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I’ve been fishing since I was 8 years old and began fishing artificials 25 years ago with Cotton Cordell’s, Big-O crankbait and Bill Norman’s Snatrix plastic worm. I’ve read hundreds of articles that gave reasons why fish attack lures, but my experience tells me that there are abstract qualities in a lure that cause it to be struck.

Anyone who believes that fish bite because of traditional reasons, (i.e. ‘match-the-hatch’ or 'simulate-the-forage'), may be completely right based on their experiences and confidence in lures that support those concepts. But there are too many lures that resemble nothing in nature and that catch fish when the current forage looks like something different entirely.

The fish-catching elements of a lure that I emphasize concern ‘contrasting-qualities’ that account for a classic lures success, year-after-year. These qualities may be subtle or undetectable by humans, but underwater, just another junk-food item to 'ol bucketmouth.

Vibration is key when distance is a factor; visual elements are key when a lure is within visual range. Fish biologists have confirmed that fish can track a living thing in the water by its lateral line, even with eyes blinded. In nature, fish with cataracts have lived to healthy old ages via lateral line-tracking/feeding. Lateral line tracking works because of a still object’s reflected vibration, not inherent vibration.

A bell is heard when rang. A submerged bell can be ‘felt’ by the lateral line’s, nerve receptors that pick up sonar-like pressure-reflections off of its surfaces. Fish ‘feel’ the size, direction-of-movement and swimming characteristics of a living creature, within a detectable range of many yards.

Color and outline support what the lateral- line-to-brain stem, ‘knows’. Keeping this in mind, I believe that the simple, elementary, physical characteristics of light (color or flash and form) and sound vibrations (inherent and reflected) make a lure effective.

Lures that look like the real thing may contain those characteristics; but unrealistic-looking and -sounding lures, that display abstract qualities of one or more of those characteristics will at times do as well or better.

Color/pattern contrasts, (not a specific, realistic hue or photo-quality surface), is what gets their interest and provokes a strike. As Dan said, the Color-C-Lector proved that pink isn't just for guys living an alternate life-style.

A drab colored lure(i.e. black, twin-tail grub)used in murky water is drab, period, but it's the object's reflective surfaces and/or inherent vibration, that indicate object size and motion by water- displacement, pressure waves.These surface elements create stimuli that contrast with other edible objects that may be present.

The flash of tiny, silver flakes (i.e. Fin S Fish - color 02- clear/siver flake), a flourescent color-combo (i.e. clown or firetiger), a sound chamber, or a jerk-jerk-pause-retrieve, may provide the needed 'contrast-stimuli' to provoke a predatory strike that irritates a fish more than jock-itch in July.

Again, I'm not talking about color alone as a primary stimulus,(although color confirms shape, contrasts with the background and which can be very important at dusk or in stained water). I’ve used many unrealistic colors to catch many fish in one day such a sapphire blue, ruby red, florescent colors (especially chartreuse), rootbeer, grape, purple and black. The color didn’t matter as long as other lure characteristics did!

I use Fish Formula on my soft plastics because an oily surface reflects light better than a flat, dull surface, and not because licorice is a bass staple or feeding stimulant. (I also like to smell anise on my hands for some strange reason.)
(Question, Do fish salivate like Pavlov's dogs when they smell food? If so, do they spit when no one is looking!) :rolleyes:

Realism applies to people with even puny brains, not fish, (with even punier brains). Some anglers fall for a realistic finish and spend big bucks for it. They want to believe that a fish is interpreting the visual image the same way a human does.

HooDaddy worms don't represent any living thing(that can be proven), but they work superbly in many colors and sizes due to moving surfaces that enhance reflectivity and color, and that are felt by a fish's lateral line.

Try working a no-weight, Texas rigged, 6” Hoo Daddy creature bait across matted weeds or pads. The fish will target the 6” lure without seeing it and will repeatedly hit that lure until it ‘kills’ it. Note, it can’t see it, but it 'feels' its bulk and creature-characteristics,(like when you ‘get the creeps’, probably).

Compare the hackles of a dog that go up when it sees something (i.e. like the mailman)it doesn’t like (but would like to kill or bite), to a fish’s dorsal fin as it goes up just before it attacks an object it decides it must masticate.

'Contrast' characteristics in a lure, are what I look for before I tie it on. If it looks like the real thing, great, but it must reflect light and color a certain way that is enhanced by the lure’s action and inherent or reflected sound. I remember that the best lures I've owned had certain characteristics, I believe, provoked mutilple strikes over many years.

