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Nature. nurture, learned behavior and big bass


smalliebigs
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I've always wondered what goes through the mind of a bass the first time it decides to eat a particular food. They aren't taught "eat this in the spring", "don't eat that, it has fins that can choke you" etc. When they get hungry and see something that MIGHT fit in their mouths, something makes them go "yeah, I'll try to eat that". I've always figured this (and reaction bites) is why we catch bass on some very wacky baits, especially small to "tourney" size bass.

 

One of the key themes of "In Pursuit of Giant Bass" is that big bass have already learned where and what to eat to get big. This puts them in specific locations at specific times. But does it also mean they are most likely looking for specific food? Do they outgrow the "well, if it fits in my mouth" stage of experimental eating? No doubt they still go off the main course at times, as big fish are caught on baits representing food not naturally available/common in their waters. What is the balance of "match the hatch" and "show them something different" as it applies to size/profile/action/color/etc?

 

I definitely find myself heavily (90% ?) presenting baits that would classify as "matching the hatch". Just a discussion point. Really curious of the opinion/experience of those who fish multiple waters with differing bass food sources on a regular basis.

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Very interesting thoughts. I think bass are very opportunistic feeders, but also that they key in on certain foods at different times of the year/day. I'm sure someone with more expertise can chime in on this. Should be a good thread, though!

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Ever since I started to throw big rats I have been developing what I call the "rat theory". Basically, it comes down to this; as bass get older and wiser, they are exposed to different prey items in life. Baits, lures, minnows, nightcrawlers, birds, RATS, bugs, ect. ect. They also learn negative and positive things about each one. For instance dont swallow a huge gill tail first! :lol: But as life goes on they also realize that due to competition for prey, sometimes its easier to target something that not every fish can eat. They also learn to find advantages that allows them to expend less energy to get the same intake. Im not too familiar with trout stocking, but it seems that the fish know to feed heavy when the trout are stocked and kinda scetched out and just milling getting adjusted to their new enviornment. Or say a rat or bird is in the water and out their element, the fish has a definite advantage and over the years the fish learn that. Ive had small bass eat my very large rat baits and the way they hit them are very different than how the big ones do. Almost like the little guys are just being bullys and seeing what happens when they hit. They do this to birds too. But the large fish either swallow the rat tail first after they track it or hit it so hard they have got to be trying to kill it. Like SUPER hard hits. I dont think that bass eat rats, mice, mink, muskrats very often and younger bass are just curious. But after 6-10 years, bass have seen everything that swims and im sure have tasted em all too. The way the large bass approach these big rats has to be learned through experience. so what all that crap boils down to is that everything that swims or is in the water is a natural prey item. If shad are very abundant and fish are feeding on them, there is alot of competition, but a large prey item not normally targeted by average bass swims by and gets ignored by them, but to an old wise bass in the know, it looks like a big meal with no or little competition. The biggest meanest bass in the area come out to play when a big rat swims by or even another bass. Why eat a shad when you can eat the bass eating the shad. Big largemouth will swallow a 1lb bass in an instant, easier, larger, less competition. after surviving for that long looking out for things trying to eat you, Id say an attitude developes like "Ill can eat whatever the heck i want!" :lol: But these are just what I have observed since becoming a rat junkie years ago, no matter what body of water I hit, if there are trees in or near the water, or any type of habitat that will keep rodents near shore... big bass have came to know that they are very edible and easy to catch.

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Good points Ceaser! I've tried to type out my thoughts about 5 different times now and every time it just doesn't come out of my fingers as I see it in my head :lol: I think we are all guilty of giving fish too much credit for their smarts at times...and at other times not giving them enough credit.

 

I have no idea how a fish see's life through it's eyes, whether they are color blind or whatever, I'm not a fish ;) However, matching the hatch makes me feel like I have one more advantage over them, so I try to match the hatch as much as possible. I feel that presentation and location is way more important than what color the bait is. You can paint a proven bait any color you want and it will still get bit, but you can't paint a crap bait pretty enough to get bit :D

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This is a good topic, as it's been bugging me lately. I feel that in general, larger bass are experienced and have learned ways to feed themselves more efficiently. From what I've observed, the older bass do things more purposefully. They don't have to wander or behave erratically because they've learned patterns that increase their chances of survival and growth.

 

For instance, right now there is an abundance of forage avail over a wide area on the waters I fish. Recently I've observed very specific behaviors that indicate these fish are feeding selectively and purposefully. I can't strike gold because I haven't yet been able to replicate exactly what these fish are looking for when they are feeding. This is another reason I'm seeing the value of understanding angles, timing, etc.

 

Ultimately I agree that bass are opportunistic, but I think the bigger fish have definitely acquired a set of learned behaviors, both positive and negative like Ceasar said. I suspect that half the difficulty is just learning what positive patterns they associate with and what the hell they're doing at any given time.

