The, "Line-Shy" debate

[RDB]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Do I believe bass can see our lines?

 

Yes!

 

Do I believe they know what it is?

 

No!

I completely agree...just like a fish doesn’t know what a trolling motor or a brush pile is.  It’s more experiential and association.  A child may not know what a stove is but they are less likely to touch it if they have been burned.  A deer doesn’t know what a human is but when the season starts, many of those big bucks quickly go nocturnal.  Even if it’s 2% of bass, I want the best odds I can get.

[RDB]

6 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

I will never wrap my head around people who claim line shyness is a fact but ignore the wires, hooks, blades, weights, etc of a bait. If line shyness was true bass would only bite weightless soft plastics with small buried hooks.

Never claimed it was a fact and at what point did anyone ignore other factors...such a strawman argument.  The words I have used are POSSIBLE and SOME bass.  It’s the other smartest people in the room (fill in the blank) who claim a lack of shyness is fact.  Maybe we should cancel half these posts and start drop shotting with Paracord from now on.

[Catt]

@RDB The child is capable of learning from past experiences. The deer goes nocturnal because human activity increased.

 

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. 

[WRB]

Not all bass species behave equally. Northern strain LMB are more aggressive striking article lures then Florida strain. Spotted bass are more aggressive the NLMB and Smallmouth are right up there with Spotted bass as easy to catch on lures.

Bass Behavior has a lot to do with how line plays a role. Very active bass of all species tend to strike lures more aggressively then inactive bass of all species.

My early experiences with FLMB they can be turned off line affecting lures. Back in the day we tried to camouflage line using coffee to stain it and markers dashes to break up profile. We learned to down size the diameter to be more successful with FLMB in our clear water lakes.

Fishing pressure impacts out small trophy bass lakes by catching the more aggressive bass out of the lakes leaving a population of harder to catch bass on lures. 

Tom

PS, you all are welcome to come here and prove it to yourself, finesse is essential to consistently catch our wary bass.

[Happybeerbuzz]

Who knows what goes through the mind of a bass.  However, I operate under the assumption that they care what color and size lure I use at least some of the time.  Why not the line too?  

[TnRiver46]

I went fishing last night with some 65 lb braid and a wire from and Alabama rig, and a spinnerbait blade . Didn’t get anything. Therefore, I am 

[Deleted account]

Ok I give up, what's the best 2 lb test fluoro?......  

 

[redmeansdistortion]

3 minutes ago, BassWhole! said:

Ok I give up, what's the best 2 lb test fluoro?......  

 

They'll see that.  Have you considered using frog hair?

[TnRiver46]

17 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

They'll see that.  Have you considered using frog hair?

You have to split it 4 ways to make it finer 

[J Francho]

They probably don't notice your line if your presentation stinks.  If your stomping around the bank, banging a set of pliers on the hull of your tin boat, playing loud music, and bomb whopper plopper in their face, it might not be the line.  Then again, they may be so hungry all the negative cues are overlooked and you catch it.

[garroyo130]

Even if they are, the issue is then determining if the "Line-shyness" is a result of vision or of something they are sensing with their lateral line.

[TnRiver46]

7 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

Even if they are, the issue is then determining if the "Line-shyness" is a result of vision or of something they are sensing with their lateral line.

Now we are getting there! Have you ever been swimming and listened to braid underwater? Its like the sound it makes going through rod guides except being played over loud speakers

[Mobasser]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

They probably don't notice your line if your presentation stinks.  If your stomping around the bank, banging a set of pliers on the hull of your tin boat, playing loud music, and bomb whopper plopper in their face, it might not be the line.  Then again, they may be so hungry all the negative cues are overlooked and you catch it.

I tend to agree with J Francho here. Banging around, getting too close, loud noise etc, probably puts more fish off than line does. I've caught bass on 15lb mono line in clear water, then, had other other times when I needed a lighter line to catch them. When the fish are really aggresive, which is rare, it probably doesn't matter. I even read one article where a guy said that a bright yellow or lime green braid can help bass track your bait and works better. So, I'm still not sure.

[Bass Junke]

This has been a good read. I'm gonna say no.

[newapti5]

If you had a chance to cleave a bass head open right in the middle, you can see how small its brain is. It's like a tiny peanut. 

 

But yeah, I believe they're line-shy.

[Bubba 460]

Yes but mostly no.

[J Francho]

45 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

It's like a tiny peanut.

About as big as mine!

[bowhunter63]

No not in the River

[S Hovanec]

My experience in the clear lakes I fish makes me say YES.

[txchaser]

If you believe bass can grow accustomed to certain lures and associate a lure with a negative experience (or 'that's not food, or whatever it is that makes them not bite), it stands to reason that they could also associate with the line, assuming they have 1) the capacity to see it, and 2) the surrounding environment provides sufficient visibility.  

 

Or the "I don't know what that is so I'm leaving now" bass, which are probably the big ones we are trying to find anyway.

 

I don't think I lose much by assuming they are more aware of solid colored braid vs clear mono/flouro, but I gain some confidence because of what's above. 

 

Somewhere there was a test someone did with different diameters of line in a controlled environment, and the fish swam right into lines under a certain diameter. I don't think they tested braid. 

 

I do think presentation probably matters some here - reaction bait in low vis or popping up over some weeds, line vis likely matters less. Slow in crystal clear water? Maybe. 

 

[Catt]

Sorry y'all ?

 

Busy day, 4 hr fishing trip, lots of honey do's, power nap, fish fry with family & friends.

 

Topped off with someone rear ending the wife!

[garroyo130]

15 hours ago, Catt said:

Topped off with someone rear ending the wife!

 

Y'all good?

[NYWayfarer]

No.

 

But...
 

I still use clear Mono or Fluorocarbon. Probably for the same reasons I don’t walk under a ladder. I know it’s not bad juju but  why chance it?

[J Francho]

19 hours ago, Catt said:

Sorry y'all ?

 

Busy day, 4 hr fishing trip, lots of honey do's, power nap, fish fry with family & friends.

 

Topped off with someone rear ending the wife!

Oh man, is she doing okay?

[Catt]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Oh man, is she doing okay?

 

Yes sir but her car ain't ?