For example, a Rapala minnow that swims in a steady retrieve is not natural or realistic. Fish do not 'wobble'. But, a twitch or jerk-and-pause retrieve does realistically simulate a dying-minnow, superbly. The Raplala's only 'realism' is in its flashes of reflected light and water-surface- dimpling as it floats to it; not what the lure looks like physically or how it swims without manipulation. What the angler causes to happen, namely intermittent light-flashes and water disturbances, provokes a fish's bully-response. The lure's balance, floatation and color allow a complementary retrieve.

The gliding swim of a small Fin S Fish on a 1/16 oz. jig head, is exactly the way a minnow looks like, realistically. My point is that both lures, and many types of retrieves applied to those lures, will catch fish by the 'triggering-contrasts' of specific sight and sound elements.

Sight and sound categories are easy to establish so you may say to youself, 'self, are these the conditions that merit a top-water pop, a buzz, a subtle dimpling, a walking action or the waking of a spinnerbait?

If conditions, such as water temperature, tell you a subsurface approach is needed, how deep, how big, how reflective (flash or color), what kind of lure action and retrieve will get more strikes versus causing more lure rejections.

Realism need not be exactly achieved, but an abstraction of life, (like a painting), can be accomplished, artificially. A lure's physical exaggerations of light, sound, and motion, combine to compel a fish to bite even if hunger is not a key reason.

(Just some winter reading (especially for those with lap tops that have run out of reading material in the you-know-where.)

Frank M

Frank M

Hey Postcard, nice post!! Roland Martin wrote a book a while back and in it he outlined about 8 or 9 reasons why bass strike baits.
1-Hunger
2-Reflex
3-Anger
4-Protective instinct
5-Curiosity
6-Competition
7-Territiorial instinct
8-Killer instict
9-Ignorance
This is my take on the whole shebag:

Hunger- There is no doubt that bass bite or eat when they are hungry. It is hard for me to believe that this is the only time they would be willing to bite. In fact I feel that the majority of bass I catch bite for a different reason. Is it possible that the fish you caught struck your bait out of hunger??? Surely!! I follow the lunar/solar tables and I do feel that there are definate feeding periods. It has to be possible that fish feed at different times, even in the same body of water.
I believe that realistic patterns are best. There are times however when something off based is absolutely better than the match the hatch stuff. Now this is the interesting thing. Manufacturers strive for realism but I think that in the process to duplicate nature, a bait must be given a trait that makes it stand out. Sort of like the wounded gazelle that the lions go for. If it fits in too closely, it wouldn't become an easy target. In all of this aspiring to produce baits that work, we've been introduced to wobbles and wiggles, rattles and scents and colors.....God the colors that are available today compared even to 5 years ago are amazing.

Reflex- You know the old adage that compares a cat swatting a tin foil ball to a bass that has a spinner buzzed by its face...it just has to strike out at it. I totally agree and have seen it countless times. How many times have you cast a bait out only to have it get walloped the instant it hits the water. Bass are quick and I fell they can see above the water line with more precision than we give them credit for.

Anger-How many times have you flipped to a bush 99 times only to get a strike on your 100th presentation? You annoyed that bass into striking. We read about it all the time in BASSMASTER.

Protective instinct- Anyone who has ever cast a lure to a fish guarding fry or its nest realizes that the Bass are very protective of their young.....for a short time anyway.

Curiosity- No doubt about it, bass are very curios creatures. While I do not think that bass curiosity plays a large role in why fish strike, it is at least important to mention.

Competition- ever have a bass try to take the bait away from a hooked fish? He's not trying to save his buddy, I assure you. This is especially noticeable on the small streams I fish for smallmouth bass. Hook a good fish in a pool and a dozen fish in the area swim with the hooked bass until they see me. In areas where food is scarce or not abundant, this can be a huge reason why bass strike. Being oppurtunists and not knowing where the next meal is coming from, eat when you can is the name of the game.

Territoial instinct- This comes in to play with larger bass. It is true that most fish spend a large portion of their lives within and are smaller than 100yds. If I was the big boy on thr block, I would defend my territory from intruders.

Killer Instict- Ever throw a 12 worm only to catch a 12 inch bass? This fish knows that it can't swallow the whole thing. Why did it hit??? Because it is a mean, selfish, killer.

Ignorance- Yep, some fish are just plain stupid. Although this simply is not the same as a remote pond that gets little pressure. Here bass will bite a bare hook because the don't know any better.

Sight- I try to incorporate as much realism as I can in the baits I make. This plays to the fact that I think most of the bass I persue rely on their sense of sight to eat. Natural coloring and movements are the things I key on. I do not use gaudy baits often. I like dark subdued baits such as black, brown, green and olive colors. These will readily get eaten anywhere bass live. Some baits that feature sparkly glitter try to replicate scale patterns of baitfish to seem more realistic. This is essential on crankbaits and soft jerkbaits. I pour my soft jerkbaits with a ton of glitter.

