Reflex Action Bites
Reflex action is the second most important reason fish strike, particularly why
bass strike, and it accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the bass I catch in a
year's time. A bass's reflex action is like the behavior of any predator-like a
cat pouncing on a mouse.
A lurking bass is seeking two things. He's seeking shade for his non-eye lidded eyes. He can't stand direct sunlight, at least not for very long, so he's going to try to shade his eyes in the shadow of a boulder or a bush or a boat dock. Second, and probably more important, is that, being a predator, he is seeking concealment to hide or camouflage his body from the wary eyes of small baitfish of some description. So the bass is in the shadows of an object, in this case an ambush point.
To get a reflex strike you need one of two types of lures: either a crank bait or a spinnerbait. They are fast-moving lures which come whipping through there. The concept of reflex-action fishing is to try to throw the lure right on the fish instead of just throwing past the bush, past the stump, or past the ambush point and quickly cranking the spinnerbait or crank bait right down to where you think he is. I think about which way the sun's shinning so I can fish on the shady side. I think about which way the wind is blowing, because the wind will automatically position the fish on these shallow cover areas. If the wind is blowing from the north, the fish will be facing the wind because of the current it creates. They can't swim backward, and they face the current. I conjure up a mental image of exactly where that bass is positioned. Then I theoretically try to snag the fish-I'm trying to get right to his eyes. And really the lure is coming right at the fish, right at his eyes, and at the last second he can do one of two things. He can either move out of the way or he can strike it in self-defense, and quite often, since bass are fairly bold and pugnacious, they will strike at that lure simply out of reflex action.
Another condition which is better for the reflex-action fishing is a cool water temperature, because that means the lure can get just a little bit closer to the bass before he knows it's there. This is kind of an advantage. Water between 45 and 65 degrees is probably best for the spinnerbait and crank bait, because the fish does not detect the presence of the lure until it is pretty much right on top of him. Then he can see it and strike it.
When the water is muddy, it is the hotter water temperature that are better for reflex-action strikes. When the water is below 50degrees and muddy, you hardly ever get strikes on these kinds of lures. If the water temperature is from 60 to 90, and the water is real muddy, you'll get a lot of good reflex strikes. Here the fish doesn't see the lure well, but his lateral sensitivity is such that detects its presence at the last second and he strikes it.
The pattern most representative of reflex-action strikes is bumping the stump with a crank bait. This is simply a great pattern because that's just a natural feeding spot. The best cover might be a stump on an exposed point, where the wave action has eroded under the roots so that there are some areas beneath that stump which the fish can use as his lair.
The best depth probably is less than 6 feet, because, remember, you need to make visual contact with these ambush points. You need to be able to identify where they are, and the best way is to spot them with Polarized sunglasses. So look for stumps in about two to six feet of water.