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Old 02-20-13, 05:18 PM   #1
joedog
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Default Focus on the Eye

Good info from Feb. Bassmaster.
Would have posted link but think you need to be a subscriber to view.
Oh, the Dr. Jones is from 'Scientific Bassin..'.
This is written without all the scientific jargon though.
Really explains a Bass' eyesight so anyone can understand.
Well, ALMOST anyone.

I really found the dawn and dusk transition stages really something most AREN'T aware of.

Oh all the little annoying ' * 's are from the words I used in the search for article.



Focus *on *the *Eye
Bass are primarily sight feeders, but what exactly do they see? More importantly, what “in-sight” can we draw about lure selection and presentation?
By MIKE PEHANICH
Senior Writer
EVEN *THE MOST gullible angler knows that he — not *the fish — is *the first target of lure marketers. And, in a very practical way, so it must be. For no fish hits a lure until *the angler has added it to his arsenal.

But *the bait we see hanging from *the pegboard or even cutting through *the water from our rod tip *on a boatside “test run” bears little resemblance to *the *eye/ brain image a bass gets *on its first glimpse of a lure invading its domain.

Misconceptions about bass vision are inevitable. At first blush, sight is sight. Vision is vision. *The *eye converts reflected light into a brain image. A bass hits my green pumpkinseed worm because it looks real.

But dive even a tad deeper into *the topic, and you wonder if you know anything about bass vision at all. *THE DIFFERENCES

First comes *the medium of water and how it absorbs light, bends light waves and breaks up those light waves when *the medium is disturbed.

And how about water color and *the extreme difference between a crystal clear lake and a mud-tinted river after a rain?

Then comes *the *eye of *the bass itself — lidless, bulging, side-positioned, covered constantly by water.

A very different rod and cone structure gives us more than a hint that *the bubble gum colored worm we see is hardly *the same image imprinted *on a bass’ brain 10 feet deep at dusk!

And so it goes.

Dr. Keith Jones, director of research at *the Berkley Fish Research Center in Spirit Lake, Iowa, relates much of his understanding of bass behavior to *the visual capability of *the species. Knowing how *the *eye/brain apparatus of a bass operates in its underwater world forms *the foundation of his understanding of bass behavior, as outlined in his groundbreaking book Knowing Bass: *the Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish.

If you hanker for *the nitty-gritty science behind bass vision, I recommend *the book highly. But you don’t need to pass a grad school entry exam to put key implications of Jones’ studies to work *on *the water. Even a few significant insights into how a bass sees *the world can make you a better angler.

SIGHT FEEDER SUPREME

All of a bass’ senses and instincts contribute to its survival and efficiency as a predator. But make no mistake about it — bass are sight feeders, first and foremost.

Yes, they can locate objects in *the dark or in muddy conditions with considerable help from their lateral line and, at times, even their sense of smell. But sight rules!

*Eye brain — *The lion’s share of *the brain function of bass goes into processing *the visual information that its *eyes gather. In fact, Jones calls *the bass’ brain “a classic example of an *eye brain.” Human vision employs a cerebral visual cortex and a “large mass of nerve cells dedicated specifically to vision,” he notes. Bass have two optic lobes to process visual input, but their brain gets considerable processing assistance from *the retina itself! “It’s fair to say that a bass’ retina is smarter than ours,” Jones says.

“Surround” vision — Dime novelists often referred to gunfighters of *the Old West as having *eyes in *the back of their heads. With *eyes positioned outward *on *the sides of their heads, bass have *the visual tools for “surround” vision. Each *eye captures nearly a 180-degree field with only a very narrow blind spot left *on each side of *the tail. That’s a small window for a lure, predator or baitfish to escape a bass’ notice! (That planar view can be slightly misleading. Bass also have blind spots directly above and beneath them.) And, yes, bass close to *the surface may be able to see an angler. Much depends *on *the angle of vision. *The higher in *the water column *the fish is, *the better its potential view of what lies above.

Jones claims this “panoramic peripheral vision” is one good reason that a bass is such an effective hunter. Bass can survey large areas for prey — or predators — while either hovering in place or combing a flat. Cory Schmidt, who has spent hundreds of hours in underwater camera work with bass, has observed bass launch an immediate attack *on crawfish and baitfish that betrayed themselves with only *the most subtle of movements far back in *the field of *the bass’ vision.

