'Food' for thought or 'hey you bass, don't be so senstitive!'

[slonezp]

All young push the limits of their limited abilities - bass are no different. They attack something they don't realize they can't consume. Anyone catch a 6" bass on an 8" lure? They may attack to eat, but many attack because the moving object is there and they feel safe to just capture it, maybe testing themselves and the lure they've never experienced. Young bass are apt to chase a lure and attack it several times on one cast, older, lazier bass not so, especially those with large pot bellies!

Older bass may also testobjects they've never seen if the object (lure) gets their attention, holds it and become irresistible at least for the moment. Maybe an hour later nothing you do with the lure will get even a whiff.

You need to factor in that smaller bass have more competition for the same food source than big bass and that makes them more aggressive towards a lure. In general a larger fish will eat a larger meal to expend less energy thus less competition for its foodsource.  #'s wise there are many more small bass than large ones. Also a 12" bass will eat a 4" bluegill, but a 5lb bass may eat a 4"  bluegill or the 12" bass. A 5lb catfish may do the same, and a 50" musky may eat the 5lb bass. The point I'm trying to make is the higher up on the foodchain the fish is, the less agressive it needs to be. It's possible the larger bass may seem lazy because they can be.    

[SENKOSAM]

You need to factor in that smaller bass have more competition for the same food source than big bass and that makes them more aggressive towards a lure. In general a larger fish will eat a larger meal to expend less energy thus less competition for its foodsource. #'s wise there are many more small bass than large ones

I've read everything you said and believed it as gospel for over 40 years, but now I wonder the validity of all that knowledge//opinion/speculation/ imagination. Homer Circle was one of the first fishing writers to make his name in the 70's impressing newbie anglers like me with ideas which had no source. Now I question him and all other past fishing media wondering if bait companies were behind half the truths.

Slone, don't you think it's possible that there are far more smaller bass because the numbers that hatch every year are near a million or more? The numbers are reduced through predation by larger fish and fish eating birds and natural mortality reasons.

One thing I've noticed annually are the huge spawns of panfish and catfish every spring and summer. Unless there is a fish kill, don't most lakes and ponds always sustain all ages and sizes of prey fish, frogs, insects, crawfish, shrimp and other creatures? No bass should ever starve because of lack of food. The only time I've ever caught concave belly bass is in late summer when the water looks like pea soup and green algae scum lies on the surface. Many of the small to medium bass just stop eating, but not due to a lack of food or too much competition.

I think young bass just have higher amounts of energy and feed more often in warm water.

Does a large bass usually wait for a large meal to conserve energy? How much of the time? 100 %, 50%, 25% of the time? Another theory with exceptions.

[ww2farmer]

Talk about over anal-I-zation.......... : :

[SENKOSAM]

YES...........exactly. I don't know you AA, but your questions are all them same..........insert bait name here.........  I  just tend to say things a little less elegantly than most

You can say that again!  ;D

[ww2farmer]

YES...........exactly. I don't know you AA, but your questions are all them same..........insert bait name here......... I just tend to say things a little less elegantly than most

You can say that again! ;D

That went over better than expected    ;D

[J Francho]

Talk about over anal-I-zation.......... : :

Its winter dude, would you rather 30 posts asking how to fish a Senko?

;D ;D ;D ;D

[Jigfishn10]

quote]YES...........exactly. I don't know you AA, but your questions are all them same..........insert bait name here......... I just tend to say things a little less elegantly than most

[SENKOSAM]

It was taken from one of WW2Farmer's replies from another topic, in response to his comment,

Talk about over anal-I-zation..........

Franco's right - who wants to hear another 'what is the best braid' or 'what is your favorite spinning reel' type question. Brainstorming gets the juices flowing and what has been posted by many show that there is interest and thoughts on the matter.

Believe me, it's not easy coming up with concepts and organizing supportive ideas and possibilities. Fishing for me is all about possibilities and the never ending fascination.

[Jigfishn10]

Gotcha...Sorry about that, I had/have an interest in this thread and suffered from vapor lock and had to ask.

[Raul]

I have several farmer relatives, in their farms they have ponds, maybe the biggest pond is half an acre in size, so like Francho said, there are 50 bass in them figuratively speaking , nobody but me fishes the ponds, and boy being a stone cast away I beat the heck out of them, I got extra couple of hours time ? ---> time for a "quickie"; if you show those fish the same lures over and over again they "learn" to recognize the lures, the fish as more as you fish the pond the harder they become to catch, no, I don 't think that bass avoid lures genetically, I don 't think it 's a trait they inherit, why ? cuz I give a certain pond a break for several weeks and when I fish it again it 's just like the first time, and the next generation of fish ? well, they are as dumb as their parents, grandparents and so on.

[SENKOSAM]

Raul, this is only one angler's opinion but as a lure maker and designer of soft plastic lures, I have a few rules I go by when designing.

Rule number one: prey familiarity breeds repeat strikes in the sam waters year after year. By association, lure familiarity from day to day or generation to generation, supports this rule and the outcome is positive. Lure familiarity can also produce negative results as suggested below.

For example, the minnow-like lures shown below have a body & tail finesse action exactly like the real one.

Maybe (genetically?) bass are familiar with the tail flutter and overall profile because its brain is wired to accept and attack this design for whatever reason. All I know is that it is a multispecies lure that works in different sizes and colors and that it works all times of year, even under the ice. To a fish, if it looks and acts like a minnow, it is a minnow and minnows are generally easy to catch.

Rule number two: some designs are made for the novelty bite meaning, the general fish population attack something new the first year and then ignore it most of the time after that. I have no idea why it happens but I have boxes full of such lures I thought would work forever.

Rule number three: Seasonal lure designs can be relied on for the season it has proven itself in consecutive years. Spring designs for me, for example, means making and using lures that produce noise, that may have bright colors and are shallow water baits. The minnow shown above will work, but why not generate long range wake-strikes in 2' of water?!! For this kind of strike, I designed a soft plastic, wide, spoon-like lure that does just that and guarentees a smashing bite in spring.

The design may work as well in fall or summer, but for now it (and many others) is a primary spring lure.

Why lure fatigue? Everyone on this site has opinions and speculations. If you find a fish that speaks English and tells you why, contact me ASAP! Just make sure you keep that fish in a safe location!

Rule number four: texture, action, profile and color always matter.

Same shape as the minnow, but with important differences. By varying texture, action, profile and color, I avoid lure design fatigue.

Frank