What exactly is a "reaction strike"?
A feeding strike is deliberate: the fish tracked the bait and committed. A reaction strike is a reflex hijacked by sudden change — a crankbait ricocheting off a stump, a jig deflecting off wood, a lure ripped free of a grass clump — that fires before the fish can decide not to eat. This is why deflections and speed changes catch fish that refuse a steady retrieve, and why reaction presentations shine in cold water, after fronts, and on pressured fish. Engineer collisions on purpose.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about How it strikes
- Why do largemouth sometimes just "hold" the bait instead of running with it?
- Why did the bite feel like dead weight instead of a hit?
- Why am I getting short strikes that only nip the tail?
- Why do largemouth follow my lure and then refuse it?
- How should hook-set timing differ between soft plastics and treble-hook baits?
- Do largemouth jump, and why do they throw crankbaits and lipless baits so often?
Same topic, other species
- Why do I keep missing fish when I lift the jig? — Crappie
- How do you get a hookset through a big rubber bait? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Why do perch keep biting the tail off my minnow? — Yellow Perch
- Do I really need a wire leader every single time? — Northern Pike
- What is a "reaction strike" and why does banging rocks trigger it? — Smallmouth Bass
- Why do I get so many short strikes and bumped lures? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- How should I work a jig for walleye — snap it or drag it? — Walleye