Can't Catch Bass Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 I think I had a revelation. I was thinking about starting a post to debate the topic... "What is most important when selecting a lure?". Is it action, profile or color which is most important? My personal feelings fall in line with the order they are listed... Action trumps profile, profile trumps color. Then I got to the senko. In terms of action what does the senko imitate in nature? It doesn't have action like any fish. It doesn't squirm around like a worm or a leech. It just this slowly falling stick. I keep saltwater fish. I've given them all sorts of great food to eat. I've fed them shrimp, clams, live worms... A bunch of different things. Yet any time one of my wrasses take a dump and let that slowly sinking little fart morsel into the water column a frenzy breaks out. So if I go back to our tackle boxes... What in our tackle boxes most resemble this slowly sinking fart morsel? It's gotta be the senko.
Can't Catch Bass Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 1 minute ago, CroakHunter said: How cold is it where you live? If you think fish don't eat ****, you need to buy 2 guppies
CroakHunter Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 I just went and bought 6 Will report back. 1
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted January 6, 2018 Global Moderator Posted January 6, 2018 Have you ever watched a Senko fall? They have a ton of action, not unlike a wiggling worm or leech falling through the water or a quivering, dying fish as it sinks to the bottom. What does a chartreuse spinnerbait look like in nature? Or a buzzbait? What does a Brush Hog look like? I don't honestly care as long as the fish eat it. A lot of guys call the Zman TRD "The Turd", not only because it's easy to mistake the TRD for the word, but also because it's a lot of what they look like. 2
Can't Catch Bass Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 10 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: Have you ever watched a Senko fall? They have a ton of action, not unlike a wiggling worm or leech falling through the water or a quivering. Leeches have an eel-like swimming motion in the water. They tend to extend and flatten their bodies and have a wave like motion to propel themselves. Worms (earthworms) have an understandably unpredictable motion. Sometimes they are compact, others they are extended. In both scenarios they are not a cigar shaped (at best) shimmying stick.
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted January 6, 2018 Global Moderator Posted January 6, 2018 1 minute ago, Can't Catch Bass said: Leeches have an eel-like swimming motion in the water. They tend to extend and flatten their bodies and have a wave like motion to propel themselves. Worms (earthworms) have an understandably and unpredictable motion. Sometimes they are compact, others they are extended. In both scenarios they are not a cigar shaped (at best) shimmying stick. Both will fall without doing much at times, and often produce a side to side rocking action. At this time, they're about the easiest prey item a fish could hope for, and ofter an extremely good effort expended to nutrients gained ratio since a fish must exert almost zero effort to consume one and they're very easy to digest.
Can't Catch Bass Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 Just now, Bluebasser86 said: Both will fall without doing much at times, and often produce a side to side rocking action. At this time, they're about the easiest prey item a fish could hope for, and ofter an extremely good effort expended to nutrients gained ratio since a fish must exert almost zero effort to consume one and they're very easy to digest. Or it could be that they just look like poo. Maybe the next big bass catching lure is a big musky sized turd.
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted January 6, 2018 Global Moderator Posted January 6, 2018 4 minutes ago, Can't Catch Bass said: Or it could be that they just look like poo. Sure, it can be whatever you want them to be. Me personally, couldn't care less what it looks like to a fish as long as they're eating them. We as fishermen like to overthink and give too much credit to cognitive abilities of a creature with a brain smaller than a pea. Fish see the things around them basically as food, danger, cover/landscape, or unknown. The only way for a bass to further investigate the unknown items is to get a close look at them, and/or take the item into their mouth to determine if it's food or not. An item that is moving (such as a BM from another creature), may not offer much lifelike movement, but it's still moving, and through trial and error, a bass has probably determined that movement is often associated with life (food). Some species of fish really do eat the excrements of other animals. Whether a bass is included on that list, I have no idea, but if they do and that's what they think a Senko looks like, I'm fine with that. 5
Can't Catch Bass Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 21 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: Sure, it can be whatever you want them to be. Me personally, couldn't care less what it looks like to a fish as long as they're eating them. We as fishermen like to overthink and give too much credit to cognitive abilities of a creature with a brain smaller than a pea. Fish see the things around them basically as food, danger, cover/landscape, or unknown. The only way for a bass to further investigate the unknown items is to get a close look at them, and/or take the item into their mouth to determine if it's food or not. An item that is moving (such as a BM from another creature), may not offer much lifelike movement, but it's still moving, and through trial and error, a bass has probably determined that movement is often associated with life (food). Some species of fish really do eat the excrements of other animals. Whether a bass is included on that list, I have no idea, but if they do and that's what they think a Senko looks like, I'm fine with that. I totally agree with you BB. It's not for us to decide what looks like what. When you think about it it's f'ed up for bass to strike at a lure which is bass colored. It goes against what we, as humans, know what is acceptable. All I'm saying is it is equally f'ed up for bass to go after "excrement" of another fish. As someone who has owned fish tanks all their lives I'm not saying that it is probable that Bass look for another fishes excrement, I'm saying it is extremely likely.
