using the rod tip to provide pop action remove any slack immediately or during the rod tip motion as slack could negatively impact the lure action.
- Surface Contact Lures: Popping a surface contact lure:
  - Lure Action: Create splashes, spitting, and generally a surface commotion.
  - Mimics: Mimics the movement of injured prey or struggling baitfish.
  - Pause for Circular Wake: Some suggest that after a pop to pause the retrieve to create a circular wake.
  - Regular Cadence: Some suggest a regular cadence to the pops during the retrieve.
- Sub-Surface Lures:
  - Rod Movements during Straight Retrieve. Use short, quick rod movement to impart subtle lure movements to the lure.
    - Coordinate Rod and Reel Movements: Coordinate rod movements with reel handle turns to create a seamless and effective popping retrieve.
  - Reaction Bite: The irregular movements can trigger reaction bite from bass that are drawn to the perceived vulnerability of the bait fish.
  - Lure Action: Flare the skirt for skirted lure.
  - Mimics: Similar to jerk retrieve but not as erratic as the lure movements mimics an injured or distressed bait fish.
  - Practice Pop Frequency and Intensity: Some suggest optimizing the frequency and intensity by practicing in shallow water as unlike surface contact lures it is more challenging to see the lure action.

Additional Considerations

Initial Action: Generally, there is slack line to allow the lure to drop to the desired depth prior to commencing the retrieve. (Not lures like hard jerkbaits and lipped crankbaits that need to be reeled to the desired depth.)
Secondary Action: Pauses to allow the lure to drop or to entice a reaction bite. Also, using the rod to pop the lure (pop retrieve) during the retrieve to vary the speed and lure action.
Bottom Composition: Some suggest a lure that supports a slow roll retrieve instead of a bottom lure when there is soft bottom composition.