Can you reel faster than a bass swims?

[otaymichael]

Bass hit my full speed topwater flukes with such precision, and speed, it always amazes me. Thus my wondering on their speed.

According to one post on a search, you'd be hard pressed to reel TOO FAST!

"LMB can swim about 12 mph with burst speed to 20 mph.
Bass rely on quick turns, not sustained forward speed to catch bait fish.
The fastest bass reel with 7.3 to 1 ratio can attain a lure speed of approximately 4 to 5 mph and a bass can easily chase that down, if they want it."

Barrett this past Wed.. Got 12 on top, some bigger ones coming unbuttoned at the boat.

[camobass]

I’ve wound down on fish throwing to the bank when they bolt for deep water. More times than I can remember, winding like my life depended on it and couldn’t come tight till the fish was far and deep.

[VinnyBass]

I’ve wound down on fish throwing to the bank when they bolt for deep water. More times than I can remember, winding like my life depended on it and couldn’t come tight till the fish was far and deep.

You could not have said it better @Camobass as I have experienced that many times though the years..... and El Cap always comes to mind. Across the lake from the boat dock we used to fish a do-nothing type bank that went into a cove late in the day. If you got bit, the bass would almost immediately more often than not head like a freight train out to deeper water faster than you could reel until line slack got tight. I mean it was crazy and that is when I realized that if you set the hook and do not feel the bass, you need to reel fast as the bass is probably taking off towards you or by you into deeper water.

[Fisheromen]

Got a couple reels faster that 7.3, but the answer is still no.

[Everydog]

Bass Ambush speed/aggression is indeed shocking.

This is probably obvious to everybody; From a boat, I almost always consider it a huge favor that bass tend to swim into deep water because it's typically away from hazards. From shore, it gives them an advantage a lot of the time, even if just because of pulling them uphill, but it gives them a lot of opportunity to swim sideways and catch boulders, or cover. With my pedal Kayak, I quickly follow them to deep water and play the fish more vertically from there or keep peddling even deeper, especially with light tackle. I try to keep the fish's head up and line tight until he gets to deep water with a high-ish rod tip.

Can't wait until my broken foot heals so I can fish again though. Tight lines.

[camobass]

Bill Murphy 101 ^^^

[DarkShadow]

I have a few 8.0.1 gear reels that recover line pretty quickly.

What surprises me about bass, is how you can get them to 'react' simply by speeding up your retrieve. There have been plenty of days in the winter where I experienced murky water, where the 'by the book' retrieve would've been very slow, since it was cold.

Yet, a fast retrieve probably mimicked fleeing bait fish that triggered that response. A slow retrieve would've resulted in an empty live well.