Hey fellas a question: Do you think certain age/weight class fish get used to and ignore certain lures?

My Observations from last 2 years of logs

NOW 5LB BASS ARE CONSIDERED TROPHIES AROUND HERE,

Last season every 14 inch/2lb fish were hitting wacky and trigged trick sticks without a second thought. This year the 15 to 16 inch fish would for the most part ignoe them However they were smashing craks and jigs very regurlarly

Now I noticed some of the RI guys seeing the same thing.

Leads me to wonder as the bass hatched the last 2 to 3 years that are going to be 14 inches soon, will put the trick stick bite n again.

Also this would lead me to believe that the older crafty fish will not hit them and need another bait and presntation to get one of thos 5 lbr's to bite.

This may explain why baits get hot and cold, and may help choosing baits when looking for bigger fish.

Your input is appreciated here,

I totally agree with that. In RI the state is so small that the bodies of water get hammered and it just sems the fish know your bait is a lure etc, not natural. Case in point, I live near a very small neighborhod pond. It gets fished so much that its very hard to catch Bass out of there especially the 2 pounders and up. Every time I throw a new type of bait that gets released though, I do well with it for a while. It has happened when they first started selling the Chatterbait, some of the new swimbaits and other lures. Also, they will still hit shiners when they wont even look at a lure. I did read somewhere that of all the lures a Bass sees, it remembers the rubber worm the least. take it fir what its worth.

If memory serves me, I remember Uncle Homer Circle saying that he and Glen Lau saw a number of big bass cower into their cover as a trolling motor came close as they were filming some of Lau's videos.

Dr. Keith Jones backs up this observation in his book, too.

And I think this is why the pros secretely modify their baits when fishing tournaments.

Uncle Homer and Glen Lau summarized that the older and larger bass can remember some noises or vibrations that produce negative responses in the large mouth bass, i.e., to hide when they feel the vibrations or hear a specific sound.

This may also be true for some lure presentations but I have not read any literature to this effect.

I think it may be either sound vibrations or experience that can casue a bass to get used to the same lure presentation.  Feel the vibrations - see the bait - eat the bait - get hooked and ripped out of the water. Do this a few times and the fish may remember.

Muddy, we all know that bass are visual hunters and that they can see a moving object better and faster than a human's eye.  I believe that a bass will ignore a bait that fails to match their image of what they eat and therefore not strike at it. This proves the bass have outstanding instincts in order to survive.

According to Dr. Keith Jones in his book on page 172, he states, "...most feeding bass practice size selection.  Scientific literature is chock full of research demonstrating that size is one of the primary criteria by which bass and other predators choose their prey."

On page 37, Dr. Jones states, "The bass brain should not be viewed as a simplistic computer wherein a specific input always yields a certain output.  Bass brains are constantly modified through exerience.  In a very real sense, a bass begins each day as a new creature based on what it learned the day before.

Though bass have the capacity to learn, they do not learn all things equally well."

Dr. Jones has some wonderful information in his book so the guys and gals on the site with the book can read the research on page 37 plus the other pages in the sensory search criteria pages of the book.

Great question and I know you will receive some good input.

And I just got a call from the Bait Monkey. He says it is time for Muddy to go out and spend some money on fishing stuff.  ;D

Actually I just incorporated myself, claimed bankrupcty and I am on my way to DC for a bail out. I am then taking said check right to Cabelas, HEY < IT's WORTH A SHOT

What lures nailed them with last year didn't work this year.

I'm changing my whole game plan coming next season.

What lures nailed them with last year didn't work this year.

I'm changing my whole game plan coming next season.

Jittersticks. they were still wacking the Jitterbugs

While I did catch on them, Trigged and wacky rigged Trick Sticks> this held true on the lake not the rivers

The Baby Brush Bug> the 6.5 inch one was one of most most deadly baits this year

Jelly Worms, first year ever, not one on a Jelly worth talking about

A case in point. A rattletrap used to be a good choice in my area. It is not now, and hasn't been for quite a few years. Tie on a rattletrap; catch a few dinks. That's it. I quit carrying them around with me until this year. I got to fish for two days in January with George Welcome on Stick Marsh. The rattletrap is one of George's go to baits. I caught some nice fish on a trap at Stick Marsh. After that trip I added the traps back to my selection, and got the same results I'd had previously in this area. Tie on a trap, catch a few dinks. The traps are back in the garage, out of the tackle bag. Sorry, George. The trap works nicely where you're at. It's a dink magnet around here.

I had similar results in the "stickbait" game this year. I carry around at least 25 pounds of Senkos at all times. I can count on my fingers the number of fish I caught on a Senko this year.

In the same locations I blanked with a Senko, I caught fish with Ikas, jigs, tubes, flukes, jigworms, etc. That suggests a conditioning factor.

Actually I just incorporated myself, claimed bankrupcty and I am on my way to DC for a bail out. I am then taking said check right to Cabelas, HEY < IT's WORTH A SHOT

X2 LOL

I think that a bass getting used to a bait can be quicker than a year, i used a berkly power worm(black/chartruse) for quite a while this year, then the bite stoped on what i had been using, so i switched to brush beaver and the acion was on again.

