Do bass, eat bass?

[MikeWright]

I have 2-3 cranks in baby bass, I was wondering if bass eat bass...or is that a color for Northern states (I live in Texas) that have pike, muskie, and other game fish?

[clh121787]

Bass are picky eaters. Generally won't resort to cannibalism unless times are tough. I'll take those baby bass lures off your hands.

[MikeWright]

Well if I gave them to you I'd be out of luck if I decided to head north and attempt to land a giant!!! What gets me is why stores down here would even sell that color? Good ole Walmart!!

I wonder if I bought a Bitsy Minnow in baby bass whether a bluegill would like it? I get a lot of enjoyment of cranking through a school of gills!!!

[j bab]

Yes, bass do eat other bass

 

edit: check this out:

 

[Bluebasser86]

I've had big bass attempt to, and a couple times managed to, eat smaller bass while I was reeling them in. A smaller bass is just another baitfish to a bigger bass. 

[iiTzChunky]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I've had big bass attempt to, and a couple times managed to, eat smaller bass while I was reeling them in. A smaller bass is just another baitfish to a bigger bass. 

I have a privet pond I fish, and the owner was telling me last year he was reeling in a 1lb bass, when out of  nowhere somthing came along and slammed it, pulled 12 yards of drag off and snapped his line. I can only assume it was a big bass seeing as they have bait fish cats grass Carl and bass in the pond. 

I go every weekend hoping to hook into that monster out there. 

[Raul]

Bass "finicky" eaters ? ROFLMAO !!! 

Baby bass are other bass food.

If you are in the "match the hatch" school of thought the only 100% reliable match anywhere in the planet is baby bass pattern.

[Logan S]

Last fall while fishing a tournament on a lake here with a pretty even mix of LM and SM the smallies were spitting up these small LM's...It was so frequent that I switched my jerkbait color to more closely match a small LM and my catch rate went up.

[WIGuide]

Yes bass eat bass.

[Gundog]

 I've got several bass lures in baby bass colors. Crankbaits but also drop shot lures like Jackall's Clone Fry in baby bass colors. They work. My opinion is in the north we have many naturally made lakes. They tend to be clearer and in clear lakes natural colors tend to work more. In muddy lakes brighter colors work better. So Walmart sells more natural colors in the north as compared to in the south. 

[GORDO]

an easy way to think about this... if it moves and fits in their mouth, they will eat it. 

[Gundog]

Just now, GORDO said:

an easy way to think about this... if it moves and fits in their mouth, they will eat it. 

Very true. I've seen 16" bass hit a 9" trout head first and swim away with half the fish sticking out of its mouth. Bass are eating machines.

[the reel ess]

Notice almost every swimbait and a lot of hard topwaters come in bass pattern.

Bass are opportunistic feeders, and as they get older, they'll take whatever they can fit in their mouths. It's more efficient.

[Ratherbfishing]

It is ONE of the reasons that smaller bass don't make it to becoming larger bass.  They get eaten.  To a bass, a meal is a meal is a meal.

[RAMBLER]

Bass are like any other predator fish.  
They will eat anything that doesn't eat them first.

[Fisher-O-men]

[rippin-lips]

Photoshopped 

[Glenn]

Definitely not Photoshopped.  I've seen that happen many times before.

[rippin-lips]

56 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Definitely not Photoshopped.  I've seen that happen many times before.

Yes, I know. I figured the emoji would let it be known that it was just a joke.

[MikeWright]

11 hours ago, Fisher-O-men said:

Holy crap, that's for real????

If he continued to try and digest that wouldn't he die? Why would he want something so huge....hungry much? d**n that's crazy

After looking closer...I guess they both died...are the holes in there stomachs from something eating them within?

[Bratcher]

3 hours ago, MikeWright said:

Holy crap, that's for real????

If he continued to try and digest that wouldn't he die? Why would he want something so huge....hungry much? d**n that's crazy

After looking closer...I guess they both died...are the holes in there stomachs from something eating them within?

I've witnessed this also. I saw a 4-5 lb bass washed up dead with around a 2 lb bass stuck in it's mouth. Insane for sure!

[GORDO]

What was it thinking lamo  thats impressive.

[primetime]

My Favorite and Most Productive Crankbait growing up was a Bomber Baby Bass color crankbait, I think it is a 2A and dives about 4'. Bass will eat any smaller fish and in the Summer and Fall the baby bass are all 2-4" so I often use Watermelon/Pearl softbaits, and lots of crankbaits have colors that are similar to a bass. Depending on water color, Bass can be black and silver, Brown and Silver, Or Green and silver with some black or brown, so many baits imitate a bass in color.

In smaller Ponds, I would guess that Baby Bass are eaten more than in Lakes only because they are in closer proximity more often, small Bass rarely leave shallow water, they stay close to the shoreline and use ambush points to feed just like the big ones. 

When Bass first Hatch, The Bass Guarding the Fry will usually eat a good amount of them before leaving, and the Fry are being guarded from other Bass, Bluegill, Crappie etc. That is why bass colored swimbaits are very popular Post spawn, or Bass colored Topwater prop baits, at least I use them....Baby Bass is a soft bait Color I use all the time, really just watermelon/white with some gold flash.

Have to defend your turf or risk being labeled soft. Bass on Bass crime is real. This was in the Glades, 4lb and 3lb....Not my pic but it happened recently. 

[primetime]

I love this video. The guy pulls up and tries to help the 2 Bass.

 

 

It is a good video to make you realize that "Big" is all relative when looking at lure size, and Bass often strike a lure or bait for Territorial reasons. I think they get confused and just get the bass Stuck, but I have seen this happen with huge Bluegills where the fins get jammed. A 12" Bass will try to eat a good sized Bluegill and if a Fin get's stuck, the bass usually suffers the most.

Last one, 6lb Bass with huge Bluegill jammed in the throat, guy catches it and saves the bass who was dying. Crazy right?

 

As always, the You Tube Comments are always a must read. People are so nice on You Tube. But these comments are funny.

 

[Fisher-O-men]

12 hours ago, MikeWright said:

Holy crap, that's for real????

If he continued to try and digest that wouldn't he die? Why would he want something so huge....hungry much? d**n that's crazy

After looking closer...I guess they both died...are the holes in there stomachs from something eating them within?

Holes are likely from birds.  I wonder if many of these situations are the result of two bass trying to eat the same bait fish.