Paul Roberts

Cool stuff, Tom. There's been a bunch of relatively recent research into UV vision in fishes, and bass just aren't one of them. They just don't have the equipment, nor in the infrared {EDIT: There is new research that has begun to focus on diff sections of the retina in some fishes, so ... never say never}. Many freshwater fishes have UV vision when very young, but lose it by adulthood. And yes, bass have a high flicker fusion frequency (FFF), high enough to be able to see individual rotations on a spinner blade -something we humans assume is a "blur". It's not to bass. Our FFF is below 60cyc/sec, which is why TV sets run at 60 cycles, just fast enough that we see a fused image. Interestingly, "out of the corners of our eyes" (as it's said) we can see the flicker -why TV sets in houses we drive past after dark appear to create that bluish flicker. That's bc our rod vision (night sensitive visual cells) have a higher FFF, being more sensitive to movement. Yes, fish see differently than we do. Add to this the fact that its the brain that actually "sees" -makes sense of light input- makes the whole deal really complicated. So, it's not just how fish eyes are constructed, but how the brain operates and makes sense of the world. Cool stuff.

Agree the detail isn't there. But one thing it does say is that it is not a very deep lake. Thus, cover is probably going to play a significant role. It does have some steep shorelines which would be good winter habitat, and most probably summer habitat too. Water clarity always plays a major role with murkier waters often keeping fish shallow. Is there vegetation? If not, wood? Rock? What fish species are present -do well there? This can tell you a bit about the habitat types present. Just in general, I'd choose the shallow arms in spring and then see if they hold up into summer. I'd be finding shallow to deep transitions and breaks, esp outside of spring.

Interestingly, at least some tuna are monochromatic, having a single (blue-green I believe) pigment peak. They hunt primarily by silhouetting prey against the bright surface. It appears we either need to know more about the way fish perceive, or fisherman perceive lol. Couldn't resist. Tom, you are certainly right in saying that a complete understanding of how fish perceive/use light has not been met.

I have never used drag on a spinning reel. I prefer to back-reel which allows me to control and adjust pressure. Much of the time the rod and my reach absorbs most of what fish do. I can give 1 turn, or 2 if I need to, or just lock down. Most reels are fast enough to easily keep up with bass. I've even back-reeled steelhead and salmon and on a really good bolt, I just leggo the handle then catch the rotor after the bolt. Again, I've never used drag on spinning tackle. I don't want my reel giving line. I want control of that.

Thanks, Justin. Worth a go. I see why they call it the "stupid rig". Doh!

I saw them in the catalogs. 4" is a big CB. The 6XD and DD are 3", and they are big. I've been surprised in the past how big a lure largemouth's are willing to take though. One year I decided to try and up the size bass I was catching. I started pitching some musky sized SBs, 13inch worms, and a Swim Whizz muskie plug, and I caught bass. Fewer than normal, fewer small fish, but I broke two pond records for myself. I wouldn't be afraid to throw a 4" CB, but I'd go in expecting fewer bites. Will be curious how they pan out.

Point goes about 1/3" behind where eye will protrude. Thread hook point to right location (pre-measured) then stuff head into same hole, then push eye forward and out. This makes a largish hole where the lead pushed through but is not much of a problem. I do bring a tube of Krazy Glue with me in my plastics kit though, and may seal the hole.

According the research I've seen, bass see a range of color, but they have two peak sensitivities -in the green and in the red-orange. They are weakest at the short end -the blues, apparently seeing them as shades of gray. Humans have three peaks and see a broader range of color than bass do. Carp also have three peaks similar to humans.

Nothing spirals like a 90deg jighead. The further to the nose you go, the more its apt to roll and twist. I experimented quite a bit a while back and never came up with anything that could match that spiral. The problem is, to be weedless, the line tie has to be out on the nose, which changes the fall. The one head I have liked though, that is quite weedless and produces a nice glide and almost a spiraling fall (a wide spiral at best with enough slack) is the Luck-E-Strike G2 head. I use them mostly in 1/16oz. fishing 6ft deep and under. Here's a pic of one: I'm interested to hear what others have come up with. In the past, these threads haven't gone too far. Mebbe someone has come up with something since. Seems most people T-rig them, but this has never produced the fall I want -too much rotating.

