gunsndrums1 Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 I was thinking today if you fish a lure that imitates something that doesn't live there, will bass still hit it? Around my local lakes and ponds we have sunnies and minnows swimming around mainly (worms, lizards and grubs too) but if I threw a rage craw or a shad rap would they hit it? I've never seen any crawfish or shad in the shallows. I usually see crawfish up north in the state on an unnamed smallmouth hotspot. Also I noticed how long some of these plastic worms are. Some of the curly tail worms bassinisaddicting sent me are pushing 10-12 inches. When you go to a tackle shop and buy a can of dmf nightcrawlers the longest they are is maybe 5-6 inches. How many worms are actually a foot long? I know big bait=big fish but this stuff seems excessive... Also some big fish have been caught on small stuff too. Quote
Smokinal Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 Sure, bass "eat" for a number of reasons. They eat to feed themselves; they eat out of instinct (reaction bites); and they will "eat" just to see what something is. You have to remember, bass don't have hands and can't talk so if a bass sees something, natural or not, they may pick it up to feel the object. Sometimes it's blown back out if the bass senses something unnatural, that's when we went to set the hook but nothing was there. That's also why scents can help getting a hook in the fish if a bass hits your bait and is deciding what to do with it, a scent can make him hold it just that split second longer to get a hookset on him. So just because a bait doesn't look like anything in a particular lake, bass will still hit it. 2 Quote
Super User WRB Posted March 21, 2015 Super User Posted March 21, 2015 Bass can be very selective feeders when an abundance of prey that suits them is available. The bass in general are opertunistic feeders striking whatever they believe is prey. Bass are also very protective of their nest sites when spawning, they remove whatever they think is a danger to the nest. Almost every bass lake, pond, stream or river has a crawdad population. Terrestrial animals like birds, mice, rats and insects also make up prey source with land, aquatic animals and insects including all types of snakes, lizards, salamanders, frogs. Fish of all types present in the water that bass can eat, they eat or try to. Your artificial lure is another choice for the bass to decide what it is and if it wants to eat it. The only way to know is give the lure a try and let the bass decide. Tom 4 Quote
Khan of the Res Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 one of the best baits tom fish is a 5 inch senko but, how often do you see bright and florescent worms swimming around in the water? You are tricking the fish, thats why it's called bait. 1 Quote
Matthew2000 Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 one of the best baits tom fish is a 5 inch senko but, how often do you see bright and florescent worms swimming around in the water? You are tricking the fish, thats why it's called bait. I don't think that's why its called bait. Quote
Khan of the Res Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 I don't think that's why its called bait. Definition of bait: Noun - Food or other fabrications used to entice fish or other animals as prey. 2 Quote
RMcDuffee726 Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 I don't think that's why its called bait. Stop trying to argue on the forum (we don't really want to hear it). 6 Quote
Kevin22 Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 Ive never seen a firetiger colored fish, yet that color excells around here. All about triggering that basic predator instinct inside every bass. General rule is i use natural colors in clear water and anything bright in dirty water. Quote
RanndomUndead Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 As long as it acts like food. Shakey heads for instance, really dont imitate much of anything other than an out of place underwater leaf. You just simply dont see 6 inch long worms shaking their rear in any waters that i know of. But, it gives off such a vulnerable appearance that literally even the smallest bass will attack a 10" shakey head in any waters. Where as something like one of the erratic crankbaits dont quite give us such a vulernable appearance and may not always produce Quote
Super User everythingthatswims Posted March 22, 2015 Super User Posted March 22, 2015 Ive never seen a firetiger colored fish, yet that color excells around here. All about triggering that basic predator instinct inside every bass. General rule is i use natural colors in clear water and anything bright in dirty water. Exactly, shad don't turn chartreuse during muddy water, and crayfish don't turn black and blue, but that's what we use to get better bites in those situations. Quote
FrogTastic Posted March 22, 2015 Posted March 22, 2015 Bass fishing is all about getting the fish to bite. If you run something right in front of a big bass' face really fast, they will most likely strike from reaction. If you can tick off a bass, they're gonna attack whatever's got them mad. Speaking of big worms, try tomhawks. Rig 'em on a 4/0 Trokar hook and a 1/4 ounce eagle claw weight. Drew ~Catch 'em Quote
Jiggy With It Posted March 22, 2015 Posted March 22, 2015 The colors we see and the colors fish see are also different, especially deep in cloudy-murky water Quote
Super User smalljaw67 Posted March 22, 2015 Super User Posted March 22, 2015 Tom gave you very good advice, Bass do become selective when certain prey is available in abundance and there are times when it seems like the fish won't hit anything and we say they are in a negative mood but we see them busting the surface yet they won't touch our offerings. That is something that happens but most of the time Bass are opportunistic and they will eat anything that they can catch that will fit in their mouth. We have a lake that is full of alewives but not a single shad, but shad imitations do very well but at times they will key on the alewives and when that happens you better have a bait that is similar in size and color to them or you won't get bit. The only way to find out is experiment and see what will work based on conditions. Quote
