Fish Reactions

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I just read this post on the Freshwater Fishing forum. Thought it had some great info that our Utah BFTers might like to read.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=1008304"]LINK TO PO[/url]ST
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[amik]

Thanks, now I feel better about my occasional inability to outwit an animal with a brain the size of a pea.
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[RockyRaab]

I know one thing: I've seen an awful lot of fish react to Tube Dude.
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[chayden]

As the timid lion from Wizard of OZ said while holding his tale "AIN'T IT THE TRUTH'. Good article - thanks for sharing
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[Kent]

That is a great read and probably spot on.
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[PBH]

Anthropomorphism.
The attributing of human characteristics and purposes to inanimate objects, animals, plants, or other natural phenomena...

Walt Disney was brilliant.
He did a disservice to many. Far too often we, as humans, attempt to give animals (and fish!) human characteristics.

We often times try to "out smart" fish. We try to believe that fish can think, and actually process decisions. We want to believe that they can "feel" and process "pain" the way we do. This is nothing more than anthropomorphic thinking.

A fish brain is about the size of a pea.
It is programmed to respond to stimuli.
Stimuli can be anything. For a human, stimuli might be what we call "pain". For a fish, stimuli might be some type of an object "swimming" in front of it. Why does it hit that object? Who knows -- food, aggression, fun, protection....could be anything, or nothing at all. It's simply stimuli. Why does a fish fight when hooked? Is it "pain"? Or is it simply a response to stimuli -- more simply put: a reaction.


the trick for anglers is not trying to trick the fish into confusing a lure with a natural bait. We fish lures all the time that do not mimic natural baits -- and often times they work very well!
The trick is to understand how to trigger a response to stimuli -- how to get a reaction.

Just like with any other group, and any other hobby, we always try to complicate things more than necessary. Fishing should be simple.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Aptly stated...as usual.

I sometimes laugh at myself...by myself. That happens a lot as we age. But I am always working on trying to come up with purty new lure designs and colors...to "fool the fish". However, as the wisdom of age (or alzheimers) becomes more pronounced I realize that there are many things more important than mere size, shape and color of lures.

In my earliest fishing years one of my fave angler uncles used to tell me that it was most important to first find the fish. Second, don't scare them off by doing something stupid. Then try to make a presentation that at least remotely suggests something edible.

Over the years I have caught a lot of fish that I shouldn't oughtta have caught. They just plain committed suicide by hitting something I was using and were not outwitted by a dimwit angler at all. And on the flip side, I have outsmarted myself far too many times by overthinking a fishing situation and leaving the fish chortling at my foolishness.

It is always gratifying to put together a game plan, set up your gear, tie on the "magic" bait or lure and then have a large fish of the targeted species vote for your "pattern". The mistake is believing that you can duplicate that same success on your next trip...or any trip. The fish will humble you back to reality. LUCK is a big four letter word in fishing. But then again, so is FISH.
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I especially liked his last paragraph.[/#800000][/font]

Many want to believe anglers outwit an animal dumber than dirt, when in actuality it is they who are outwitted by manufacturer claims pushed by well
paid pro sponsors. ( Bass Master magazine is full of them.)

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Thanks for the link Pat.[/#800000][/font]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Me too also. I have long maintained that most lures are designed more to catch fishermen than fish.

Speaking of links, thanks for the info you sent on your gifted relative. You gotta be proud.
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[travelinangler]

Thanks for the link... I actually thought it was a great read and a good reminder that we need a good arsenal of devils treats to entice those tasty fish. [fishon]
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[dubob]

[quote TubeDude][#0000FF]Speaking of links, thanks for the info you sent on your gifted relative. You gotta be proud.[/#0000FF][/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Ya think? [][/#][/font]
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[doitall5000]

I too have had fun making my own jigs. Have been successful in catching fish on them, but I make them to please my eye. Heck I would eat them..
My latest was a shinner colored jig. Good for Lake Powell, I didn't catch anything YET . I will hammer willard with it very soon. Real fun to get success. I did make a great white fish fly, still us it. TD brought me back to the art. Thanks, success is great fun,
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[WaveWolf]

Kudos on the link. After tying flies and making lures for many years, I'm a firm believer in, We don't know what we don't know.
Jacques Cousteau said that over 800 species of fish communicate by sound and a whale can transmit sound across hundreds of miles. That surely explains a lot of my skunk days.
Great Whites can detect a drop of blood in 25 gallons of water for up to 3 miles.
That little pea brain must be one good micro computer to process all that information,
and put them into a stealth type hunt.

I agree that all the bangles and bells attract the fisherman rather than the fish, but I also think that Gary Yamamoto, Gulp, and TD must be on to something?
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[TubeDude]

[quote travelinangler]Thanks for the link... I actually thought it was a great read and a good reminder that we need a good arsenal of devils treats to entice those tasty fish. [/quote]

[#0000FF]I am prone to carry a lot more stuff than proves to be necessary on the "average" trip. And at the end of the day I usually find that I caught most of my fish on one rod and one lure.

But, just like a raincoat...better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
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[dregs]

Thanks for the link.

Fish are clearly not intelligent animals that identify their prey by species before taking a bite. But saying their brain is "nothing more than a conduit to it's muscles" seems way too far.

The filter between stimulus and action must have some complexity. Why do some fish chase and not bite? There must be a different filter for a chase than for a bite. What stimulus is wrong when a trout rises, takes a look at a fly, and sinks back down? Is "match the hatch" BS? Why do some fish take a swipe or two at a bait and then just swim off? I've seen videos of pike bumping lures several times before finally committing. The bait was moving at the same speed with same action, what finally triggers the hit?

