Paul Roberts

No, they don't care. And almost certainly they do not see it as a "duck", or bird of any kind. Unless of course a particular bass happened to have a lot of experience eating baby birds. And that is likely a mighty rare fish. Fun idea, though, as in "toy". Hey, I understand the fun in that. I've made some fun lures over the years. One of my favs was a 4" long human I cast with melted plastic worms in an old Creepy Crawlers mold. It was a Tarzan mold and I caught about 10 small bass on it before it was little more than a torso. But the bass didn't mistake the lure for a fisherman.

I had always written this off as a small (immature) bass thing -10"ers- and one that might lead to the evolutionary dust-bin for those that try it. But over the years I've seen enough mature bass (14 to 16"er's -mature bass aren't big here) targeting dragons in mid-summer that it's obviously a real thing for some bass. I have a video I shot years ago (of very poor quality) of several mature bass chasing dragons; One even catching one in mid-air. This summer I spent some time trying to document this via video and had as a subject a 16"er that spent considerable time cruising a shallow coverless flat hunting dragons. I was never able to catch her in a capture bc of all the reasons field videography is such a challenge, including a broken camera at a very inopportune time. I too have wondered about the energetic value of chasing dragonflies. I did notice that the bigger fish targeted egg-layers that dip to lay; some species singly, some in conjoined pairs. These spend a bit more time at the water's surface, but not all that long! They seem to have developed a habit of swooping in, dipping a few times, then zipping away and dipping again in another location. The bass would have to be in just the right position when an egg-layer came in. Then the bass would make a rush, coming clean out if it got the opportunity. Seems an expensive game. Here’s my take: I realize more and more that really good opportunities at prey can be rare and fleeting for bass (sounds a bit like fishing!). Fish are very elastic in their ability to gain weight -as evidenced by the fact that mature bass average 2lbs in most waters rather than 6 or 8. They are patient critters and feed by opportunity much of the time -not when they simply feel like it. Got a lake with lots of BIG bass? That’s a lake where bass have the luxury to eat more or less when they please. IME, most waters are not that way. I suppose when there is little else going on it may be better chasing dragons than endlessly cruising cover edges hoping for a crack at a bluegill. Bass also eat dragonfly larvae -pretty big for an insect- when in abundance. Not sure how well this pays either but would certainly require less expenditure. Some research has found dragon larvae to be commonly consumed in some waters, but these have been smaller fish. My dad tells me that he and his dad would catch "bass bugs" to fish for bass with -dragonfly larvae. This was many years ago.

Ouch! I know the feeling. Well described. I actually feel your pain! In my previous post I was thinking about the match fishing show between ...Jacob Wheeler and ... another pro. Wheeler was ahead and the other had missed a big fish on a frog. So he revisited the spot just as the clock was running out. I was surprised to see the spot had no cover! I said out loud, "Don't throw the frog!" He did, and got a big blow up, and... no hookup. Sometimes "confidence" baits are only that.

I agree with this ^^ With weedless frogs you risk poorer hook-ups. But... worth a go. Let us know.

I've spent so much time now just observing bass, and now shooting video both above and below water, that I can safely attest that bass are aware of everything and miss little. When they are in shallow water they can see us easily. They may not bolt, but they are aware we are there. What they do with that info is contextual. As to shadows and such, unexpected shadows are deeply ingrained fish spookers -there is even a region of the brain dedicated to it and hard-wired to the fright/flight response. But having the sun directly on us, esp against a contrasting background, makes us highly detectable too. We don't even have to be moving. Bass know their waters intimately and, unless having just arrived on a new territory (as in early spawners), immediately pick up things out of place. If I want to get close to observe, or cast, I move very slowly and use cover. I wear neutral clothing so I don't stand out against various backgrounds. Stealth has made a difference in my observations and fishing. And to stay on topic: Herons are REALLY good at stealth; They are built for it.

