Camoflauge

[Mobasser]

Everything in nature is camouflaged to some degree, including fish, and prey. It can be a complex thing. I've stood on a bank and watched small bass swim slowly around weeds.          Suddenly, another will move, and be exposed. They can blend in perfectly.                    Crawfish in my lake are a mottled brown color. They can sit still and it's really hard to see them, untill they move or are spooked.                      When shad swim together in large groups in the sun, the sun is actually helping as camoflauge, reflecting off these fish, making them a harder target for predators like bass.                     At some point years ago, someone realized that bass will strike the easy target first. The easy target disrupts the camoflauge and stands out, being exposed.             A craw bait with chartreuse claws. A worm with an orange tail. A crankbait with a bright, odd color on the side. These all disrupt the camoflauge of the things bass feed on.                  I've wondered if bass actually miss target when they feed, because the prey can blend in so well at times.                                             What are your thoughts here? 

[WRB]

High contrasting colors can turn on or turn off a bass bite.

Flash sometimes work and just as often doesn’t. Spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits for example have both bright shiny blades and offered in dull black or colored blades.

Agree that critters stand out don’t survive very often, unless it helps in procreation. 

It’s seems movement triggers more consistent response from predators like bass.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

Bass definitely miss their target, I’ve seen it happen. I fish with live threadfin shad quite often. One time a bass hit my shad a dozen times and it was still alive 

[T-Billy]

The latest episode of Dave Mercer's Facts of Fishing has a ton of underwater footage that addresses this stuff. I recorded it. Intersesting stuff.

[Spankey]

Many of my more productive crankbaits that are Shads, herrings and dark green craws, darker brown craws I have a few spares of them. Some of these spares I have tails tip painted with Chartreuse or Orange paint. Some bellies painted some side stripes were added. 

 

A Bomber Model 6A in Dark Green Craw untouched factory finish has been a favorite for years. I make no hesitation to have that tied on and be productive to some degree. But I have a couple of orange or chartreuse doctored up versions of it. Sometimes it just takes that little bit of a difference to draw a bite on some days.

 

I don’t have a small air brush, I just hand paint it on by hand. They are not done sloppily but I don’t think it matters all that much. I just believe they are reacting to that small amount of color difference.  

[Hammer 4]

Interesting. I wonder if bass can spot a prey that has an injury, i.e. like a chunk of flesh taken out by one of the toothy critters, or something like that. ?

Maybe I'll color one of my 6" hudds tail with red nail polish.

[A-Jay]

 I've wondered if bass actually miss target when they feed, because the prey can blend in so well at times.  What are your thoughts here? 

 

 I can not say for sure.

However I do believe that a big bass is the master of her domain.

Also sight might not be the only 'sense' that she uses.

That lateral line is said to have some role in detecting what may be around her.

Could be especially important in habitats where a bass in not the top predator. 

Either way, while I will use some color & flash on baits, as well as knockers & rattles,

with some margin of success, the clearer the water the more I prefer to have my baits be camouflaged; matching the color of the surrounds the bait is being presented it.

Finally, and to prove my point about being aware if her surroundings,

fishing a black Texas rigged worm at night can be very good.

But when I initially started doing it, I was amazed

'that she could even find it' in the first place.

A-Jay

 

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

fishing a black Texas rigged worm at night can be very good.

But when I initially started doing it, I was amazed

'that she could even find it' in the first place.

I've had the same experience, though I first did it using Powerbait.  So, I do think scent contribute to painting a picture of what triggers a bass to bite.  That flapping ribbon tail cant hurt either.

[Deleted account]

Most prey items camouflage really well and have evolved other forms of behavioral and structural defenses, yet bass fill their bellies with them everyday. Barring extreme conditions they have no trouble identifying and eating them, will a couple get away? sure, but It isn't often. When a bass (or any other fish) "misses" a lure on the other hand, it is usually turning away at the last moment.

[Bankc]

10 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Interesting. I wonder if bass can spot a prey that has an injury, i.e. like a chunk of flesh taken out by one of the toothy critters, or something like that. ?

Maybe I'll color one of my 6" hudds tail with red nail polish.

I'm sure they can, at least somewhat.  If not by looking at them, then either by the smell or the erratic way they move due to their injuries.  

I know there has been several times where I've done better fishing a soft plastic craw by tearing off one or both of the pinchers.  And then there are baits like the Rapala floating minnow with the broken back.  

[Deleted account]

10 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

I wonder if bass can spot a prey that has an injury, i.e. like a chunk of flesh taken out by one of the toothy critters, or something like that. ?

I'm sure they can, but in the case of bass, I think it will be the altered swimming action that an injury could cause that will be a stronger trigger.

[Mobasser]

I think this is true, on movement. We've got tons of baits that swim slightly off and look injured. But sometimes too much erratic action isn't good, and the bass can spot a fake.

In my original post, I brought up worms and craws with different colored claws and tails. They don't blend in in a natural way, but it depends too on how well the bass sees these colors. In some cases it might not matter

[Team9nine]

On 8/31/2022 at 2:40 PM, Mobasser said:

 I've wondered if bass actually miss target when they feed, because the prey can blend in so well at times.                                             What are your thoughts here? 

Similar to @Deleted account, I don’t buy into the theory. Numerous studies have documented successful feeding rates of between 80-100 percent of the time for largemouth bass under a wide range of conditions. They’d starve to death if it was much different, otherwise. Under poor conditions, success does decrease though - high turbidity, heavy cover, extreme darkness, even how full a bass already may be - but none of these tie directly to prey camouflage.

 

Along a similar line, while I’m just as guilty with having some personal color nuances and variations I like, most studies don’t support that these things play any role in overly attracting a basses attention and causing preferential feeding - but it grabs our attention, and helps keep tackle sales high ? 

[Deleted account]

51 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

but it grabs our attention, and helps keep tackle sales high ? 

I think the monkey needs a logo like Underwriters Laboratories, so we'll know what' safe to buy...

[Spankey]

I’m a crankbait fanatic. I’ll beat the water to death with various versions of them. But I often will have days you can’t buy a bite with them.  The Shad Rap is a favorite all season long. I’ve had many days throwing the Shad pattern and nothing is happening and as a change up I tie on the Jointed Shad Rap of the same pattern only to have that save the day. Multiple fish sometimes in the stretch of water. 

[TnRiver46]

I would predict the bass that blew up on my shad 12 times and didn’t get it most likely starved to death