INTRESTING story
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strikeking0510
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 4:00 pm
INTRESTING story
hi, i was reading a fishing magazine the other day, and i came apon an article that caught my eye, it was about this man that was completely obssesed with big bass, so whenever he caught a big bass he would insert a micro chip tracking device in them so he could track them and see what most big bass' tendencies were. He many times, slept in his boat in order to get an early start or be out real late. He has micro chipped hundreds of bass, and from his final analysis he learned that all 6 pound plus bass were very inactive during the daytime, but as soon as the sun they started feeding constantly. one bass he tracked, named wanda, was a 13 lb. bass. during the daytime she stayed in the same "bedroom" all day long ignoring every type of lure you threw at it, but he has caught her multiple times at night, and after releasing her, she went back to the same spot and the same exact habits. this may be the key to cathing those big ole' lunkers, what do yall think?....
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carl
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 4:00 pm
INTRESTING story
Interesting post, maybe that's why i've had such a miserable year, since I mostly day fish. Although with the moon coming out again I plan to do alot of night fishing. A 13lb. bass would be a state record here (IL).We do have one lake, in this area, that produces 8-10 lb bass, and they are catchable at night. Trouble is I'm very wary of fishing it at night. In the past people have marked it's many stumps with rebar, some of which are hard to see at night, while others have rusted off at the water line leaving a sharp point in the stump. Every year some poor guy gets the bottom of his boat ripped out. The fish/wild life guys have been gradually removing them, and wo to the guy who gets caught with some in his boat. In this case kudos to the feds. Anyway, bag a few of those lunkers for me. Carl
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bassin butch
INTRESTING story
Good post!
In general; a large bass is very wary of baits as quite often it has been caught and released several times before it reached maturity. They are one of the most elusive creatures to find primarily due to learned response of being caught. Since they have no eyelids to block the sun, most bass seek cover mandatorily. Which is why we catch them under docks and in thick vegetation. The study sound results make sense, as a large bass should be much easier to catch at night. What I really find interesting is the fish was caught around it's daytime bedroom. Every magazine, seminar, or TV show that I've experienced has said "big predatory fish move into the shallows at night to feed aggressively on bait fish".
Bassin
Butch
In general; a large bass is very wary of baits as quite often it has been caught and released several times before it reached maturity. They are one of the most elusive creatures to find primarily due to learned response of being caught. Since they have no eyelids to block the sun, most bass seek cover mandatorily. Which is why we catch them under docks and in thick vegetation. The study sound results make sense, as a large bass should be much easier to catch at night. What I really find interesting is the fish was caught around it's daytime bedroom. Every magazine, seminar, or TV show that I've experienced has said "big predatory fish move into the shallows at night to feed aggressively on bait fish".
Bassin
Butch
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
INTRESTING story
Here is an article that sounds just like the one you described. I just read this the other day:
Where's the Bass?
By Homer Circle
Tracking fish through telemetry provides useful clues.
May 2004
Many articles have been written about how bass think with regard to where they are likely to be at certain times of the day and year, and how they react to different lures and presentations. Anyplace bass fishermen gather you’ll hear various opinions on the subject of bass hangouts and habits, some of which foster friendly arguments.
I had my own ideas on the topic, too, until a dedicated fisheries biologist named Mike Lembeck disabused me of some of the notions I’d held for many years. My education came during one of Lembeck’s studies of bass in six California lakes. Lembeck used sonic telemetry to track the fish’s movements at various times of the day.
Hooked on Sonics
Sonic telemetry involves planting a miniature radio transmitter inside a bass’s body. The operation to implant the bug is harmless and each transmitter has its own “beep code” to identify it and the bass in which it is implanted. Lembeck, who was conducting the study at the behest of San Diego County Fish and Wildlife Committee when I visited with him, was tracking the movements of tagged fish using an aquaphone mounted on a short rod and lowered over the side of a boat.
In each lake, the aquaphone picked up the signals of the transmitters and let Lembeck know the whereabouts of the bass that wore them. The sizes of the 147 fish in the study ranged from 1 pound 4 ounces to 14 pounds, and included bass in such storied lakes as El Capitan and San Vicente. I spent a couple of summer days on El Capitan with Lembeck and returned home much savvier about where bass are likely to be, and their reactions to lures and the presence of perceived danger.
One morning, after donning earphones and submerging the aquaphone receiver, Lembeck listened for a while until he signaled me that he heard a beeping signal. Then he looked at his stopwatch to measure the time between beeps so he could identify the fish transmitting the signal. He gestured toward a small treetop that had collected windblown debris in its branches. It was several yards away, but within casting distance. “The signal I’m picking up tells me it’s ‘Mabel.’ She’s five years old, weighs about six pounds and probably never will be caught, but not because fishermen don’t fish here.