Studies in visual acuity actually put fish, and bass in particular, lower than humans. But pure resolution is not all there is to vision. It's true that bass are more dense in rod cells than humans, so they apparently do have "better" low light vision. Visibility (water clarity and lighting) appears to make an enormous difference in bass ability to resolve details and lighting in both terrestrial and esp aquatic environments varies enormously with every passing cloud, surface condtions, etc... . Add tactile senses (sound, pressure) and their "little" brains can be pretty discerning. I love Tom's response above. Very much appreciate his experience and willingness to share. Always have. Thanks, Tom. The take-home for me is caution, which is always a good thing when trying to fathom the complexities in nature, often grossly under-appreciated if only for our desire for simplification.

Nice, J. Yeah, bigger fish solve the whole issue.

Ditto JoePhish. I'll add that I like translucence in high vis conditions and more opaque in lower vis conditions.

Yes, many fish use some red, esp in nuptial dress. But, the bluegills the bass in my waters eat don't. But oddly, many of my lures have red or orange on them. In my eyes it does sort of round out the color spectrum, but those are my eyes. I like to customize my cranks -my match the hatch trout fishing spilling over I guess. One of my favorite colors has been "Tennessee Shad" which sports an orange belly. I've scraped that orange off and replaced it with iridescent pearl on a number of my cranks and they catch fish great.

Ach! Photobucket has changed its IMG code, or at least tacked on a URL address. Just delete the .... stuff before and after the ... . Then your images will show. Worth doing for your excellent reports.

LOL.

Scout

As to red mimicing blood. I've not seen much blood when watching bass engulf bluegill or crayfish. Shad are fragile and do get their scales knocked off, but bloody? Here's a shot of a bluegill a bass I'd just caught spit up. Interesting thing is, the plug has all the red! I suspect it's bc red is more exciting to anglers than bass. The bass did not try to eat this plug bc it had red on it.

No one said that red doesn't work. Colors in the earth-tones are probably the most popular and red in many waters and depths would fall into this category. I'm just not convinced that "red" means more to the bass than it does to the angler. Or asked a diff way, is red more important/exciting to anglers than it really is to bass? Now trout, that might be a different story.

LOL. Excellent post, Chris. Problem is, we don't have 15lb bass to fill the frame, so have to hold them at arm's length so they LOOK like the photo's you take.

Happy to help. (But I'm still skeptical of the reasons behind RED.)

Hey, I just read that C. rusticus was found in Oneida Lake and, true to its nature, is dominating crayfish habitat there: http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/OLI/crayfish.pdf

How to identify primary forage? Some good advice above. As msjeverson24 suggested, most state fisheries dept's survey water bodies and if you run down the right people, they can fill you in. Most fisheries people I've contacted were happy to chat and help out. But ... nothing beats spending time on a water body and keeping your finger on its’ pulse. WRB's right that things change seasonally, in terms of prey species, availability, vulnerability, and size -more so than most anglers realize. Each year new batches of prey fishes appear, and some years are better than others for diff species. And they grow quickly through the season, and their numbers get cropped down as the season progresses. Regionally, many waters do have a somewhat consistent forage base. Most reservoirs contain gizzard shad and/or blueback herring (in the south). In natural lakes and ponds it may be bluegills. In the Great Lakes it can be goby's, perch, and alewife. In many northeastern natural waters it tends to be perch. The primary forage species in the waters I presently fish are bluegill, largemouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie, crayfish, and carp -pretty much in that order, but this order varies water to water and year to year. As to the importance of knowing the forage base... It's true bass are opportunistic and successful almost everywhere they've been introduced. But, knowing the habits of primary prey species is worthwhile bc, outside of the spawn and extreme environmental conditions, they pretty much dictate bass whereabouts and activity. And I'd venture to say that the prey's whereabouts and habits are more important to the angler than any given bait LOOKING like that particular prey. Despite this, I can’t resist the attempt at “mimicry” or at least “resemblance”. It may be the trout flyfisher in me that keeps whispering to me to “match the hatch”...

Fun video! Thanks.