Sound- I add rattles to many of my baits. I feel that this can help a fish locate my bait better under certain conditions....but not always. Sometimes the addition of a rattle may actually turn fish off. Those internal steel ***** in your crank baits can often signal the dinner bell for bass.

Vibration-that wiggle, roll or waddle that your crankbait has is an example of vibration. Bass can detect the tiniest amounts of vibration from their lateral lines. As a bait comes through the water, it actually moves the water around it creating this vibration.

scent-I feel that scent can allow a bass to hold a bait longer than a bait without scent. It is by no means an attractant as it is touted as. I use Craw oil and Garlic in all of my handpoured baits. I cook it in to the plactic and coat the finished baits with it as well. It it gives me confidence to fish better because I think it works.

Sorry for the ramble, hope it helped out.

Listen you two, You both have talent at writing articles that I can see by what you have written here. So write some articles and tips and send to Brendan for publication. You both write very good articles so get busy writing because Bassin'USA can use you two and all the articles you can write for the millions and millions of avid bass fisherman that will be viewing this site in the years to come.


Fishhead

Thanks Fish, beat you to it though. I am a member of the Bassin USA Writing Staff. You can see my page under the NY Pros. I'm just ironing out the holiday kinks before I get a couple of articles up on this site. Glad you like my rambles!

Back at Ya MMT.
Homer Circle's, "Feeding Habits of Bass", produced in the late '70s, covered everything you mentioned with great underwater photography. 'Bigmouth' contained similar footage that always blows my sox off anytime I rewatch it. I guess good old- knowledge never goes away; it just gets challenged from time to time.

Thanks Fishhead. I enjoy reading and writing about my biggest obsession in life - fishing and lureology- defined as the purchase of hundreds of useless lures every year, just to prove they don't work!

Bassin' is welcome to whatever I write because, other than catching fish every new way I can discover, I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others who have the same passion. (I guess it's kind of like chocoholics passing the box around.) :p

Frank, MMT and Fishhead- This is the start (we hope) of one heckuva good thread. My black printer cartridge is low, so I have to replace it before copying this info.

Anyone out there care to put in your 2 cents?
There is a lot of good stuff here to expound upon. Thanks fellas. Be well.

Just a few thoughts relating to MMT's points.

"Ignorance- Yep, some fish are just plain stupid. Although this simply is not the same as a remote pond that gets little pressure. Here bass will bite a bare hook because the don't know any better."

MMT, I might get some flack on this thought, but I can never attribute 'IQ' to brain-stem feeders. Some fish are very aggressive, like the meanmouth hybrid that became a menace in southern waters, or laid-back like the potential world record, sunning herself in southern California. Genetic coding may account for far more then we know at present about aggressiveness, irritablity to stimuli, ease of being 'programmed' to react a certain way to positive and negative stimuli and an inherent metabolic rate/nervous system connection. (Do different fish of the same species have different metabolic rates resulting in different levels of 'nervous-activity' because of individual levels of hyperactiviy, (like certain kids I know). :rolleyes:

Maybe biologists should investigate AQ or 'aggressiveness quotient' based on comparisons of many bass of the same age, health, of different and the same parents; and also 'LQ' or the learning quotient that does exist all the way from one-cell animals to humans.

Is learning ability IQ-related in humans? Most definitely! Humans have the capacity for long term memory and memory-emotion connections. But fish can't even remember who they mated with last month, much less last year. In the same line of thought, we attribute the lack of strikes on particular colors or lures to 'burnout' or desensitization. The latter term makes sense because it doesn't require thought as does the former. Burnout usually is associated with a build-up of negative emotions and memories which results in emotional fatique and rejection. Whereas, if humans smell boiled cabbage long enough, they become desensitized or overloaded with the scent such that it's no longer noticed.

Might 'sense apathty' be the fish's reaction to certain lures or certain colors, over a certain period of time? Might that also apply to certain manufactured scents?

On the other hand, changing metabolic rates and irritability, coupled with water visibility and temperature changes, may have a profound affect on a bass's reaction to certain colors and patterns over the course of a season. Just maybe, the fish sees and reacts to red differently when the water is turbid and 85 degrees versus 60 degrees and semi-clear.

A partner of mine saw the change in strikes of a certain color Senko in spring to mid-spring. He changed colors and saw the same decline in strikes from mid-summer to late summer, etc. He's not one to change colors very often.

