How does a Bass eat???

[Fish4food]

I see all the different reports and thoughts on what goes on when a Bass is eating, but what if there is more to it???

One popular thought on it is, a Bass alway's sucks in it's food. What if a Bass' way of consuming food varied with it's mood or the weather or available food sources.

Example 1) The Bass are feeding heavy, lot's of food, they are happy. Is it possible they are just swimming around opening up their mouths and over running food.

Example 2) Food is scarce, strong front moved in, feeding is slow and skidish along cover.

In example 1, you could have a little more sloppy presentation, and not have the perfect hook set, and still boat fish. In this case, there is also room for error with equipment too. As examples, getting by with a fast action rod instead of a moderate action for crankbaits, or extra fast for worms and jigs.

In example 2, you have to fish slow and easy. Good presentation and proper hookset is key to success. Fish are more inclined to come up on food slower, and suck it in apposed to over running it and nailing it. Treble hooksets are not as good and solid, so you need a moderate action rod to protect the hookset. Also, rapid, solid hooksets are needed for worms and jigs.

Thoughts??? Sorry, I'm in the mood for some deep thought. Can't go fishing for awhile.

[JB]

fish4 get some meds before its too late, and take a peeps at this answer to
your questions
the simple answer to this is whatever is available that fits down their throat. I have witnessed a Largemouth Bass attack a bluegill on my line at least a dozen times. Typically a Largemouth Bass prefers long slender fish that are easier to swallow but is opportunistic enough to feed on whatever is available.
The answer to this question also depends on where you are fishing. The key question is what the Largemouth Bass in a specific lake prefer. Lake Okeechobee bass for instance feed on large wild shiners, generally about five to eight inches long. Bass in rivers in Illinois generally feed off a much smaller variety of minnows. Largemouth Bass in Northern Minnesota eat bluegills, yellow perch and smaller bass. In Kentucky Lake they feed from the large population of shad roaming the lake.

The key concept here is to try and match the food the Largemouth Bass naturally eat. Large spinnerbaits and topwater lures that may work well in Lake Okeechobee are not a good choice for Illinois River bass that feed off small minnows. The small crankbaits that you use for river bass are not the best choice for Minnesota bass feeding off much larger fish. Match the lure to the feeding pattern of the bass. Consider both the size of the food and the depth the bass are likely to be feeding at.

Scan the body of water you are fishing for clues to these answers. If you see schools of shad breaking the water surface you can deduce they avoiding becoming a meal for a bass. Choose a lure that mimics the action of these shad for success. Pay attention to your surroundings, it is the best piece of advice a fisherman can follow.

[pig n jig]

bass eat pretty good when surrounded by home fried taters,greenbeans,a apn of cornbread and a tall glass of milk, followed by a strawberry shortcake served with fresh strawberries, so it's gotta be late June,or so to get fresh strawberries. P N J

[Fish4food]

Originally Posted by JB

fish4 get some meds before its too late, and take a peeps at this answer to
your questions
the simple answer to this is whatever is available that fits down their throat. I have witnessed a Largemouth Bass attack a bluegill on my line at least a dozen times. Typically a Largemouth Bass prefers long slender fish that are easier to swallow but is opportunistic enough to feed on whatever is available.
The answer to this question also depends on where you are fishing. The key question is what the Largemouth Bass in a specific lake prefer. Lake Okeechobee bass for instance feed on large wild shiners, generally about five to eight inches long. Bass in rivers in Illinois generally feed off a much smaller variety of minnows. Largemouth Bass in Northern Minnesota eat bluegills, yellow perch and smaller bass. In Kentucky Lake they feed from the large population of shad roaming the lake.

The key concept here is to try and match the food the Largemouth Bass naturally eat. Large spinnerbaits and topwater lures that may work well in Lake Okeechobee are not a good choice for Illinois River bass that feed off small minnows. The small crankbaits that you use for river bass are not the best choice for Minnesota bass feeding off much larger fish. Match the lure to the feeding pattern of the bass. Consider both the size of the food and the depth the bass are likely to be feeding at.