“My test shows that either Mabel is well educated about angler sounds and ignores any lures, or she is just one of those fish that takes off for deeper water whenever she suspects a dangerous intruder is in the neighborhood.”
Tempting Mabel
At that point I decided Mabel had to be caught and I was the fisherman who would do it. Fishing around in my tackle box, I rigged up with a plastic worm and told Lembeck my plan. “I’m going to try something tricky that maybe Mabel hasn’t seen.” I cast the worm about 10 feet past the woody cover, reeled it slowly back until it was just outside the pile and let it sit there, doing nothing. It was only a matter of time before the curious bass came out from her hiding place and inhaled the worm…or so I thought.
At that moment, I saw the aquaphone rod in Lembeck’s hand turn and move toward open water. “There she goes, about a hundred feet down the shore and still going,” he said with a grin. “I told you, if anything comes near her hangout, big or little, Mabel takes off like a scared rabbit. She is a survivor, like a lot of bass on heavily fished lakes. Probably, she never will be fooled by a fisherman.”
By that time, Lembeck’s study was two years old and he had learned a lot about bass and how they perceive things in their watery world. Among the lessons suggested by Lembeck’s findings are the following:
1. Hit the sunny banks
Bass display no preference regarding sunlight. They do not select the shady side of cover, nor do they go deeper to find shade during high noon hours. If food is available in the area, and all other conditions are favorable, bass will stay in that location no matter the time of day or the amount of sunlight that’s illuminating the water.
2. Ignore the weather
Lembeck discovered that bass would hold a favorable position regardless of rainy, cloudy or clear-light conditions, heavy winds or atmospheric temperature swings. Bass weather and people weather are two different things involving two distinct environments.
3. Put a bait in all cover
Some bass that Lembeck tracked showed a preference for small hiding places. One bass would stay around a single rock, another near a submerged bush, a third behind a cluster of weeds. Others chose to hang out in thick weed beds or dense brush. Still others were roamers, almost always cruising around the lake.
4. Find offshore haunts
Bigger bass—those in the 6- to 10-pound class—usually stay sequestered in one hangout away from the bank most of the year except when they move into the shallows to spawn or when a special feeding opportunity presents itself. Lembeck noted that the favorite haunts of bigger bass often were brushy, weedy or rocky points where deep water was close by.
5. Fish below shad
In late summer, it’s common for bass of all sizes to school and attack roving shad. According to Lembeck’s study, when the bigger bass in a lake gathered to follow summer shad migrations, they cruised below a shad school, not behind it. And the biggest bass stayed below the smaller ones, dining on crippled shad that filtered down to their level.
6. Revisit fishy spots
In his telemetry studies, Lembeck discovered that some bass just never learn, despite being caught multiple times. If caught and released, they might return to the same cover and fall for the exact same fishing tactics later. Lembeck also found that bass in deeper water were less wary than bass that hid in shallow covers.
In fact, when bass are stacked up along a channel or over a hump in deeper water, they can be easy to catch. The harder task is locating them in the first place.
Where's the Bass?
By Homer Circle
Tracking fish through telemetry provides useful clues.
May 2004
Many articles have been written about how bass think with regard to where they are likely to be at certain times of the day and year, and how they react to different lures and presentations. Anyplace bass fishermen gather you’ll hear various opinions on the subject of bass hangouts and habits, some of which foster friendly arguments.
I had my own ideas on the topic, too, until a dedicated fisheries biologist named Mike Lembeck disabused me of some of the notions I’d held for many years. My education came during one of Lembeck’s studies of bass in six California lakes. Lembeck used sonic telemetry to track the fish’s movements at various times of the day.
Hooked on Sonics
Sonic telemetry involves planting a miniature radio transmitter inside a bass’s body. The operation to implant the bug is harmless and each transmitter has its own “beep code” to identify it and the bass in which it is implanted. Lembeck, who was conducting the study at the behest of San Diego County Fish and Wildlife Committee when I visited with him, was tracking the movements of tagged fish using an aquaphone mounted on a short rod and lowered over the side of a boat.
In each lake, the aquaphone picked up the signals of the transmitters and let Lembeck know the whereabouts of the bass that wore them. The sizes of the 147 fish in the study ranged from 1 pound 4 ounces to 14 pounds, and included bass in such storied lakes as El Capitan and San Vicente. I spent a couple of summer days on El Capitan with Lembeck and returned home much savvier about where bass are likely to be, and their reactions to lures and the presence of perceived danger.
