line of sight....

[ROBZILLA]

Hers one for ya's An I know you all have seen this before, and it still amazes me to see it happen.

Ok your out about in you boat you pull in to a nice area cove ,bay or what have you the water could be like glass or a little choppy. You pick your target and cast and as soon as the lure hits the slightest bit of water "BAM" you get a hit!.

Question is how far out of the water do you think these bass can see this lure comming? They truely are like a wide reciver in the way they can catch a lure. and leaves me time and again saying to myself or whom ever I'm with "DID YOU SEE THAT". they have a wonderfull line of sight. But what about the time when you right on top of them and they don't even notice you? it's a double edge knife thats for sure!

Robby.

[Rebbasser]

The times i have had that happen lead me to think it is a reaction bite more than anything-something hits the water above them and they blast it without looking-they just react.

[bassinbob]

Rob, not really sure but I've been told to stay back away from the bank of ponds, lakes, streams, etc. You would think bass would be used to animals passing by bodies of water. Is it because men are usually taller than say a deer? The first time that happened to me a 2lber. busted a buzzbait as it was just about at the end of the cast. When you look into the water when it is clear and shallow how much of the bottom can you get into your sight of vision? Thinking that a bass must be able to locate food above the water as well as in the water I would say they have a pretty good line of vision. Makes ya think, and it's too late for that..


Bob

[ROBZILLA]

Ya good rule of thumb is if you can see them they can see you I think it would be safe to say that a bass could see just as far "IF" not even farther under water in clear conditions! so as far as you can see in water they can see you! and they have the advantage looking up cause they have the sun to help them and were hinderd by glare, we totaly have are silouetes hindering us as fishermen.


Robby.

[basstech]

I've heard stories...or have read articals where the author has "seen" bass snag birds flying just above the surface in mid air. Never have seen that myself...but don't have millions of hours on the water either. Not to mention most low flying birds i see are geese, ducks, herrons and cormorants/comorants (however that is spelled).

[JB]

I've seen the bass get that lure outa the air before it hits the water,

"faster than a looter in a riot"
lmfao

[flachristopherkeene9]

I had this two pounder make a beeline towards my worm before it hit the water at a distance of about 20 ft.!

[ROBZILLA]

I still like this post and want to see if any new comers have any input on the subject.

[WTL]

I find in order to get bass to pick off alure like a wideout, you need to put a good spiral on the lure and some air under it. Most fish are like Terrel Owens, they are athletic but they lack hands so you can't throw a duck.


Seriously, it may be possible fo fish to anticipate a lure in such away, but its not very common. But skipping a lure can commonly get a reaction strike.

[Bob Smith]

In my 45 years (plus) of bass fishing I have seen that happen a lot. I think it's more a matter of coincidence than anything else. Your bait just happened to land in the right place at the right time. Most of the time it is in a partially shaded, shallow place, usually next to some sort of object. The bass is usually poised to get anything that swims by or falls off the bank, limb or what ever.
I've had them come clean out of the water to snatch a spinnerbait hanging above the water on a limb. I have also seen them come out of the water to get redwing blackbirds dangling on reed stems in the spring (successfully!). Same thing with baby Nutria, mice and rats floating on hyacinth clusters and reed packs.

[3dkicker]

I've seen a bass track a moving object above the water. It happened this spring fishing a Jr tournament. I spotted the bass sitting next to a stump that was just off a sea wall. A student fishing with me made a bad cast and the lure flew past the bass, 18" + over it, and hit up on the grass. As the bait went by the fish, it turned with the bait and bumped hits head against the stump. It then began searching for the bait by turning it's head back and forth. The student hopped the worm over the wall and dropped it in the water. The bass hit it immediately. I still laugh about that bass.

Of course having great polarized sunglasses allowed me to see the whole thing. The student never saw any of it. Not even the fish picking up the bait.

[ROBZILLA]

So the question I ask now is a Bass near sighted or far sighted? lol

[zooker]

don't really matter which sited they are zilla a bass sees an object roughly the it is feeding on and it will grab it..

first time i had one stop a frog during a skip cast i actually looked at the reel before setting the hook-lookin for backlash-but since then i have not.

i was fishing with a friend. he had put a spook up a tree. while i was giving him a hard time about it. dangglin a crank bait 3" or so of the surface of the water a 2 pound bass hammered it..

zooker