Scan the body of water you are fishing for clues to these answers. If you see schools of shad breaking the water surface you can deduce they avoiding becoming a meal for a bass. Choose a lure that mimics the action of these shad for success. Pay attention to your surroundings, it is the best piece of advice a fisherman can follow.

Deeper. It's not about what they eat, it's about HOW they eat.

Ok, your out in the hot sun for hours on end. All you can think about is getting a cold drink. You finally have the oppertunity to get a drink. Do you sip it, or do you drink it down? Same thought on a Bass eating. Does thier mood effect the way they eat. Fast, furious, and overtaking or slow, cautious, and sucking the food in.

[lunker-lander]

Originally Posted by JB

Scan the body of water you are fishing for clues to these answers. If you see schools of shad breaking the water surface you can deduce they avoiding becoming a meal for a bass. Choose a lure that mimics the action of these shad for success. Pay attention to your surroundings, it is the best piece of advice a fisherman can follow.

This brings up a good thought, JB.

I have a lake up here; trout, bass, a few pike, perch, bluegill, and crappie. Every now and again I will see around 10-20 fish break the surface at a time. You can never get up close enough for them to see. You cast into them, they don't bite - live bait or artificial. Me and my father think they are trout, but how can we be sure? Could they possibly be shad?

-Lunk-

[Patrick Krueger, Jr.]

Every smallmouth bass I've ever caught has hit the lure fast and furious. They seem to maintain an agressive demeanor.

With largemouth, I always think of my experiences around the spawn when I think of questions regarding their behavior, since those are the times when I can see how they react to different baits and to the natural stimuli that they encounter.

In April of 2004 I observed two different pair of fish spawn, and I would test them with various lures that I either bent the hook down on or broke the point off of, since I decided not to try to catch them (I'd read an article somewhere that suggested it may negatively affect the spawn). These fish came up about two and a half weeks apart from each other. The first pair were much bigger than the ones that came later. The male of the first pair remained suprisingly far away from the nest and allowed several types of lures to get within inches of the nest before charging over. He would get right up on it and look it over and then turn back in the direction of where he came. After I would get it over his nest a few times, he'd pick it up very lazily and spit it out just a couple tail wags away. The only times he seemed to want to kill something was when I threw a lizard or a brush hog by the nest. He'd absolutely crush them and then spit them out and stare at them. I'd shake them again and he'd nail them again. I threw my entire arsenal of plastics at him and only the lizard and the brush hog caused that reaction.

The second pair both attacked everything that went within about two feet of the nest. The female wouldn't spit anything out either, she'd start flaring, seeming to try to get the bait down her throat and I'd pop it out of her mouth.

I don't know if the smaller pair were more agressive, or were just less cautious because they were younger and hadn't seen as many baits come by yet. It's hard to make any sound conclusions from these differences. I do believe that there are somethings bass have learned to destroy on sight. The lizards I understand, but I don't know what a brush hog looks like to them. Maybe it's because the brush hog looks like a living creature that doesn't belong in the bass's environment?

Anyway, thanks for making me think a little deeper. It's really trying to answer the questions of what, when, how, and why that need to be thought over everytime I'm on the water that makes fishing so great for me, especially when I answer them correctly.

[Fish4food]

Great input, thanks. I should have put age into the original equation too. The bigger/older, maybe going as far as saying more educated??? Bass, feed differently then the younger Bass. I alway's wondered about that portion of Bass behavior. I alway's knew there was a reason why a lot of Pro's, who planned on being pro's at a young age, went to college for marine biology, or other simular major. They have the ability to study every aspect of Bass behavior. While finding the Bass is a big part of a successful day on the water, knowing what it takes to get the fish to bite, get's them in the livewell.

[Whup]

Very interesting reading Fish4 and Patrick.