The Need For Speed

As soon as the baitfish entered the water, I could tell they were in trouble.

Bass bolted from every direction to devour the hapless prey, despite frantic attempts at escape. This feeding frenzy at the Bass Pro Shops aquarium in Springfield taught me a valuable lesson—if a bass is hungry enough, it can catch virtually anything that swims.

The same theory holds true when presenting lures to bass. I recall several instances when I would quickly reel in a lure that wasn’t running properly and a bass would smash it.

In their constant quest for success, bass pros have noted this phenomenon and taken advantage of this aggressive behavior by employing a high-speed retrieve known as “burning” a bait. “I used to think

I could out-reel the fish but it’s impossible,” says Bill Roberts, a regional tournament veteran from Benton City, Washington. “Even with high-speed reels you can’t reel fast enough if a bass wants that bait.”

Any lure can be burned, but some baits produce better results at high speed. Here are some top choices.

Quick Cranking

When Columbia River smallmouths move to the shallows in May and June and in the fall, Bill Roberts burns crawfish or shad color Worden’s Timber Tiger DC-5 and DC-8 crankbaits. This technique also produces largemouth for him in the shallows of the California Delta. “Tom Seward, lure designer for Yakima Bait Company, built these baits so they don’t flip out or run sideways when you burn them in shallow water,” Roberts says. “They tuck and roll right along the bottom. These baits also go through cover really well too.”

Roberts burns a Timber Tiger with a 61⁄2-foot medium or medium-heavy baitcasting rod and Quantum Accurist PT series (6.2:1 gear ratio) reel with 10- or 12-pound-test mono. “I wind them about as fast as I can turn the handle of the reel,” he says. “Sometimes I burn the crank all the way back to the boat. But if it hits something, I pause it for a second before cranking again. That pause-and-run action often draws a strike.”

Roberts burns a Timber Tiger both with the flow and against current. “Bass often hold on top of little humps or points, and you can catch them by casting with the current and burning the crankbait back upstream,” he notes.

This high-speed presentation produces limits quickly. He once caught a seven-fish limit in 8 minutes by cranking a Timber Tiger as fast as he could. Another time it took him just 15 minutes to accumulate a tournament-winning limit of five smallies weighing more than 21 pounds.

Jimmy Mason, an Alabama guide and regional tournament competitor, has found that smallmouth and spotted bass relating to current on the Coosa and Tennessee River chains of reservoirs in Alabama also relish a speedy crankbait. Mason shifts to a high-speed retrieve during fall, when the water is typically clearer and the river bass feed heavily in fast water as they fatten up for winter.

His choice is a Bomber Deep Flat A in sun perch, firetiger, or Tennessee shad colors. “This bait is very stable at high speeds,” Mason says. “It won’t roll or flare from one side to the other when you crank it real fast.” His gear for this tactic includes a 7-foot Kistler rod and 5.1:1 gear ratio baitcasting reel spooled with 12-pound green Silver Thread AN40 line.