Bass Fishing Physics

[Sam]

OK, so I stole the thread in another topic post and thought it would be interesting to get your input on physics in bass fishing.

 

The Physics of Baseball is a fantastic book. It presents how physics works when the bat hits the ball; what types of pitches do what; fielding; throwing; catching; and the other impact of physics on the game.  Try to find the book if you can. Very interesting read.

 

Now, how about the Physics of Bass Fishing???

 

Rods. Reels. Line. Weights. Techniques. Setting hooks. Feeling bites. Structure. Cover. Props. Boat hull designs. Weight of bass boats. And the list goes on.

 

So what do you think is impacted the most by physics when bass fishing or moving from one place to another in your boat or walking along the bank?

 

Come on. Give this some thought and we can have a very interesting conversation on everything impacted by physics in bass fishing, which is everything.

[fishangdood]

Just opened a can.  I'm following this post!

[K_Mac]

That boats float and water freezes from the top down are two biggies, but the physics of putting your bait exactly where you want it is my first choice. It is a very complex equation that most of us don't give a lot of thought.

[Tony L.]

Still a bit too early in the morning to wrap my head around something this complex, but not too early to realize you just hit on a really interesting topic of conversation. I can't wait to see what others have to say, have some more coffee, and join in on the debate. Hopefully there are a few experts wandering around the forums to offer us a bit of guidance.

If we are adding topics of conversation, I think that it would be neat to also talk about how sound and vibration travel through water, how light penetrates the surface and impacts the perception of color, and of course--- the mechanics of casting.

[Montanaro]

Bass leveraging hooks

[matuka]

This is Great! Physics! I'm afraid physics too often made me wanna puke back at the U, (ie intra abdominal pressure producing force greater than contractile force of the esophageal sphincter resulting in ...see, you did it again). I enjoyed the subject, but have bad memories.  I too will follow. Reels and rods you closet geeks! Let me have it! luv that stuff ! BTW I too have read bout physics and baseball.   

[SirSnookalot]

Finding them doesn't guarantee success, it does increase your odds.  Rods, reels, lines, lures, etc are great conversation topics,  but nohow is the best producer.  Whatever the species I'm a sight (hearing too) caster first, I'm always looking to cast to a target

[Bruce424]

Water displacement. Every bait you put in the water pushes water, no matter how small, your moving water. Kinda fascinating.

[matuka]

Water displacement. Every bait you put in the water pushes water, no matter how small, your moving water. Kinda fascinating.

Ok, so I will chime in. And I have to guess the importance here is whether that relative force of that wave created by the displacement is a good or bad thing to the bass,at that moment. I suppose only the bass knows.

[MickD]

The modern baitcasting reel is a wonderland of applied physics.  Magnetic brakes, centrifugal brakes, coloumb friction, lubrication, gear ratios, dynamics, and more.

[einscodek]

OK, so I stole the thread in another topic post and thought it would be interesting to get your input on physics in bass fishing.

 

The Physics of Baseball is a fantastic book. It presents how physics works when the bat hits the ball; what types of pitches do what; fielding; throwing; catching; and the other impact of physics on the game.  Try to find the book if you can. Very interesting read.

 

Now, how about the Physics of Bass Fishing???

 

Rods. Reels. Line. Weights. Techniques. Setting hooks. Feeling bites. Structure. Cover. Props. Boat hull designs. Weight of bass boats. And the list goes on.

 

So what do you think is impacted the most by physics when bass fishing or moving from one place to another in your boat or walking along the bank?

 

Come on. Give this some thought and we can have a very interesting conversation on everything impacted by physics in bass fishing, which is everything.

Lots of physics going on.. from the angle of sunlight in the various seasons and times of day to the absorption of enrgy by murky water to the angle of retrieve changing the closer your lure approaches on its return to the fact water is largely considered incompressible and transmits vibrations much fast than air to proper way of sharpening of hookpoints to the penetration of light into the water and how color is affected to the slack pull slack of a properly timed walk the dog..