*Focus, *focus, *focus — Talk to bass anglers, and you get conflicting conceptions of how well a bass discerns detail. Some say that bass see a field of blurry, unfocused images, while others swear *the fish could read *the fine print *on *the lure package if we added it to our presentation. But, depending *on water color and conditions, bass are able to see with remarkable clarity. “Due to *the short focal length of *the bass’ large lens, even close objects in *the lateral fields are relatively clear,” Jones says. Still, a bass’ visual range remains short, maxing out at about 50 feet to each side, even in clear water.

Reading *the fine print — Can a bass see fine detail? Indeed, it can! Though it possesses only a narrow field of “binocularity” (seeing an object with both *eyes) immediately in front of its nose, a bass can and does read *the fine print, so to speak, *on a lure or object at times. But this “straight ahead” view is like putting *on *the peepers for reading — a nearsighted thing that is effective only within a range of 5 to 10 inches immediately in front of or above *the bass. Scientists believe that lens adjustment can bring *focus to objects less than 5 inches away. To get a better look at objects beyond 10 inches straight ahead, *the bass has to move closer.

Depth perception — But *the real advantage of binocularity to bass is depth perception — *the ability to determine accurately *the relative position of an object in space. To be an effective predator, as a bass truly is, this is a critical capability! A bass is best able to capture your lure with a head-on attack.

Day/night vision — Bass have a complex mix of cones and rods that allow them to hunt effectively both day and night. Bass employ “photopic” vision during *the brightness of *the day and “scotopic” vision during lowlight periods. Ever notice how a hot evening bite often dies suddenly as darkness begins to close *on *the water, then picks up again an hour or more after dark? That’s due to *the time needed for *the rods used for night vision to adjust to *the task.

Best “tweener” vision — Bass vision is “good” whether *the bass hunts by day or at night. But its unique visual capabilities really serve it during *the transitional light periods of dawn and dusk. Plankton feeders, such as shad and other forage species, have cone cells that make for better daylight vision than bass and give them a relative advantage in *the game of “hunter and hunted.” But as *the light fades — or begins to emerge from darkness — *the bass’ “tweener” vision gives it a decisive advantage.

Full moon feeding — If you like to fish for bass during *the full moon, science offers a good supportive reason. Jones cites research that bass hunt down prey at a 95 to 100 percent success rate under a full moon. Under starlight alone, *the success rate at capturing prey drops significantly to about half, but that’s still pretty good. “Bass probably detect motion at a hundredth of *the light level human beings need,” Jones claims.

“Slow-mo” vision — Ever wonder what a bass sees in a flashing spinnerbait blade or rapidly vibrating crankbait? A lot more than you or I would! Based *on sunfish family research, Jones estimates that bass have a “flicker frequency” of 50 to 55 — about three times *the frequency of man. That means that a bass may see more than a blurred generalized image of a silver spinnerbait blade with a baitfish image *on one side! It can see both sides of a spinner and each swing of a crankbait with *the same clarity that we view a slow-motion video of those baits. You can indeed enjoy *the benefit of both *the baitfish and *the flash.

“Flash” cues attract but don’t fool — Bass use flash as a “predatory cue,” notes Jones. But they probably are not “fooled” into thinking a spinnerbait blade is a baitfish. *The effect, though, is pretty much *the same. Bass may be hard-wired to react to flash as part of their predatory nature.

Bass vs. carp — Bass beat other fish species in motion detection, as well. Studies have found a bass’ minimum movement detection capability to be about three times better than that of a carp. That ability to detect movement might also explain why that ever-sosubtle action you impart to your drop shot bait is enough to push a bass’ “attack” button!

Bass have a very different rod and cone structure than humans, which means the lure we see isn’t exactly what they see.


Remember, water fractures light waves, which alters the image of your bait.
Illustrations: John Dyess


Bass don’t have much of a blind spot, as each eye has a 180-degree field of vision. Illustration: John Dyess


During dawn and dusk hours, bass have better vision than the forage they chase.


Bass have a “flicker frequency” three times more effective than humans, which means they process more detail than we give them credit for. Illustrations: John Dyess


Vision at night and during daylight is equal for bass because they have both scotopic and photopic vision.
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Old 02-20-13, 08:42 PM   #2
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I read it. Has some great info.
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Old 02-20-13, 09:23 PM   #3
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Yep, a good read.
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