One morning, after donning earphones and submerging the aquaphone receiver, Lembeck listened for a while until he signaled me that he heard a beeping signal. Then he looked at his stopwatch to measure the time between beeps so he could identify the fish transmitting the signal. He gestured toward a small treetop that had collected windblown debris in its branches. It was several yards away, but within casting distance. “The signal I’m picking up tells me it’s ‘Mabel.’ She’s five years old, weighs about six pounds and probably never will be caught, but not because fishermen don’t fish here.
“My test shows that either Mabel is well educated about angler sounds and ignores any lures, or she is just one of those fish that takes off for deeper water whenever she suspects a dangerous intruder is in the neighborhood.”
Tempting Mabel
At that point I decided Mabel had to be caught and I was the fisherman who would do it. Fishing around in my tackle box, I rigged up with a plastic worm and told Lembeck my plan. “I’m going to try something tricky that maybe Mabel hasn’t seen.” I cast the worm about 10 feet past the woody cover, reeled it slowly back until it was just outside the pile and let it sit there, doing nothing. It was only a matter of time before the curious bass came out from her hiding place and inhaled the worm…or so I thought.
At that moment, I saw the aquaphone rod in Lembeck’s hand turn and move toward open water. “There she goes, about a hundred feet down the shore and still going,” he said with a grin. “I told you, if anything comes near her hangout, big or little, Mabel takes off like a scared rabbit. She is a survivor, like a lot of bass on heavily fished lakes. Probably, she never will be fooled by a fisherman.”
By that time, Lembeck’s study was two years old and he had learned a lot about bass and how they perceive things in their watery world. Among the lessons suggested by Lembeck’s findings are the following:
1. Hit the sunny banks
Bass display no preference regarding sunlight. They do not select the shady side of cover, nor do they go deeper to find shade during high noon hours. If food is available in the area, and all other conditions are favorable, bass will stay in that location no matter the time of day or the amount of sunlight that’s illuminating the water.
2. Ignore the weather
Lembeck discovered that bass would hold a favorable position regardless of rainy, cloudy or clear-light conditions, heavy winds or atmospheric temperature swings. Bass weather and people weather are two different things involving two distinct environments.
3. Put a bait in all cover
Some bass that Lembeck tracked showed a preference for small hiding places. One bass would stay around a single rock, another near a submerged bush, a third behind a cluster of weeds. Others chose to hang out in thick weed beds or dense brush. Still others were roamers, almost always cruising around the lake.
4. Find offshore haunts
Bigger bass—those in the 6- to 10-pound class—usually stay sequestered in one hangout away from the bank most of the year except when they move into the shallows to spawn or when a special feeding opportunity presents itself. Lembeck noted that the favorite haunts of bigger bass often were brushy, weedy or rocky points where deep water was close by.
5. Fish below shad
In late summer, it’s common for bass of all sizes to school and attack roving shad. According to Lembeck’s study, when the bigger bass in a lake gathered to follow summer shad migrations, they cruised below a shad school, not behind it. And the biggest bass stayed below the smaller ones, dining on crippled shad that filtered down to their level.
6. Revisit fishy spots
In his telemetry studies, Lembeck discovered that some bass just never learn, despite being caught multiple times. If caught and released, they might return to the same cover and fall for the exact same fishing tactics later. Lembeck also found that bass in deeper water were less wary than bass that hid in shallow covers.
In fact, when bass are stacked up along a channel or over a hump in deeper water, they can be easy to catch. The harder task is locating them in the first place.
Brendan C.
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JT_BAGWELL
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 5:00 pm
INTRESTING story
Nice find on that article Brendan.
Stuff like that is so awesome to read. I wish I could afford to buy the tracking equipment and do it myself for a while.
JT Bagwell
Stuff like that is so awesome to read. I wish I could afford to buy the tracking equipment and do it myself for a while.
JT Bagwell
Jeremiah Bagwell : Bassin' USA Prostaff : Illinois
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mofish
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2001 5:00 pm
INTRESTING story
Great Artical Brendan! Let me see if I can add to this.
The orignal fish named Wanda was a Lake Fork Share A Lunker that was caught and tracked by John Hope. Mr. Hope Tracked 12 different fish in the state of Texas over the cource of several years. Each of the fish,including one small mouth, were caught several times during this period. Each one of these fish were over 6lbs. What he found out was that all these fish would suspend in 12 foot of water over a creek channel. Then in the late evening and early morning these fish would travel up to 1/2 mile to get to their feeding area which was a break line in about 6 to 8 foot of water. They would swim along the break line back and forth ambushing prey. Even the small mouth bass acted the same way just suspending over deeper water.