Bass are NOT oblivious to the presence of birds. It's ancient and innate. On my ponds here in CO, the list of regular and seasonal bird predators is impressive: Osprey, Bald Eagle, White Pelican (the scariest of all), herons, egrets, bitterns, cormorants, mergansers, and kingfishers. Not to mention mink (I see them often -some clutching bass), big catfish, and lots of anglers. A percentage of the bass I catch carry scars. I do not avoid herons. although I may say "excuse me" when working through. They tend to oblige. I do avoid troupes of pelicans though, working over an area in concert. Ever seen that? Oh my! There was a pond here that made the news after residents had released aquarium goldfish resulting in a population explosion -a veritable orange carpet on that pond. Managers were going to act but before they could, the pelicans discovered them. And they ate them ALL. When managers sampled following, they found sunfish and bass, and not one bright orange goldfish. Tells you something about why wild fish are colored like they are, and behave like they do. http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_28007847/hungry-pelicans-credited-gobbling-thousands-goldfish-infesting-boulder

Weightless soft plastics, esp the 4" stickworms are hard to beat for sight fishing. They are just about the closest thing to cheating I can think of. I've been known to cheat here and there. Other sight-fishing baits I like are tubes, swimming worms, and killed jigs.

State record sized fish ARE freaks.

You may not need to go to "finesse" gear if that's what you mean. That's more a matter of conditions (light in particular). It's amazing how uncatchable fish can suddenly become catchable when two things happen: no negative cues, and the right positive ones. The latter is the where we all focus, but cannot be seriously addressed until the former is covered. Unfortunately, many, esp new, anglers depend on some kind of magic residing in the lures. And this isn't completely off the mark. What "run-n-gun", "power fishing", etc is all about is finding the most aggressive fish and letting them operate. And finding fish that will meet our "strengths" half way. But, we don't always have that happen, especially in small waters. Then the game begins. And it's not always winnable. But over time you can develop quite a tool box of effective techniques that should keep you in fish most of the time.

Following Yeajray231, nothing beats a real time visual. Find some shallow brush where you can see the plug work, and won't worry about losing it, and walk some plugs through. Visualization is a good chunk of "fishing".

Crankbaits naturally lend themselves to chuck-n-wind, which is great... when it works. However, a crankbait, like other lures, is not "food". The lure has to do something special to draw strikes much of the time. It's called triggering. It's always nice if you can find aggressive fish that will meet you half-way. Cover water and put the clues together: find bait, find bass, find feeding bass. If you think you are only on the first two -the bass won't meet you halfway- then you may have to employ more triggering. You seem to be afraid of the brush, which is understandable! It could be you are fishing a bit far from where the fish actually are though. You can fish cranks in brush if you fish deftly, crank down easily until contact, then gently walk the crank through with the rod, not the reel. If you hang, slack and let it float up a bit. If still hung pull easily but firmly and it will likely roll past the hold-up. And...get a plug knocker. Fish easy and deftly, like fishing a jig. Cranks can do that, and should much of the time. Contact also allows you to trigger strikes from reluctant fish. Accelerations and direction changes, crashing bottom or cover, and ripping free of cover edges (don't do this in the middle of cover!) are strong triggers. Lastly, or maybe firstly, angles can mean getting the lure to the proper depth and keeping it there, or in the sweet spot, long enough. It can mean paying attention to subsurface currents that position prey and bass in a certain orientation. Fishing across current, or down and across is often best. Each spot can be different due to current directions and topography. Remember, you are fishing a crankbait, not just "cranking" it.

I, too, track fish in the small waters I fish. And I measure. Since fish weights vary -up and down- over the course of the year, I feel that frame size tells me the most in terms of potential. Since I'm interested in potential growth rather than what's legal, to be consistent I measure from the premaxillary to end of the open tail. Some fish have long tail fins and others extended lower jaws. Don't need to measure that stuff. I may weigh large fish, using a calibrated scale.

Wow! Very nice north country greenie. Fun to be in the boat with you too.

The features that matters most to me are sink-rate and action. Sticks vary quite a lot. The Senko sinks fastest and has the strongest shimmy -my choice in deeper water. I've found the Bizzbaits version also has a strong shimmy. I use the Stick-O shallower, boil them to soften, then fish them on the fall and with a twitch. They don't shimmy. The slowest sinker for me has been the Wave Tiki-Stick. It's mighty soft and sinks really slow. Great for pitching back super-shallow.

That's a darn good fish.