I can't buy the idea that a general population of fish would post a reminder to all that blue is out for the rest of the year and therefore bite shad-colored objects because, "shad's in, baby!"

"Anger- How many times have you flipped to a bush 99 times only to get a strike on your 100th presentation? You annoyed that bass into striking. We read about it all the time in BASSMASTER."(Homer Circle implied the same theory in his video, "Feeding Habits of Bass.")

Anger implies emotion. Irritability implies my wife when I've done nothing to provoke her except breathe. (Good thing she doesn't read anything I write!) If enough objects pass by your face, whether it be the same or different object, your reaction is to react.

I'm a bass and a lizard swims past me. Then another lizard swims past. And then another. Now to my thinking, this smorgasborg is not going to last forever, so now it's time to 'get me some'! I'm not angry in the human sense, but temptation finally got the better of me and got me off my finny behind to partake of at least one of these, 'one-dumb-family-of-lizards!' :p

"I feel that scent can allow a bass to hold a bait longer than a bait without scent."
This implies (to paraphrase my bud Tony), that a bass bites down on a crawfish and thinks, "My, that's one mighty-tasty crawfish!" Therefore, I guess you're thinking that they bite down on a tube with scent and think... "My, that's one mighty-tasty crawfish!"

(If one could aptly name that fish, dumb-and-dumber comes to mind, except fish aren't even that smart or dumb (though some anglers are the latter, me included, at times!)

"The bass's brain is just a little bigger then a pea. The physiology of the thing suggests that these fish are a brain stem, spinal cord dominated animals. It's a safe bet they don't have a psychological reaction to the food like we humans do. If they did experience psychological reactions to stimuli, then that would mean that PETA is right - that when we hook them, they are terrified and in excruciating pain. We know that this is false, that the fish is just displaying a flight response."(para/Tony) (The latest Bassmaster issue has an article that rejects the idea that fish feel pain of any kind.)

"Similarly, I don't think the fish bites into a craw and thinks, "yumm, I'm gonna mush that around in my mouth for a while and savor the taste." Additionally, I don't believe that the fish swims up to a crawfish, smells it to verify that it might be tasty, then decides whether or not to eat it."

What if the craw is having a bowel movement; does the fish interpret this as an offensive smell or just fear? ("Man, the thing just crapped it's pants at the sight of me, guess I'll eat it anyway!") The belief that freshwater fish discern smells leaves me confused as to the fact that oil-scents, dispersed in water, can not be in any way, 'smelled' or tasted by a fish due to it's large, molecular composition (ala Dr. Jones.)

Soft plastics have been known to be injested and come out the other end - I've seen this with my own eyes. (I have to admit, I pulled one out the rest of the way and smelled it, (just like on CSI), and behold, non- scented! - Just kidding. ) I doubt the worm's scent fooled the fish into 'going-all-the-way', regardless of the fact the hook was absent.

(Sorry Homer, until you've walked in a bass's shoes, (uh, fins), I'll have to pass on some of your beliefs until all the facts are in.)(Berkely still maintains bass wear shoes and that the insides smell like power-bait! - Dr. Jones said so, so it must be true, according to Berkely.)

It's a good thing we have begun to question the old theories and reasoning as to why fish strike an abstraction-of-life as much as they do.

It's not over until the fat mamma sings. Maybe she'll sing for me. :rolleyes:

Frank

Do different fish of the same species have different metabolic rates resulting in different levels of 'nervous-activity' because of individual levels of hyperactiviy?

Frank, great question and I confidently answer...I think yes. There is no way a fish species in the same body of water can be so in tune that the all only behave a certain way at a particular time together. Certainly some fish are more active than others thus they will have different metabolic rates.

As far as IQ and ignorance are concerned, we are talking about two entirely different things that I think many people lump together. There is a difference between a suicidal fish that is caught over and over again. Aggressiveness plays a huge part but in the end, this fish can't get out of its own way. This leads me to think that perhaps there are different degrees of intelligence in our green and brown finny friends becasue not all fish exhibit this behavior. Would it be so hard to even consider this? Again each fish is an individual and certainly has the ability to behave differently from its breathren. Now, being naive or ignorant does not necessarily imply stupidity. This I compare to fish never feeling a fake bait, not knowing the feel of carbon steel, why shouldn't a bass strike at a semi natural looking morsel when the opportunity presents itself. Hey, I went 25 yrs without knowing about Tira Misu. Now I eat it whenever I can. I'm no longer naive to it. Although I've never had a hook in mine.