Wanda was caught twice and registered in the Share a Lunker and had gained over a pound.
One thing that stood out from this study was the way he caught his fish to replace the transmiter. Several time he caught them on a buzz bait that was fished on the bottom. Thats right the bottom! While he had his listening device in the water he would hear a strange sound that was the bass chasing the bait fish. To duplicate this sound he would cast out the buzz bait let it sink to the bottom and then rip it up a couple of feet and then rip it again. Even under water the buzz bait sounded like fleeing bait fish. I thought that was great wake up call for me being that a buzz bait is one of my favorits. It works too I caught one over 7 this year doing the same thing.
IF you do some searches for John Hope you will find some of his books and vidio tape on this study. I used to have the tape till the VCR ate it. I will see if I can find a new one.
Thanks for the reminder of this study and if any one has any question on this please feel free to email me and I will try to answer with what was in the study.
The orignal fish named Wanda was a Lake Fork Share A Lunker that was caught and tracked by John Hope. Mr. Hope Tracked 12 different fish in the state of Texas over the cource of several years. Each of the fish,including one small mouth, were caught several times during this period. Each one of these fish were over 6lbs. What he found out was that all these fish would suspend in 12 foot of water over a creek channel. Then in the late evening and early morning these fish would travel up to 1/2 mile to get to their feeding area which was a break line in about 6 to 8 foot of water. They would swim along the break line back and forth ambushing prey. Even the small mouth bass acted the same way just suspending over deeper water.
Wanda was caught twice and registered in the Share a Lunker and had gained over a pound.
One thing that stood out from this study was the way he caught his fish to replace the transmiter. Several time he caught them on a buzz bait that was fished on the bottom. Thats right the bottom! While he had his listening device in the water he would hear a strange sound that was the bass chasing the bait fish. To duplicate this sound he would cast out the buzz bait let it sink to the bottom and then rip it up a couple of feet and then rip it again. Even under water the buzz bait sounded like fleeing bait fish. I thought that was great wake up call for me being that a buzz bait is one of my favorits. It works too I caught one over 7 this year doing the same thing.
IF you do some searches for John Hope you will find some of his books and vidio tape on this study. I used to have the tape till the VCR ate it. I will see if I can find a new one.
Thanks for the reminder of this study and if any one has any question on this please feel free to email me and I will try to answer with what was in the study.
Thanks,
Conley Staley
Conley Staley
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
INTRESTING story
I have been checking into the cost of receiving and transmitting devices... From what I can tell you're looking at $2,000-$4,000 just to get started. I'm sure there are cheaper systems out there...
Brendan C.
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johnnie crain outdoors
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2002 5:00 pm
INTRESTING story
Buzzbait on the bottom: I've been fishing these baits wrong for 30 years. LOL. There's no end to what you'll learn on this web site. Keep up the good work guys. I did catch a nice fish that way once by accident, but it didn't sink in. I missed a five pounder on a buzz bait in a big tournament, had her for a couple seconds then gone, I just melted and my buzzer sank out of sight, when I finally got my wits together I started reeling and the fish struck again. This time I got her. Didn't dawn on me to try that again. Now I will!!
Johnnie Crain
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
INTRESTING story
I'm glad someone else has experienced fishing buzzbaits on the bottom... I was never going to bring up the subject because it seems so bizarre. My cousin Joe and I got turned on to it while night fishing. We were making long casts with a buzzbait and by the time we would take up the slack, there would be a fish on the end of it. After that happened a few times, Joe decided he was going to leave it below the surface and just slowly reel it in. I must admit, my first thoughts were something like: "Hmm, that's odd... why would he want to do that".
After he boated 2 nice bass in a row, I figured I should join in with the experiment. We both continued catching fish with much frequency. I tried fishing a spinner bait, but could not get a strike with it. Then I tried swimming a jig in the same manor, nothing. As soon as I went back to the buzzbait, I started catching again. Since that night, Joe and I have added "under-water-buzzin'" to our bag of tricks. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it really puts fish in the boat. Both numbers and size.