Cruising bass at this time of year are almost certainly on the hunt. However, lures aren't food, and they aren't magic despite what it may say on the package. Also, fish have two most basic operating modes: inhibitory and motivational/exploratory. The first is exemplified by caution and fear. The second by curiosity and aggression. Trip the first and the second is out for the count. What to do: Stealth, and triggering. Neither are very often accomplished via simple chuck-n-wind.

Ditto what Turtle says above. Also, I'm going to guess that you fish a T-rigged Senko most often. It's easy to lose confidence in baits, despite not having given them a really fair shot. Some baits are easier to fish than others, esp at certain times. Senko's, however, pretty much fish themselves.

Absolutely.

Yes, I hear you, Tom. The YOY bass and 'gills in my waters scarcely reach 3" by their first winter. Some smaller. The yearlings I'm referring to are <3" 'gills and 4" bass. It takes longer for fish in my waters to reach "edible size".

The mature bass in my waters aren't targeting YOY fish (bluegills and bass) -they're too small. I know that can be different with shad, and maybe in waters where YOY grow quicker -like in the South. Mature bass here are instead targeting the yearling bluegills and the yearling bass (that are themselves after the YOY). I've even been watching them via UW video footage. In the right locations the entire food chain is right there in the size of a small living room. We had an exceptionally hot early to mid summer here this year (90's and some 100F days). Fishing was tough, I working hard for few fish, here and there, down away from the surface, and often under dense stuff. The one's I caught were thin -not getting enough to eat to match their metabolisms. Then the cold fronts hit, one after the other, and water temps fell. The bass started to bite and noticeably fatten up. And by the end of August they were coming up and chasing. I even managed to catch one good one twice at the very same location. First in the heat the first week of August and then again in the last week of August -and a 10deg temp difference. And she had begun to fatten back up. Every water body is a bit different, and there are a number of important variables at play, but water temps can play a key role. One things for sure: Fall is right around the corner. I was just gifted something of a jump on it this year.

Agreed. Good article. You know... water temps play a big role in "why it's not fall yet". In my mind, water temps nearly define "fall". The last four vids I've cut are about this very thing. "Fall" has started a bit early for me this year with a stretch of back-to-back downright chilly cold fronts. Most years summer just hangs on, pretty much as Hackney describes: hot and low water, resulting in some rather long days on the water. This past month, it's been wonderful here. Same fish as #3 ^^

I used the jointed as a topwater. A twitch makes it do a half roll that can be just killer. I also use the J-11 as a wake bait, heating then bending the bill down 90deg. Killer on calm surfaces on dark days.

Workin' on it! A YT channel and a book or two. Where did I learn about bass behavior? Long-time serious angler and naturalist (no, not naturist ), fisheries and wildlife technician, university researcher in eco-physiology, ... never really stopped asking questions and looking deeper and further than most. I've hit much of the angling literature as well as exhaustive reviews of the scientific literature. I know one thing for certain: I'll die with still lots of questions. There are two ways to go about it, and both are important: study and time on the water. The first so that you gain more from the second -know more of what to look for. Read all you can. I'll ditto the IF series (all editions), and magazine. There's a lot on this site too, including a good biology section that apparently doesn't get visited as often as maybe it deserves. Most anglers are focused on techniques and tackle. Most don't care why something works. But they do care when it doesn't! Bass aren't chasing lures all the time and there are some pretty good reasons for it. That's what's on my plate and I'm... working at it. Just hope I don't keel over before I have something ready to put out there. Wish me luck... and longevity.

I was surprised to find that, according to the lab studies on the subject, that this isn't the case. Oddly enough, N and FL have the same physiological operating temps, at the high end at least. Bass in large and small waters are the same animals. But the environments differ, and available options for the bass differ. So... yeah, fishing can be quite different based on water size.

It's not simple. But all fish have temperatures they run "best" at. Bass are particularly "labile" -meaning adjustable. But they do have a range they are "best" in however and that number maxes out somewhere shy of 85F, north to south including FL. That said, there are a lot of intervening factors, and food availability plays a big role. So it is possible to find bass feeding well in 90F water. It is also possible -and MUCH more the norm in my waters- to find them laying low and feeding at opportune times (that may or may not have to do directly with temperature changes).