There was no mention of different species. There was no mention of the role smell plays. How important is lure action when fishing for catfish with shrimp?

It's good to be reminded that lures are often designed to catch fishermen rather than fish. The post has some good things to think about, but it's heavy on conjecture and light on facts. Which I suppose also describes my posts and most of the internet.

I still don't have a practical understanding of what causes fish to strike.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I have always favored the saying "The more I learn the more I learn what I don't know."

I would never be so foolish as to suggest that I know it all about fishing...or even a good percentage. But over the course of my decades of fishing there are a few things I satisfy myself that I understand pretty well. At least that I have proven to my own satisfaction...even if others think differently or know better from their own experience.

1. No matter what the conditions or how poor the fishing is for some or most anglers, there will be someone on the same water at the same time who has found active fish and has a working pattern.

2. Fish do not have good memories. But they do develop instinctive negative reactions to certain stimuli that have had negative consequences in the past. These are the survivors. The rest we call dinner.

3. Fish do not have reasoning ability. They may "pattern" on a particular size, shape, color and action while feeding...and shy away from anything that does not fit their current feeding routine...but they can usually be tricked into a "reaction" bite with something different.

4. Having the right size, shape, color and action is sometimes not good enough. If your bait or lure has an odor that is repulsive...or not quite right...the fish will often not seal the deal. Some species are more scent oriented than others, but almost all fish are turned off by certain smells...human, petroleum products, sunscreens, etc.

5. Ditto for sound. Even if visible fish do not show an immediate physical reaction to loud or strange noises, their feeding impulses usually go on hold until the short term memory of that sound fades.

6. Fish are like small children. They can't tell you what is wrong with them...or why they are doing (or not doing) something. All you know is that they attack your offerings...or not. The best you can hope for is to remember what you did right...or wrong...for future reference. But next time things can be completely different and you gotta figure it out all over again.

Here is a little piece I put together for someone a while back who was asking about how I determine what colors I use...in making and/or fishing lures.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]SenkoSam replied to his own post...with some additional info. So I will reply to my post...with a copy and paste of his addendum.

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Here are a few assertions that support the above, quoted from Knowing Bass by Keith Jones, PhD fish biologist. (Of course all of the information applies to all freshwater fish species, not just bass.)

Bass don't do well with stationary objects. They are endowed with a visual system geared to detecting and analyzing motion and we shouldn't wonder that bass can be pretty picky about different lure presentations. They don't see lures move the way we see them move; bass are highly sensitive to motion and it is likely they are predisposed to look for key motion characteristics while ignoring others.

Bass tend to find some motions more stimulating than others such as objects with erratic motions, while ignoring those with sustained motion and losing interest fast in lures moving at a constant speed. Mixed in with erratic motions are periods of stability - [i]motionlessness, always keeping in mind that a bit of unpredictability (IE lures that dart from side to side) must be interspersed with predictability, because a fish that can not accurately predict where the target will be, tends to hold back (... too much of a good thing)

The other key element of presentation is called the reaction zone and the maximum distance a fish will travel to strike any object - the reaction distance - is most times shorter than the visual distance. If a lure travels through the most distant part of the reaction zone too fast, the lure will be ignored; if allowed to pause in the zone, the odds are better for a fish too move closer and maybe strike. All of this is supported by the inherent bias of visually guided attacks limited by water clarity, light, weeds, etc.

Bass commonly position themselves where they can strike upwards coming from beneath prey, but no attack direction is sacred and being flexible opportunists, bass can hit from any direction and angle.[/i]

I guess my bias is from reading articles over the years that document bass behavior as it relates to fish biology and tendencies. Of course most if not all fish species share the same anatomical structures /capabilities and behavioral tendencies. As long as I catch fish in accordance with science and the scientific method, I see no reason not to reject most of what is written that is usually commercially motivated.
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[WaveWolf]

Hey TD, your "Fish Triggers" is a good read. I'm going to cut and paste that one in my tying room.

Perhaps you should join the Yamamoto team, or better yet, maybe he should join the Tube Dude team.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Thanks.

I use and enjoy some of Gary's goodies. He makes good stuff. But I'm pretty much a LoneWolf...not a WaveWolf. Not into teams or competitions.
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[liketrolling]

here is some thing I found I don't use the lures or no what they look like.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH LEN THOMPSON PATTERNS AND COLOURS?
Yellow & Red five-of-diamonds is our best selling pattern. We aren't exactly sure why it is so productive, but it's our opinion that the high contrast paint job triggers aggressive, territorial behavior in almost all game fish.

All Len Thompson paint jobs are high contrast. Subtle isn't in our nature, nor generally in the nature of the fish hooked on our product. We believe patterns like Nickel, Brass, or Nickel Blue could possibly be perceived as prey, but if anyone can explain how a stream trout sipping only size 18 mayflies can confuse that food source with a No. 00 YR spoon, we'd like to hear the answer.

Our Colour Theory?

There are many theories, but it is best to have a decent selection of Len Thompson lures and experiment until you find the colour (and size) that is working that day.

Try starting with the following colour recommendations based on water clarity:

Clear water: Blue patterns, Nickel backs
Green water: Green and White patterns, Nickel or Brass backs
Stained water: Yellow, Red, Orange, Green patterns, Brass or Nickel backs
Muddy water: Flame & Flourescent, Brass backs

Color is secondary in importance to a Len Thompson's ability to catch fish. Obviously, the most important aspect of a Len Thompson lure is the action. This is why, regardless of the colour pattern chosen, a Len Thompson will perform time and time again.
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