BTW - I still feel funny talking about it and every time I decide to give it another try, I can't help but think "What the heck are you doing"
Since we've got that out in the open, I might as well go all in:
While practice fishing on the Potomac River a few years back for a Foxwood's tournament, I was fishing a 1 oz. lipless crankbait (basically a Rattle Trap just a different brand) and was not having much success. I made a long cast and the line got caught around the front hook. If you have ever done this, I think it is safe to say we all reel the bait back to the boat as fast as possible so we untangle the line and get back to fishing the bait properly. Well as the bait was skipping along the surface, a 3 lb largemouth jumped out of the water and slammed my bait. I landed the fish, untangled the line and made another couple of casts... not another bite. I picked up a zara spook and tried retrieving it in a similar fashion but nothing... (Here comes the confession) I picked back up the lipless crankbait, wrapped the line around the front hook (yes, on purpose), cast it out and started to burn it back to the boat... the bait didn't even make it 10' and another solid bass about 2 1/2 lbs blasted the lure. It was practice, and I did not want to beat on this area, but I had to see if it was a freak thing or if I was actually onto something. I made one more cast with the line wrapped around the front hook and again started to burn the bait across the surface... this time about half way back to the boat it got crushed by another fish right around 3 lbs. I picked up the trolling motor and left the area. Tournament day came, went to the same area, same tied, same weather and told my partner "Please try not to laugh at what I am about to do"... I took out the lipless crankbait wrapped the line around the front hook and went on to make a complete @ss out of my self. Not even short strike! I gave it about 20 minutes, than put that rod back in the rod box, apologized to my partner and tried to save some face by telling him the story I just told all of you.
I thought some of you might have gotten a kick out of that story...
After he boated 2 nice bass in a row, I figured I should join in with the experiment. We both continued catching fish with much frequency. I tried fishing a spinner bait, but could not get a strike with it. Then I tried swimming a jig in the same manor, nothing. As soon as I went back to the buzzbait, I started catching again. Since that night, Joe and I have added "under-water-buzzin'" to our bag of tricks. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it really puts fish in the boat. Both numbers and size.
BTW - I still feel funny talking about it and every time I decide to give it another try, I can't help but think "What the heck are you doing"
Since we've got that out in the open, I might as well go all in:
While practice fishing on the Potomac River a few years back for a Foxwood's tournament, I was fishing a 1 oz. lipless crankbait (basically a Rattle Trap just a different brand) and was not having much success. I made a long cast and the line got caught around the front hook. If you have ever done this, I think it is safe to say we all reel the bait back to the boat as fast as possible so we untangle the line and get back to fishing the bait properly. Well as the bait was skipping along the surface, a 3 lb largemouth jumped out of the water and slammed my bait. I landed the fish, untangled the line and made another couple of casts... not another bite. I picked up a zara spook and tried retrieving it in a similar fashion but nothing... (Here comes the confession) I picked back up the lipless crankbait, wrapped the line around the front hook (yes, on purpose), cast it out and started to burn it back to the boat... the bait didn't even make it 10' and another solid bass about 2 1/2 lbs blasted the lure. It was practice, and I did not want to beat on this area, but I had to see if it was a freak thing or if I was actually onto something. I made one more cast with the line wrapped around the front hook and again started to burn the bait across the surface... this time about half way back to the boat it got crushed by another fish right around 3 lbs. I picked up the trolling motor and left the area. Tournament day came, went to the same area, same tied, same weather and told my partner "Please try not to laugh at what I am about to do"... I took out the lipless crankbait wrapped the line around the front hook and went on to make a complete @ss out of my self. Not even short strike! I gave it about 20 minutes, than put that rod back in the rod box, apologized to my partner and tried to save some face by telling him the story I just told all of you.
I thought some of you might have gotten a kick out of that story...
Brendan C.
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mofish
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2001 5:00 pm
INTRESTING story
I have to admit I don't tell just everyone about fishing the buzzbait underwater but you guys are family. The best luck I have had with it is to let it sink to the bottom and rip it up and let it sink again. The biggest bass that I have ever had on the line and actually saw take the bait was on a buzz bait fish about 2 foot underwater on the edge of a lilly pads along a creek channel. She got wrapped up in the pads and broke off. I still cry about that fish every time I think of her.
Funny story Brendan! I had the same thing happen with a Spittin Image. I was using the top water in a tournament and the fish quit biting so I thought one more cast. Well the line wrapped up and I reeled in just as fast as I could and bam. Small fish but a keeper. I thought what the heck and cast again and burned it back, bam again! That filled my limit and we got a check in the tournament. So you just never know what the heck will work. I always try some odd ball trick or off the wall stuff when I go cause you just can't ever tell what them green critters will want.
Funny story Brendan! I had the same thing happen with a Spittin Image. I was using the top water in a tournament and the fish quit biting so I thought one more cast. Well the line wrapped up and I reeled in just as fast as I could and bam. Small fish but a keeper. I thought what the heck and cast again and burned it back, bam again! That filled my limit and we got a check in the tournament. So you just never know what the heck will work. I always try some odd ball trick or off the wall stuff when I go cause you just can't ever tell what them green critters will want.
Thanks,
Conley Staley
Conley Staley