Hey Andrew: Where I fish most of the time, once August came they were looking for wide profile baits, I think there is a common link here.

I had similar results in the "stickbait" game this year. I carry around at least 25 pounds of Senkos at all times. I can count on my fingers the number of fish I caught on a Senko this year.

x2

I carried my senkos all year, but caught only a hand full on them. Last year they were a hot bait like said before, but I think they became used to seeing them all the time.

I think bass have a memory and can distinguish fake from real after they have been caught a few times. It's like sticking a penny in a light socket when we were 5.....you did it once out of curiosity, then probably didn't do it again. I beleive it's the same with bass.

My Point is this; when the "next generation" of year/weight class get to be around 2 lb, and they haven't seen a whole lot of trick sticks, then the bite will get strong ONLY MOSTLY FOR THOSE BASS, and the loldersurviors might never be so anxious to bite one. This is not limited to any one type bait. On a small ( under 1000 acres) body of water, I wonder how many lures the big bass are hip to?

I gotta ask: Were those 14 inchers in the same locations as the 16's? Or were they generally shallower? Worms, and jigs and cranks, can be very diff presentations. I'd be careful comparing them, in terms of responses from different sized bass, esp in different locations, and over diff days/hours/conditions.

Was it only Trickworms, while other similar sized worms caught them?

Might you have lost confidence in the worms after a couple poor showings, and not re-visited them in earnest?

I know you recently began jig fishing -maybe cranks too? Did these replace some of your worm effort time? We only have so much time on the water, and conditions, and bass activity, change.

Just some thoughts.

BTW: Bass can learn, so I think your idea is plausible. Just a tough one to get at. And I'd be careful somewhat about messing with your confidence in a good tool.

Actually Paul this is the collective experience of 6 people who fished the Chunk more than 50 days ( I came closer to 70 each of the last 3 seasons) on this body of water alone. We have all been comparing notes ( 4 of us have logs the other 2, respectable and do not keep written accounts)

What convinced me the Trick Stick and worm bite ( Jelly and Ripple Tail) had fallen off, that when I switch up to Rapalas,Mid Range Cranks and Jigs, in the same spots the bite is on. We are all seeing this.

The bigger bass have been deeper all along, I just was not fishing there. The bass that turned off to certain baits are all in the same area, and when you switch up, they bite.

I am just trying to figure out why hte 2 to 3 lbr's have more or less given up on these baits. Will the next group of bass who mature to that size,hit them ? Does this mean the bigger and older bass just are to used to them?

I can tell you that there are definite cycles for type and size of worms that are more effective than others, and it is almost predictable when it will happen EVERY 2 SEASONS! , Like clock work over the last 7 seasons

ps ***, not Zoom Trick worm, I do not bother with those anymore

This switch in bite...Is it a summer thing? Or all season?

Good Question Paul! The bite on the Chunk always seems to go from a preference from slim/slinky baits in the spring and early summer to fatter baits once the weed beds have set up and very large baits in the fall. Now I have tried reversing things to see what would happen, but this is the best way to approach this lake.

 This year the top water bite was late, and ended(slowed down) 3 weeks ahead of time, the bugs started dying early! Trick Sticks and Jelly Worms along with jig heads with Baby Brush Bugs and Beaver Craws were the ticket once the beds set up. This year the 6.6inch Brush Bug and Evolution E2's with A Chubby Wane or Fat Albert and 1/4 ounce Fottbal Jigs with the larger Beaver Craws, way outfished the usuals. 2 of the other regulars on the lake switched over when we talked about it, and they were experiencing the same success when they switched up

This is an interesting idea, Muddy. It's really neat to be on top of a specific fishery.

Keep us posted.

Yea once the   ice melts in the spring >

I'm glad to see the posts leaning toward supporting this, I've always felt that I could get better response by fishing with something thats not a popular bait on high pressure lakes. I like to avoid Berkley soft plastics and like to throw a large ring worm in a natural color hoping it gives a different look, I also will try to throw some of my old hard baits like a Rapala broken back minnow a bit. I have some rat-l-traps, Red crank baits, and soft plastics in tequila sunrise and red shad that just quit working..it's probably that I just lost faith in them and they don't get wet anymore! :-/

I had similar results in the "stickbait" game this year. I carry around at least 25 pounds of Senkos at all times. I can count on my fingers the number of fish I caught on a Senko this year.

x2

I carried my senkos all year, but caught only a hand full on them. Last year they were a hot bait like said before, but I think they became used to seeing them all the time.

I think bass have a memory and can distinguish fake from real after they have been caught a few times. It's like sticking a penny in a light socket when we were 5.....you did it once out of curiosity, then probably didn't do it again. I beleive it's the same with bass.

I carried my senkos all year, but caught only a hand full on them. Last year they were a hot bait like said before, but I think they became used to seeing them all the time.

I think bass have a memory and can distinguish fake from real after they have been caught a few times. It's like sticking a penny in a light socket when we were 5.....you did it once out of curiosity, then probably didn't do it again. I beleive it's the same with bass.