All of this comes together into you landing a fish or not  by probabilities converging of multitudes of factors at the time you are fishing

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Knots

[Sam]

Bass leveraging hooks

 

Yes!  How come when you hook a big lady on a treble hook bait, with at least six hooks to stick her, she can throw the bait at the boat?

 

How come if you allow any slack in the line after hooking a bass on a treble hook bait they can throw it?

 

I was told that when a bass grabs a treble hook bait and starts to jump and twist the pressure created acts like a fulcrum and the hooks will pull out of the bass' mouth. I have lost bass at the boat on crankbaits and also when I allowed just a tad of slack in the line when fighting the fish. I still have problems figuring out both situations.

 

And what about that Texas or Shaky Head presentation where the bass throws off the hook after a hard hookset? How does that happen? You get the hit. You set the hook hard over your head. The bass takes off. And then the bass comes unhooked. How? Good, hard hit. Great hookset. Waited a few seconds before setting the hook to make sure she had the bait in her mouth. And she still gets off. Explain this to me, please.

 

Treble hooks. There are all kinds of treble hooks. Long shank. Short shank. Different sizes. Different colors. Other variables. Which ones are the best? The ones that come on the baits or the ones you select to change out the ones that come on the baits? And why is it important to have a larger front treble hook than the rear hook? And why do the pros remove the rear hook from lipless and square bill crankbaits?

 

Any input?

[Sam]

The modern baitcasting reel is a wonderland of applied physics.  Magnetic brakes, centrifugal brakes, coloumb friction, lubrication, gear ratios, dynamics, and more.

 

MickD, yes, you are correct.

 

So why do we agonize about purchasing a reel? What makes one reel more efficient than another?

 

Which reels cast better and which ones can take the abuse and still keep on performing as expected?

 

When spooling line, why use a backing on the spool? How much line do you need to make sure the casting ability is maximized?

 

How tight should you set the drag?

 

Under what conditions should you not use your reel as it could be damaged by the size of the fish or the structure/cover you are fishing?

 

The parts of each reel are generally the same. Some reels have advanced systems while others do not.

 

So what do we do when selecting a reel that will perform as expected day to day to day no matter how we abuse it?

[hoosierbass07]

 I was going to start a new thread but this question might fall into physics - what are the most and least aerodynamic lures that cast well and not well when using a baitcaster?  I'm trying to get into baitcasters and so far have been playing around with crankbaits.  They seem to fly through the air nicely and even cut through some wind.  But I read spinnerbaits catch the wind easily.  So which lures catch the least amount and which lures catch the most?  I want to know about all the basic ones:  Texas rigged worms/stick baits/lizards/creature baits, jigs with trailers, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, frogs, walk the dog type lures, small hair jigs, inline spinners and spoons.  

[Ozark_Basser]

Physics plays a HUGE role in bass fishing. Hydrodynamics factors in how we design and fish lures along with how bass boats are designed. Thermodynamics plays into fish location and seasonal patterns, not to mention the solubility of gases, in particular, oxygen.

The concept I tend to lean on the most in my fishing is density. Whether it's the rate of fall of a jig, swimbait, or jerkbait, the buoyancy of a particular plastic on a drop shot or shakey head, the bouyancy of a crankbait, or line selection, density plays the biggest role for me.

[Team9nine]

Everything...if you get right down to it - way too much to even begin trying to reply.

 

-T9

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Sunglasses the physics behind polarization & lens tint enabling me to look into the water to spot cover/weeds/logs and even fish.  Also the ergonomic physics applied to style/fit/comfort of frame to prevent me from getting a headache and not being able to concentrate.

[chelboed]

Bass fishing physics. Way to bring nerdville to a good old down home manly hobby.

I guess that's what you get when you discuss fishing on the interwebz.

[Josh Smith]

I have always thought it interesting how much power we give up for speed with rods.

 

I can lift my 50-lb son up with one arm, not a problem.

 

You put me on a rod and a 15lb fish is a challenge.

 

Josh

[matuka]

Yes!  How come when you hook a big lady on a treble hook bait, with at least six hooks to stick her, she can throw the bait at the boat?