Super User Oregon Native Posted January 6, 2018 Super User Posted January 6, 2018 Hmmmmmmmm.......I've heard Tilapia have a unique diet!!!
Super User OkobojiEagle Posted January 6, 2018 Super User Posted January 6, 2018 hmmm... I wish it was mandatory to show age and fishing experience in personal data before being able to post. oe 1 1
Super User Sam Posted January 6, 2018 Super User Posted January 6, 2018 Great perspective on the baits we use. Actually, other than for a fluke, finesse worm, some frogs or crankbaits, our baits don't look like anything in nature. And the bass attack whatever we throw. So why do they do this and why do they love Senkos and other stick baits like YUM dingers? Since a bass will either 1) attack the bait out of aggravation; 2) attack the bait because it is hungry; or 3) attack a bait to prevent other bass from eating it first, there are no other reasons a bass will look at the bait, think about it, decide to kill or eat it, and then suck it up. The baits are produced to catch us, the fishermen. Advertisements are designed to catch us, the fishermen. And of course, baits are designed to attract bass and other fish to hit them even though they don't imitate anything in nature. If the bass, as an animal, was not so aggressive, we would not catch them with our buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, brush hogs, creature baits, and other baits that don't really resemble forage. Just a fact of life.
Chance_Taker4 Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Oregon Native said: Hmmmmmmmm.......I've heard Tilapia have a unique diet!!! Actually I have stocked my private pond with freshwater Tilapia just for their diet.
Super User WRB Posted January 6, 2018 Super User Posted January 6, 2018 12 hours ago, Can't Catch Bass said: I think I had a revelation. I was thinking about starting a post to debate the topic... "What is most important when selecting a lure?". Is it action, profile or color which is most important? My personal feelings fall in line with the order they are listed... Action trumps profile, profile trumps color. Then I got to the senko. In terms of action what does the senko imitate in nature? It doesn't have action like any fish. It doesn't squirm around like a worm or a leech. It just this slowly falling stick. I keep saltwater fish. I've given them all sorts of great food to eat. I've fed them shrimp, clams, live worms... A bunch of different things. Yet any time one of my wrasses take a dump and let that slowly sinking little fart morsel into the water column a frenzy breaks out. So if I go back to our tackle boxes... What in our tackle boxes most resemble this slowly sinking fart morsel? It's gotta be the senko. Wrong...it's Ned's TRD's Tom 1
Super User Gundog Posted January 6, 2018 Super User Posted January 6, 2018 10 hours ago, Oregon Native said: Hmmmmmmmm.......I've heard Tilapia have a unique diet!!! I'm more interested in what feeds on them...
Jay Dubs Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I keep asking all the bass I catch what exactly they think the senko looks like. They never ask me, so I just keep catching more.
Super User Scott F Posted January 7, 2018 Super User Posted January 7, 2018 I know EXACTLY what a bass thinks a Senko and every other bait anybody has ever caught a fish on is........He thinks it's FOOD!! 1
IgotWood Posted January 8, 2018 Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) Some day we will be able to admit that there isn't always a rhyme or reason why something happens. I hardly think a senko resembles food to a fish. I suppose in some cases, maybe...but very seldom. The reality is something about the bait that causes a fish to react to it. Think of a cat. Drag a string across your house and the cat will chase after it. Throw a ball in the yard and your dog will chase after it. They don't just grab it and immediately let go of it. They play with it, bite it, etc. Take that string and get the cat to notice it, and then stop moving it...the cat will probably stalk it or pounce on it. I firmly believe that many of the bass baits that we marvel over have this same effect on the fish. I personally don't need to know why a fish bites a senko. I just know that I need to carry three different colors on me depending on light and water conditions, and I will very likely catch a fish. Edited January 8, 2018 by IgotWood 1
OCdockskipper Posted January 8, 2018 Posted January 8, 2018 One thing I try to remember about bass, especially largemouth, is that their over-sized mouth's are their best weapon, both offensively & defensively. Something swimming by & not sure if it is food? Put it in your mouth! Something crawling on the bottom that might kill your babies? Put it in your mouth! Need to move something from point A to point B? Put it in your mouth! For a bass, his big mouth is basically a Swiss army knife. His evolution was based on his ability to stuff just about anything in his mouth. Other fish have different "tools", be it catfish with their barbels, swordfish & sawfish with their nose weapons or angler fish with their built-in little lure. For bass, it is their mouths. 2
LxVE Bassin Posted January 9, 2018 Posted January 9, 2018 I just had to ask myself...... why am I here? Lol 2
Super User J Francho Posted January 9, 2018 Super User Posted January 9, 2018 This has been debated ad nauseum already. The debate is moot, and always arguable. You can find many other threads that cover this topic already. 2
Recommended Posts