Rigger question

[Irish eyes]

Often when I pop the lure off the rigger to check it I end up triggering a bite. Looking for theories of why fish find this action so irresistible?

 

[Stick]

Baitfish rise to escape predators. It's a natural trigger as opposed to an unnatural straight line swimming pattern.

 

[Ticker]

Also lowering and raising your rigger often will get you a strike within seconds
Same as dropping dipsy and leadcore back , even if its only 10 feet
I believe its predatory instinct eat it before it's gets away

 

[Quacker_Smacker]

Had the same last fri tripped a dipsey to change lure bam fish on.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Sometimes fish are just following or checking lure out.... and any movement....speed change ..etc can trigger them to hit

 

[Billybender]

We do that many times per trip, especially as we go through a big ball of bait fish and works like a charm, my theory is it looks like and injured bait fish that's easy pickings leaving the pack and so they attack it, just my theory, but works as I said like a charm, same as a good turn, creates same result

 

[singlemalt]

Many decades ago I worked as a “mate” on a very busy and successful charter boat on Lake O. I had to be ready because when the Captain saw us passing through a particularly big school of bait he would holler and I would run across the back of the boat popping ever other rod off the release. The sudden change in pattern and direction of the baits was so often successful that it was worth the time to re-set everything.

 

[600mojo]

I’ve got 2-3 bows and a few pickerel off the dipsy this year by holding the rod and jigging it back and forth a few times. I think if something is following, the change in movement will get the to bit.

 

[Twister]

Are you sure you're not just dragging small fish around? Pics often don't trigger the release. I pop mine every 20 minutes to check and either they hit it right then or they were on all ready on. I usually pull lines short of a limit because 1 of the line may be dragging a fish especially if its bumpy.

 

[doubleman]

I've had that happen too many times to count. Now when I check a lure I pull it off the release and put the rod in the holder while I wind the trigger up, giving it some time to pull up to the surface will often trigger a bite

 

[ch312]

Are you sure you're not just dragging small fish around? Pics often don't trigger the release. I pop mine every 20 minutes to check and either they hit it right then or they were on all ready on. I usually pull lines short of a limit because 1 of the line may be dragging a fish especially if its bumpy.

With properly set releases they’ll pop when little 16” eyes hit...

That said, there’s many videos online of all sorts of freshwater fish that follow the lures for sometimes minutes before hitting or taking off. Also many videos showing these fish following for a while until the speed or direction of the lure changes which triggers a hit.

But yes, many people with cheap or improperly set releases to drag around fish.