 

How come if you allow any slack in the line after hooking a bass on a treble hook bait they can throw it?

 

I was told that when a bass grabs a treble hook bait and starts to jump and twist the pressure created acts like a fulcrum and the hooks will pull out of the bass' mouth. I have lost bass at the boat on crankbaits and also when I allowed just a tad of slack in the line when fighting the fish. I still have problems figuring out both situations.

 

And what about that Texas or Shaky Head presentation where the bass throws off the hook after a hard hookset? How does that happen? You get the hit. You set the hook hard over your head. The bass takes off. And then the bass comes unhooked. How? Good, hard hit. Great hookset. Waited a few seconds before setting the hook to make sure she had the bait in her mouth. And she still gets off. Explain this to me, please.

 

Treble hooks. There are all kinds of treble hooks. Long shank. Short shank. Different sizes. Different colors. Other variables. Which ones are the best? The ones that come on the baits or the ones you select to change out the ones that come on the baits? And why is it important to have a larger front treble hook than the rear hook? And why do the pros remove the rear hook from lipless and square bill crankbaits?

 

Any input?

I'll take a little stab at this, though it's not quite high level physics that I am trying to convey, (no can do). First off, we all are going to lose fish from hooks shaking loose, single hooks, jigs and all of our favorite treble hooks. The way I have pondered this to sooth my nerves after dumping a fish is with treble hooks we often never get a good hook set anyway. If a bass swallows say, a squarebill, there are potentially six points to pierce the flesh on the inside of the fishes mouth. Then it needs to penetrate into more secure cartilage or bone past the barb. If three or four hook points connect simultaneously, then the force needed to get these four hooks to penetrate quadruples, I would think. With stretchy line and a softer cranking rod that produces a lever arm of say, 2/3 thirds it's length, I'm not confident we can apply all that force. Now if one hook sticks solid, that crank has no more room to advance and penetrate subsequent hook points. Some may stick in the mucosal layer in the mouth, but penetrate further? I'm not too sure. You are left to fight with one small hook. I don't recall ever unhooking a treble that forced it's way all the way thru the bone like a jig hook would in the top of the mouth, (not the thinner lip or the membrane connecting the two). There are a host of Delta fisherman here who subscribe to the braid and flipping stick mode of cranking. There point is more power for hooksetting into hard mouth parts of big bass and the leverage to haul them in. Dee Thomas says we put to much concern in how well a rod casts a particular bait, not how well it can another site. He adds "I'll throw it out there by hand if I have to". Well all this is for a swallowed bait. When part or all of the bait is hanging out of the mouth obviously you have more problems. Sometimes I wonder if we should strive to have two points in the somewhat tough lip and one more point from the back hook stuck on the outside of his head! Okay, I'm no physicist or engineer and I've gotten tangential and my fingers are tired. Hope someone else picks up where I exit.

[CRANKENSTIEN]

Wind. Wind effects ithe physics of it all. If it is bad enough you won't even take your boat out. But you can still cast with the wind. ??

[CRANKENSTIEN]

Wind. Wind effects it all. If it is bad enough you won't take your boat out but you can still cast with the wind. ??

[Hogsticker]

Over complicate things much? I'm all about simplicity. I think I'd rather replace the word physics with joys. Keep calm and catch bass. Perhaps next we should talk about breathing patterns while we fish. I can literally see this thread turning into your written book.

[matuka]

I was going to start a new thread but this question might fall into physics - what are the most and least aerodynamic lures that cast well and not well when using a baitcaster?  I'm trying to get into baitcasters and so far have been playing around with crankbaits.  They seem to fly through the air nicely and even cut through some wind.  But I read spinnerbaits catch the wind easily.  So which lures catch the least amount and which lures catch the most?  I want to know about all the basic ones:  Texas rigged worms/stick baits/lizards/creature baits, jigs with trailers, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, frogs, walk the dog type lures, small hair jigs, inline spinners and spoons.

good: spoons, lipless cranks

bad: 1/4 oz spinnerbaits into the wind, especially with a trailer