I always wondered this too. Below are some thoughts. Best I can do. I've never heard of this, and I've read a fair amount on crayfish. Maybe it's a local thing? I've dug wintering crayfish from leaf packs and they tend to be very dark, some almost black. I'm ready to be spoon-fed on this one. There ARE a few species that are red as adults (C. rusticus and P. clarkii). P. clarkii is really red and is southern. C. rusticus is much dingier but just after molting and in clear water can be rusty red. Red lures in spring seems to be more of a southern thing -or at least it started there -in Texas I believe. But there are other explanations for the popularity of red lures in spring. Here's Ralph Manns' take (paraphrased): Red-orange is a contrast color for bass, esp amidst a green backdrop. It can be a good lure color, esp when plankton blooms give the water a green tinge. This is true all year but early season plankton blooms are also a time of food shortage when bass are especially ravenous and are interested in just about anything they can see and catch. I believe this explains success with red-orange lures in early spring. I have a small res here that gets very dense plankton blooms turning it to pea soup. We've done really well with red crankbaits there and this particular water is the only reason I finally bought some bright red supposed "craw" colors. Here's a related story about the importance of visibility story, one I've posted a bunch of times... and here goes again... The Mystery of the Blue Lobster... A number of years back I was at a research lab on the Atlantic coast. One of the projects they had going was to check out the feasibility of raising lobsters from eggs for market. While at it they hatched some bright blue lobsters. I inquired about them because I'd also seen a few blue crayfish. They said it was an interesting story... Blue lobsters are something like one in a million in the wild. But in the lab they were finding a much higher percentage of blues (don’t remember the numbers). Turns out they are a fairly common color but the researchers theorize that the blue ones are selected out in the wild by predators (sculpins, sea robins, and striped bass mostly), thus nearly all wild lobsters are found in the usual earth tones. In the lab no such selective pressure exists, and blue ones are relatively common. I can also tell an almost identical story about a herd of white deer in central New York State. Similarly, one of the reasons many flocking bird species all look alike is that the odd one, say the starling with a white tail feather, or the lone mallard in with a flock of Gads, is more apt to be targeted by hawks and falcons. When you are prey, it pays not to stand out. I believe this is at least one of the reasons that fluorescent (and possibly bright red-orange) lures can work so well. As to another possible reason red is so popular with fisherman, I'll leave you with a poem I wrote and posted a few times here and there. It even turned up on a poetry site lol: Seeing Red...a poem...Ahem... Red is an apple ripe on the vine. Red is of Kool-Aide, grapes, and wine. Red is of tumescence, lipstick, lingerie, and high, high heels. Red's pretty important to people. Tackle manufacturer's see Green when they offer Red! Makes me see Red. {EDIT}: Ouch! Things got a little heated while I was typing merrily away. White Flag from me!

Wind does not blow adult sized bass anywhere. Hurricanes … maybe. There are species differences to be aware of in terms of current, with largemouth needing calmer water than smallmouth. Some anglers have thought that heavy wave action will push bass out, but telemetry studies have shown largemouth NOT moving out despite heavy wind and wave action, as waves are surface features for the most part. There are several things wind can do that can affect your fishing from the fish’s perspective: -Wind blows warm water downwind (since warm water floats), and if wind is strong enough or long enough in duration, it can roll up deep cold water on the upwind side, replacing the warm that blew off. This is called a seiche. These are real events and I’ve capitalized on them both. -Wind can blow flotsam (wood, weeds, algae) to downwind shores offering cover for security and hunting opportunities for bass. It can also blow food materials (plankton esp) into downwind areas concentrating the food chain for periods of time. I once had a stiff breeze pile Russian Olive fruits against a shoreline concentrating big channel cats against that shore. They were so ravenous, gorging on those fruits, they smacked my crankbaits with abandon. I finally had to give up on that shoreline bc my arm tired out. -Waves generated by wind can disturb bottom substrate roiling the water and offering either an edge bass can collect up on and/or it can dislodge prey from the substrate or orient/disorient prey fishes making them more vulnerable to the larger and stronger bass. -Wind generates current. Current can be critical to bass activity, and is esp notable in reservoirs when turbines are pulling water, prey fishes end up having to orient to it, making them more vulnerable to capture and their movements more predictable. Wind can generate current too. Again, telemetry studies have shown largemouth NOT moving out despite heavy wind and wave action, as waves are surface features for the most part. However, certain areas can develop rip currents which can become too much for bass to sit in. They then use lees, like bass in reservoirs pulling water, or trout in streams. Tidal water anglers get used to fishing current lees. Rip currents and other wind/breeze related currents develop in relation to structural features such as points, shoals, and narrows, or cover pieces like boulders, heavy wood, or even dense vegetation. Keep your eyes open and you might find an opportunity. That’s often what fishing/hunting is about, finding opportunities. That’s what the bass are doing. One fishing tip for fishing in breezes / light wind. I keep some extra spools / reels filled with fluorocarbon as its density helps cut wind better, both as it hangs from your rod tip, and the fact that it can sink below wind generated surface currents. Braid is the worst in wind.