Reaction Lure Tips for Australian Bass

By Charles West

As the months warm up so do the bass’s appetite for their aggressive attack on reaction style lures. The excitement of the hard-hitting strike from a bass is exhilarating and is what most angers love about this time of year.

What is a Reaction Lure?

A reaction lure is a lure that instinctively triggers a reaction from a fish.  They usually include lures like crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatter baits, reaction baits are usually cranked at a consistent speed.

Where to Fish

A perfect location for this style of lures is your local rivers and dams, from the bank or boat. River and dam bass love ambushing their prey, and reaction lures are an exhilarating way to target them. From casting at heavy cover like trees, laydown timber, to rocks and weed; all these structures hold bass waiting to aggressively strike your lure and run straight back into cover. There is nothing more rewarding than making that pinpoint cast where you think a fish is going to be, then BANG...... a bass hits the lure like a freight train and the rod loads, and the line starts to peel off.

These times are so rewarding and can create memorable catches that you will remember for years to come. Every time I am on the water at this time of year, you will see me with a baitcaster outfit making precision casts at structure trying to trigger that reaction bite. Bass love holding on the main forms of structure mentioned above. Time will tell on what structure they are holding on, so you just need to go through the paces and try various locations etc. My favorite by far would be standing timber as you just do not know if you are going to get that fish out. That heighted sense of excitement and anticipation is what it is about. The powerful strike and the explosive lunge of the bass trying to get back to the structure feels like a tug of war between fish an angler. I love it.

What Tackle to Use

Traditionally these types of lures are fished on baitcasting equipment for the casting accuracy and easy control while casting these lures. The correct rod and reel for each lure can make all the difference for landing those memorable captures.

Single hook presentations are better suited to a faster tapered rod, and lures with treble hooks requiring a regular tapered rod. For the purposes of this blog, I will refer to the 23 Tatula rod range as all these rods are clearly marked as fast and regular tapered in their descriptions. Length and rod rating is important too so you can match lure weight for casting and length for cast distance needed. Find the rod that best suits the lure you are using. Pick a long rod if you need to cast a long distance and vice versa.

Daiwa has an abundance of a choice when it comes to baitcaster reels you can use for this application. From reel size to retrieve ratios we have all styles covered, with the perfect allrounder being the 23 Tatula TW 100 reel. These reels are designed perfectly to match up with their counterpart in the Tatula rod range. The Tatula TW series of reel come in three different gear ratios for your liking of retrieve speed, from a slow retrieve to a fast retrieve. With 6kg of drag pressure these reels will have no problem extracting those angry bass from any heavy structure you are fishing.

Line and Leader

A great mainline and leader will help you stay connected to these fish when fighting them in and around structure. Choosing the right size/pound PE and leader is the difference between landing a fish or not. Finding the line that gives you the confidence you need when fishing for these aggresse in tight structure is especially important for you piece of mind and trust that the line that connects you to your capture will not fail you. I tend to use PE1 to PE2 which cover me from the distinctive styles of reaction lures I use regularly. Pair that up with 12lb – 20lb fluorocarbon leader, is ample enough for what I am doing. I chose fluorocarbon for the invisible presentation and the abrasion resistance capabilities it has. Daiwa’s J-Braid range has you covered from mainline to leader material to use for the application.

To sum it all up, next time you are heading out for a bass fish try a reaction lure. Pack the right rod and reel spoiled up with the correct line, and tie on the appropriate pound fluorocarbon leader for the structure you are casting at. When fishing look for structure that has good ambush points, make those pinpoint casts, and hold on.

Keep casting, keep believing.