Reaction baits are sometimes called search baits. They are best used when fish are aggressively biting or easily provoked.
Some of the best times to use reaction baits is in the late winter and early spring. Another good season is fall, because a lot of species are trying to get fat for winter, therefore they are active. Night fishing during the summer can also be productive with reaction baits.
More than likely you already have a tackle box full of reaction baits. We are going to explore some of the more popular reaction baits shortly. Some anglers and professionals state that reaction baits work even when fish do not want to play. Therefore you can annoy them into biting or you can surprise them into action.
What Is a reaction bait?
A reaction bait is just about any lure that you purchase. Depending on how you use the lure, you will get one of many ‘reactions’ from the fish. Fish attack lures for many reasons; self defense, curiosity, aggression, or by mistake. Being hungry may be the last thing on their minds. Reaction baits catch several species of fish, but the most popular are bass, walleye, and trout.
Here are some examples of reaction baits
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular reaction baits, in detail. Most of which I guarantee that you already have in your tackle box, because almost any bait/lure can be a ”reaction bait”. Some anglers explain a reaction bite as; creating a reaction bite is different than getting a normal bite. With a reaction bite you are shocking or surprising them into a bite. One of the top picks for a reaction bait by a lot of anglers is Sebile Flat Shad. During pre-spawn and spring time this is one of the best lipless crank baits around. If you pull this reaction bait in front of the fish, they will hit it!
The second reaction bait on the list; All Terrain Tackle Grass Jig. This reaction bait is primarily used if you are flipping thick grass and is great for summertime. This reaction bait will fall in front of the fish, quickly, causing a strike. The third one on the list is best if you are going to go fishing up north. Sebile Koolie Minnow 90, will get the fish to strike out of reflex rather than hunger. This reaction bait is great around grass flats and some rock piles.
One professional angler uses the Yamamoto Swim Senko mainly when he fishes in Florida, on lakes and rivers that have a lot of submerged grass. His recommendation is to fish it fast and pause it around grass pockets or holes. Sometimes he will put a 3/16 or 1/4 ounce weight on the front of the reaction bait.
Have you tried this reaction bait?
The Sebile Fast Cast Spoon is the final one on the list. With this reaction bait you can jig it or cast it vertically. It is a versatile lure. If you jig it in colder water where fish are lurking around schooling shad. Droop it down, right in front of them and they will strike as it falls.
Most reaction baits are associated with crank baits, spooning blades, and spinner baits among others. But as stated earlier, depending on the way you cast/reel/move the lure, almost anything can be a reaction bait. Flipping a jig becomes a ‘reaction bait’. Some say that the best reaction bait is the spinner bait.
The definition of spinner bait is the following, according to Wikipedia;
“”any of a family of fishing lures that get their name from one or more metal blades shaped so as to spin like a propellor when the lure is in motion, creating varying degrees of flash and vibration that mimic small fish or other prey”.
Hard body swim baits, crank baits and others are considered reaction baits because the real life movements produce a ‘reaction strike’ from most species of fish.
Here are the top 4 reaction baits that every angler must have, if they are going to be fishing around submerged grass or grass at least a foot tall.
Seriously every angler should have these reaction baits
#1. Lipless crank bait: these are offered by many companies and in a large variety of colors/pattern. These are best defined as flat-sided lures that wobble when retrieved. They move through underwater grass and forage better than regular crank bait. Some of the most popular are:
– Strike Kind Red Eyed Shad
– Ima Rock N Vibe
– XCalibur Xr
2. Bladed Swim Jig: also referred to as the Chatterbait. Some anglers like to use it on a swift moving boat, where there is a lot of grass. The biggest question when using this reaction bait; what trailer to use? Most any plastic will work as a trailer because these reaction baits automatically mimic most forage species.
3. Swim Jig: anglers love to use these from the back of the boat. One professional uses a 5/16 Gambler Southern Swim jig with a craw-type as his trailer when fishing in submerged grass. Some of the most popular colors are as follows:
– green pumpkin with green chartreuse trailer
– black and blue with green pumpkin trailer
– black and blue with matching trailer (on dark days or in dark water)
4. Swimbait: a superb bait in submerged grass that is around a foot tall. These can be worked super slow or as fast as you can reel. You can purchase swimbaits in an array of colors but it is suggested that you match the forage/vegetation color as closely as possible. One popular color is Sexy Shad from the Strike King 5.5″ Shadalicious series.
Some of the other popular reaction baits;
– shallow diving – smaller lip on the front
– deep diving – bigger lip on the front
– jerk-baits – long skinny lures
– surface baits – any lure that floats on the surface
As you can see and as we have mentioned, almost any type of bait that you may have in your tackle box can be a reaction bait. Most fisherman have an assortment of some of these in their tackle box. There is not special lure that you need to run out and buy. You just need to learn to use, what you already have, to cause a ‘reaction’ and get the fish to strike.
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