Super User Paul Roberts Posted March 23, 2015 Super User Posted March 23, 2015 Lures are generally poor mimics of real food. This is just one of the reasons not all fish at all times are biters. I often think of lures as what they really are: chunks of plastic, wood, and metal. They are tools -as much screwdriver as "bass food". When, where, and how we apply them, rather than what they look like to us in the palm of our hand, matters most. Just bc a lure has "shad" in the name doesn't mean it represents a shad to a bass, unless possibly it's well-presented in a real shad context -and at those times a lot of things might, or might not, pass for "shad". Shad Raps and other "shad-style"/flat-sided crankbaits can work just fine in bluegill, perch, and other prey fish species contexts too. Whether the lure will trip the trigger has a lot to do with what the bass expects to see -what attributes signal "food". This provided the bass is actually hunting or willing to expend the energy to catch that "food". An awful lot of real food goes uneaten every day. As Tom mentions above, whether the bass are more apt to be more "selective" or "opportunistic" depends on the abundance/availability of prey. Bass that struck lures made a mistake. Sky and water conditions are probably the biggest factors outside of feeding activity/anticipation level the bass are in at the moment. And, generally, the more experience a given fish has with a given lure the bigger the mistake. Some individual fish are more prone to such mistakes than are others. Hope this helps you put lures and luring bass into some perspective. Quote
yugrac Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 When I was a kid I fished with a guy for a few summers who had fished all over the country, and had caught many different species of fish, he always told me, All the fish sees is something moving in the water, They dont know what it is until they put it in there mouth. Some lures dont look like anything in nature. Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted March 24, 2015 Super User Posted March 24, 2015 It's just like some people throwing swimbaits that don't have any trout in their waters, but yet still get bit using a trout patterned bait. The bass see an easy meal and eats it. A buzzbait is another example. What does it really imitate that you have seen while fishing? For me the answer is nothing. Yet they still eat them. Opportunity to feed. Quote
RSM789 Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 ...A buzzbait is another example. What does it really imitate that you have seen while fishing? For me the answer is nothing... A small waterfowl (duck, mudhen) scooting across the surface? A waterlogged sparrow trying to flap its way out of the water? A midget doing the backstroke? Quote
PersicoTrotaVA Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 It's just like some people throwing swimbaits that don't have any trout in their waters, but yet still get bit using a trout patterned bait. The bass see an easy meal and eats it. A buzzbait is another example. What does it really imitate that you have seen while fishing? For me the answer is nothing. Yet they still eat them. Opportunity to feed. Have you ever seen a mouse or rat swim? How about a muskrat? A snake? It looks like a buzzbait going across the water. The noise most likely mimics the sound of swimming legs and feet. Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted March 24, 2015 Super User Posted March 24, 2015 I have and yes I'll agree that it may make a similar trail in the water but nothing I've encountered makes any type of noise that even remotely sounds like that of a buzzbait. They see it from below and make a split second decision to eat or not eat. Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted March 24, 2015 Super User Posted March 24, 2015 A small waterfowl (duck, mudhen) scooting across the surface? A waterlogged sparrow trying to flap its way out of the water? A midget doing the backstroke? Hey, I'm only 4'11 so that'll be enough with the midget jokes. Quote
Super User Paul Roberts Posted March 24, 2015 Super User Posted March 24, 2015 ... A midget doing the backstroke? I once made a lure using a "Creepy Crawler" mold. It was a Tarzan mold so, using melted soft plastics, I essentially made a 3" long human form and fished it T-rigged in a pond full of stunted bass. Must have caught 20 before the lure had no appendages and wouldn't stay on the hook. Not sure what they took it for. Maybe a buzzbait? Quote
RSM789 Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 I once made a lure using a "Creepy Crawler" mold. It was a Tarzan mold so, using melted soft plastics, I essentially made a 3" long human form and fished it T-rigged in a pond full of stunted bass. Must have caught 20 before the lure had no appendages and wouldn't stay on the hook. Not sure what they took it for. Maybe a buzzbait? Next up is attaching a pair of treble hooks to a Barbie doll & using her like a Zara Spook. If you fish her feet first, her hair will work like a rubber skirt to & fro. 1 Quote
einscodek Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 Have you ever seen anything like a spinnerbait in the water? I've not.. I know its supposed to look like a fish of some sort but it takes a real imagination esp in clearer water and they do bite those even in clear water. So who knows what the bass "sees" in any of these lures.. we'll never know.. ask a bass and get a tail in the face Try it .. if it works.. use it some more Quote
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