Now, I'll beat you to death with the scent thing. I can't honestly say if scent works. I'm no scientist but from experience with it, I would guess that it does have several positive things working for it. As for taste, I'm not sure if it convinces bass that the tidbit just mouthed is real or not. Maybe that is the case. Salt is allegedly a dead ringer for blood and this is said to be why bass hold salted baits longer. I am interested in the oil/scent point you brought up. Oil based scents do not permeate in water? They do not diffuse in water? I'm not disputing your data but is there a study where I can read about it. I think it is very interesting, being almost all scents I know of seem to be oil based. Could oil be the vehicle for delivery of the scent and the makeup of the scent itself...whether it be garlic or craw etc....be capable of diffusing into the olfactory systems of the fish? That might be the case. I've always maintained that scented baits work for me. At the very least...even if they do not help hold fish, they give me the confidence to fish more effectively...so in conclusion....they work for me because I think I am better with them than without them. Good job, this is proving to be a very interesting and knowledgable thread with some great points.

Thanks Craig.
Here's some info that may influence opinions as to scent effectiveness.

direct quote from Knowing Bass by Dr. Keith A. Jones, Ph.D. ,page 52

"Both taste and smell receptors can only respond to molecules with which they make true physical contact. Accordingly, only stimulant molecules dispersed throughout the water,can ever reach the receptor pockets and make physical contact. This requirement puts a physical limitation on what kind of stimulation a bass can experience."

"Water-insoluble substances, such as fats and oils, are rarely dispersed as single molecules in the water. More often they form multi-molecular aggregates having the least amount of surface contact with the water. In this form these substances are incapable of stimulating bass. To bass, oils and other water-insoluble substances don't exist."

"Besides needing to be water soluble, stimulant molecules must be, as a general rule, comparatively small. Super-large molecules like proteins and fats are simply too massive to fit in the receptor pockets, so again these substances go undetected by bass."

"Marine biologists have dissected and examined the olfaction and gustation receptor cells of bass and discovered that their receptive surface consisted of a membrane pocket. It's function is to bind molecules of waterborne chemicals that are flowing by.

The water flows into the nostrils and mouth where any waterborne molecules may come into contact with the receptor cell membrane. Coming into contact isn't good enough though. It's kind of like fitting a key into a lock. The waterborne molecule must be of the right size, shape and electrical charge to fit into the membrane pocket. If, and only if it fits, will it trigger an electrical charge in the nerve's receptor cell, which in turn causes nerve impulses to be sent to the bass's brain."

"To repeat, non-watersoluble compounds are way too large to fit into the receptor cell membrane, therefore the receptor cell can't fire, hence the brain doesn't get a signal."

Olfaction and gustation centers in bass are key during the spawn. Studies done by Dr. Loren Hill indicate that this is fact. The initial timing of egg-laying and fertilization have a lot to do with hormones and urine released in close proximity to the chosen nest.

As far as Black Bass are concerned, they have taste buds on their tongue just like humans. But, in humans, taste buds are limited to our tongue. In bass, they also have taste buds on the sides of their mouth, down their throat, on their gills, between their teeth and on the roof of their mouth. Some other species of fish have taste buds on the outside of their mouth and on their body (catfish).

Just because fish use water as a medium of taste and we use saliva, doesn't imply that a bass's ability to process chemical messages is more advanced then that of humans. It does imply, (although scientific proof is limited), that their taste buds are more tuned to a water medium then a human is to a saliva medium. But, the "processing" is done later in their brain.

"In humans, when taste is processed by our cerebral cortex, a psychological experience is elicited almost immediately; (a 'survival-sense, if you may.) In bass, since they don't have a cerebral cortex, a behavioral reaction may or may not be elicited; if not in a timely matter to detect a negative- taste-stimulus, than maybe not at all. That explains why different bass differ on substances that are rejected immediately versus swallowed. There does not seem to be an existing study that identifies to what degree a bass (or bass as a species) can conclusively differentiate between substances like they can between colors or forms.

In closing, in order to be fooled by something that mimics the real thing, one must first have even a room-temperature IQ to be able to identify between real things.

Extremely basic, lure motions (wobble or wiggle, spin, flutter, slither, flare, quiver, etc.), entice the strike, not the photo-finish. Color and lure size are equally important. Get all three right and scent becomes a non-issue. Get any of the three wrong, and scent is still a non-issue that cannot overcome bad action,(including presentation), bad size or bad color.


Frank M

Wow guys, great post. Where else on this planet can we digest so much information in short paragraphs. The wise learn from the fools, and the fools from the wise! I fall somewhere in between I hope. If the bass fully undeerstood what we discuss here on Bassin Usa, they'd hide under a rock and never come out. PLEASE let spring come early. I'm excited about trying all this new stuff I'm learning. Johnnie Crain Iowa Pro Staff