No, really, the bass would get it in their gills, get flushed out of their hidey holes and rise to the surface gasping.
Not real sporting, but it worked.
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.