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after 1 enormous bite (never landed), we took the time to learn a lake.

 

we concentrated our efforts to fish the same lake at the same time, with similar conditions.

 

as ive read in many books: fish are just like humans and are very habitual. like we do so often, we put this theory to the test. we quickly learned like clockwork, the big fish fed around the same time and same location (conditions permitting).

 

you show a big fish a big meal, they will eventually show themselves. keep close attention to the bait, as often enough you can barely see them in the distance / depth. at the right angle, and with the proper glasses - you will see they are there and how they are reacting to the bait.

 

keep your confidence up... all you gotta do is find where they live and track them. possibly visit the lake a different times and you will put the pieces of the puzzle together.

 

 

coincidentally we found a lure which we coined the 'locator'. it would pull out the big fish, but they would never ever commit. so what we would do is have 1 person cast and locate, while another closely observes and documents the followers. we have 50+ follows in a matter of hours. we eventually came back with a different approach and banged them out 1 by 1.

 

*side note - we only caught 1 fish with that locator, and it was barely hooked.

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Im gonna be the devils advocate to a certain extent. My point being the location I am in. The lakes I fish there isnt a trout in site but yet they still hit trout baits. Although they do look similar to say a cisco or whitefish. I think if it looks like something that is good they will eat it. Kind of like a buffet. Ur not gonna take the stuff you dont like. The one thing for me is that I think fish just dont see swimbaits as much as here they do in other places and a swimbait looks way more edible than a spinner bait. Also usually swimbaits are worked slower(less energy expended to catch it). Anyways, I think if the fish thinks it will taste good they will eat it. (My point may be a little scewed due to area)

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Such a great thread. I have only ever put the big fish puzzle together once, but last summer I hit a dead spot and couldn't catch a decent fish to save my life. I was spending hours upon hours fishing and catching nothing but dinks. Eventually I started looking at the pieces of the puzzle and figured out that the key was water temp. Every night like clock work, the dew would start to fall at 3AM. When this would happen, the water temp would drop by 1-2 degrees in the cool night air and the fish would start feeding. I went out and caught a 5+lb fish every night for over a week. This doesn't sound like much, but in maryland that's a big fish lol. For me it wasn't so much about the type of bait as it was the time of night. from 3-5AM the bite was HOT.

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From stomach content analysis I have done on a variety of bass I am really skeptical of commercial lures and what the sponsored professionals tell anglers about bass feeding. I have seen 2 pound bass with giant bluegill in their guts. 7 pound bass with 1 inch perch fry. Bass with all kinds of other fish, rats, snakes, frogs, and invertebrates you could imagine. My point is that the majority of feeding on different forage occur simply out of a good chance of success at consuming the item. Sure they "prefer," (<-- used loosely) certain items, particularly less spiny ones that move slow, but eat anything they can, when the opportunity is right. That's why bass to me are so awesome and a dominant predator.

 

How does this affect my angling? I carry few lures and focus on more important variables than my lure like weather over the days prior to my trip, water temperature, available cover, and overall being stealthy when fishing. These are the things that made Bill Murphy and many other trophy anglers reach the levels of success they did. Murphy came across to me as a pretty simple angler (stitched A TON) with a complex approach, not tackle box. We fall for those shiny new baits far more than fish do.

 

All of this is just my opinion, but from studying fish and spending a lot of time with them, I have learned a lot of counter-popular information. Your theories are all very interesting though.

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Im gonna be the devils advocate to a certain extent. My point being the location I am in. The lakes I fish there isnt a trout in site but yet they still hit trout baits. Although they do look similar to say a cisco or whitefish. I think if it looks like something that is good they will eat it. Kind of like a buffet. Ur not gonna take the stuff you dont like. The one thing for me is that I think fish just dont see swimbaits as much as here they do in other places and a swimbait looks way more edible than a spinner bait. Also usually swimbaits are worked slower(less energy expended to catch it). Anyways, I think if the fish thinks it will taste good they will eat it. (My point may be a little scewed due to area)

I'm with ya ;)

I just keep it simple, If it fits they will eat it.

I also look at it all like the Great White shark and how they feed. They also have a big mouth and eat to get as large as the do. If it fits , they will at least test bite it. However when they are young they eat smaller bottom feeders, smaller fish and so on. As they get to a bigger size they start to eat seals. Seals are a meal.

Same with Big bass, to me anyway. they get to a point where they like the meal more so. Again that mouth on a bass is not to pick around it's made to take in another fish = Meal. Swimbaits of any size 6" on up are a good meal and or are a big part of a meal. They can eat a few of the baits many of us toss in one meal. I mean we have caught fish that ate a big bait and a tail is sticking out of the gut :lol:

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