No, not me this time. I just thought some of you might enjoy this eye candy.
z~
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX9x7A_QE2I"]Bass Fishing[/url]
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcusiZFxjKY&mode=related&search="]More Bass Fishing[/url]
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[cool][#0000ff]Good stuff. Thanks for sharing those.[/#0000ff]
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I love watching bass eat! That mouth is made for swallowing victims whole.
If I haven't mentioned it before, the LMB is my favorite speices, bar none.
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Hey Jason,
I share your admiration for the bass. I love to fish for them and catch them, especially on the fly rod.
z~
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Wow!
Thanks Dave,
The first video was pretty amazing. The second one was okay but no flyrod /tube action.
Amazing how they engulf a lure and reject it all in one motion. I was just talking about that on the "Missed Strikes" thread.
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I got the feeling that, probably for the sake of video, they weren't setting the hook. The only hookups I noticed in the video were the hard baits....I didn't notice any soft plastic hookups.
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I got the feeling that, probably for the sake of video, they weren't setting the hook. The only hookups I noticed in the video were the hard baits....I didn't notice any soft plastic hookups. [/reply]
It looked like that to me also. Still, it was interesting to see how a bait could be inhaled and exhaled so quickly that the angler might not even know there had been a strike.
z~
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On one occasion when I was fishing the lunker-filled clearwater bass pond I used to have access to I hooked a very large bass on a #12 McGinty(old bumble bee pattern) which I was tossing for the big pumpkinseeds. I was pretty much making a last cast as I approached the inflow and weedmat close to where I had launched my tube. A friend of mine arrived and was getting ready to come out in the rowboat. All of a sudden he yells, "Geesh, Don set the hook!" I had felt nothing but I humoured him and a 6 or 7 pound bass erupted from the water. Unfortunately the bass tossed the hook on his next headshaking leap. Even though it was only on briefly, the memory of that experience with that fish is indelibly etched in my mind. I still can't believe he could toss such a small hook. (Maybe because I fish barbless!)
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I think we often assume (at least I do) that every fish takes a fly/lure deeply into its mouth on the strike. Thus with barbless we assume that somehow the hook backed out of its holding spot. Watching a few of those bass showed me that sometimes they just kind of "lip" the lure, that is, they just grab the edge of it with their lip, carry it off, then swallow it. If that happened with a single hook fly it could easily be held flat between the fishes' lips so that when you set the hook, or the fish opens its mouth, the fly slips out without ever finding any meat with the barb. Lots of variables, for sure. Now if we could just figure out what causes all the fish in the lake to do the same thing at the same time (i.e., "short strike") we'd have it so figured out that it would be boring.
z~
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Agreed!
Short strikes although frusrating are part of the total fishing experience. As some have said, "That's why it's called "fishing" not "catching".
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"[size 1]Now if we could just figure out what causes all the fish in the lake to do the same thing at the same time (i.e., "short strike") we'd have it so figured out that it would be boring."[/size]
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[cool][blue]Hey Z, you dont REALLY believe that all of the fish in a lake ALL act the same do you? I'm sure that you were just making a rash generalization.[/blue]
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[#0000ff]While it sometimes seems that all the fish are in the same mode, or at least acting the same, there are often individuals or even groups of fish that are completely different in how they are acting...and responding to bait or lures.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If we are fishing in a certain type of water, at a specific depth and with the same type of bait or lure, and not catching fish, then we gotta change something. If the fish are in a neutral or negative mode, then making subtle changes ain't gonna cut it. We gotta find some new fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Knowing a lake well can help. If the fish we are fishing are in warm stratified water, and are suffering from "summer syndrome", it is time to look for those underwater springs that are bringing in cooler and more oxygenated water. Or, the flip side may be true. In cold water we need to look for pockets where the water might be even only a couple of degrees warmer.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished tournaments in the past and I can remember numerous occasions when most of the boats would come in with few fish or no fish. But, there was always the one guy (or team) that brought in a heavy load of big fish. They were not fishing the same water, the same way, as others. They looked for different water, different fish and a different "pattern".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm sure that you have had the same experience I have in suddenly "discovering" something very minor that made a world of difference in results. Changing the color, size or presentation of your fly or lure can sometimes be the key. Fishing a point instead of back in coves can often be the difference. Dredging bottom slowly, instead of ripping through the mid layers or waking the surface might do the trick.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My point is that we can't simply assume that someone posted a sign underwater telling the fish not to bite. Even if they did, there are always rebels that will ignore it and bite anyway. We just gotta hunt 'em up.[/#0000ff]
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Loved the video,but kind of makes you wonder at the speed and power the bass were hitting those baits. If largemouth bass grew to 6ft long nobody would go in the water. Great fish!!!!!!!!!!
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TD,
Of course, your right. I was generalizing as you suggested. There are always acceptions with fish behavior, though we don't always find them before we run out of daylight. In fact, the challenge of finding the active fish or figuring out the "puzzle" that gets inactive fish to bite is a part of the game that keeps guys interested after many years of fishing. I have a friend in Washington who nearly always does well with steelhead. As you know, on this part of the West Coast, that is often a low numbers game. (The days when fish are suicidal are few.) If there are fish in the system, and anybody catches any, he's usually one of them. Sometimes he's probably the only one. He's aggressive, covering miles of river on foot and in his truck in a day. He has the faith to stay with it, "eliminating water" until he finds that one active (or at least provokable) fish. A good guide usually has a pack of special tricks up his sleeve unique to his water that will help a client connect during such down times.
[cool]I still wonder if the fish don't sometimes post that sign underwater though. We just catch the ones that haven't seen it yet or perhaps the illiterate ones.
z~
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THANKS "Z" NICE TO COME HOME AND SEE THAT......GETS ME FIRED UP. I'LL BE OUT DOING SOME BASS TUBIN IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.
AT
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