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The Science of Bass Fishing

Keith A. Jones, PhD, "Knowing Bass- The Scientific Approach to Catching More Bass," Lyons Press, 2005, 280 pp., $16.95.

reviewed by Kevin Patton

The secondary title of this book is “The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish” and it lives up to its billing.

  •  In Chapter One, Dr. Jones dives right into the different classifications, biology, and physiology of the popular game fish that we love to pursue.  He outlines the basic characteristics of bass, including its amazing ability to adapt to being transplanted to various environments around the world.

He discusses the development of the various bass senses and how they can be stimulated.  The good news for anglers is that bass strike a lure for reasons other than a desire to feed, thus a wide variety of artificial lures are successful.

But, he emphasizes that bass always do have the upper hand in the battle due to factors beyond any fisherman’s control, such as water temperature, level of light penetration into water, hunger state of bass, and reproductive condition.  Thus, the bad news is that there is no single perfect lure.

Dr. Jones examines some of the scientific reasons why anglers come up short in their pursuit of bass.

  •  Chapter Two gives a detailed explanation of the brain of a bass as it relates to senses and behavior.  This is technical stuff that delves into the physiology and function of the bass brain and nervous system.

Jones relates how bass learn as a by-product of their nervous system, not as a result of intelligence.

He enumerates the different ways bass learn to avoid lures, ignore heavy boat traffic, and track certain types of prey, but he is quick to point out that not all bass learn at the same rate.

Studies show that the average bass is caught twice each season, while some “slow learners” among bass can be caught as many as 16 times during a season.

Unfortunately for anglers, studies show that some bass can remember a negative reaction to a specific lure for three months or longer.

In the fish world bass are neither the quickest learners nor the slowest ones.  They fall somewhere in the middle of the fish species tested, but Jones insists that although learned behavior may supplement bass instincts, it does not override them.

  •  In Chapter Three, Jones states that, unlike humans, bass possess impressive senses of smell and taste that have a tremendous impact on how they feed.  He gives a detailed explanation of how smell and taste effect feeding, despite bass being primarily visual predators.

While humans are limited to having taste buds on only their tongues, bass possess them on the sides and roof of their mouths, down their throats, as well as on the lips, gills, and between their teeth.  As a result bass are able to detect some chemicals in water that are only present in parts per billion. 

Tests have determined that bass are sensitive to all four of the basic tastes that humans detect- sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.  Bass smell a wider variety of chemicals than they taste and they lie somewhere in the middle of all fish species when it comes to chemical sensitivity.

Jones provides insight into how this relates to fish scents and some common misconceptions about their use, including whether bass strike a lure with scent better and whether they hold on to scented lures longer.

After the scientific explanations, Jones provides a list of common flavors that bass like and dislike, including some surprising comments about scent ingredients such as garlic, anise oil, and salt.

Another eye opener is the list of chemicals commonly used by anglers that repel bass, including insect repellent, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, nicotine, caffeine, gasoline, and oil.  Do you know which two on this list do not noticeably repel bass?  The answer will surprise you. 

When and what bass decide to eat is a funtion of complex sensory systems and how they interact with the nervous system and brain of fish.

  •  Chapter Four involves the hearing and vibration detection senses of bass and, like previous chapters, Jones first gives a technical explanation of underwater sound, how it travels, and how bass detect it and how they react to it.

The influence of sound on bass feeding is discussed and how it varies in different bodies of water based on depth of water, bottom sediment, and noise levels in the water, such as boat traffic, dam operation, and swimming beaches.

Jones mentions sounds that attract and repel bass, as well as sounds made by various types of lures and how angler modifications change those sounds.

Lure selection as it relates to bass hearing is discussed, along with a comparison of lures with rattles and those without and soft plastics lures versus rattling crankbaits.  The results are interesting, but not conclusive.

  •  Chapter Five, the longest chapter and perhaps the most scientifically detailed,  deals with bass vision.

Jones notes that most fishermen select lures bases on how we see them, not how bass see them and that “matching the hatch” is not always the best strategy.

He maintains that we don’t have a full understanding of how and what bass see.  What we think is a visual reason that causes a bass to strike a given lure may instead be a reaction that involves another of the bass senses.

There is a technical explanation of how water absorbs and scatters light, how various colors are absorbed differently in varying water clarities, how fluorescent colors are absorbed differently than regular colors, and the differences in the day vision of a bass versus night vision.

The ages-old question of whether or not bass see colors is examined on the basis of numerous studies.

The physiology of the eyes of bass is detailed, how their nervous system sends messages to their brain, and the field of vision of bass.

Jones explains why, unlike humans, bass vision sharpens with age, thus making older bass more efficient predators and more selective about what they eat.

Bass use the visual factors of size, shape, color, flash, and action to locate and assess your fishing lures and Jones examines each of these factors and how they relate to lure selection.

For instance, lab tests showed some surprising results when bass were tested for their preference in striking a naturally-shaped crawdad lure versus ones that had been altered by removing pinchers, legs, etc.

There was also some interesting research cited about how often bass attacked various lures of a single color versus two-tone lures. 

According to Jones, research has also confirmed the common belief among fishermen that using erratic retrieves and varying retrieve speeds does provide an angling advantage.

Finally, Jones discusses the “strike zone” of bass and the various factors that cause it to change in size. 

"Knowing Bass" is based on the study of bass physiology, senses, and behavior. The book has many insights for bass anglers.

  •  Chapter Six covers senses in the skin of bass, close to the surface. 

These senses are used to detect touch, pressure, temperature, and reaction to chemical irritants.  They effect how long bass will hold lures in their mouths and therefore how much time that anglers have to set the hook.

The senses in bass skin also regulate bass responses to various aspects of water quality, such as temperature, oxygen content, and PH.

Jones emphasizes that different areas of the same body of water go through seasonal changes at separate times, thus creating many microhabitats that determine bass behavior at a given time.

Water temperature affects oxygen content and PH in water and all these factors partially determine where bass locate, with temperature being the most important. 

Bass use senses in their skin to detect hard and soft materials, heavily favoring the latter and this may explain why you have longer to set the hook when bass strike soft plastic lures versus hard plastic or wooden baits.

Charts are shown that detail bass behavior during the transitional periods of spring and fall.  Based on water temperatures, he lists the feeding state of bass and popular lure choices during these periods.

Looking for active bass involves many factors, but Jones says that water temperature and PH should definitely be considered by anglers.  Jones reminds us that bass never distribute themselves uniformly or randomly throughout a body of water.

He asserts that stable water conditions can increase fishing success even more than more optimum water conditions that are unstable, which is why bass in 60 degree water for a week feed more aggressively than bass feed in 72 degree water immediately after a cold front.

It is emphasized that knowing bass behavior is still an art, not a science.  This means that bass location is not subject to sweeping truisms and rigid rules.

  •  Chapter Seven discusses the issues of bass pain and stress and their defense systems against predation, injury, and disease.

Jones addresses the question of whether bass feel pain or stress and how bass populations are effected by tournaments.  He argues that the scientific and anatomical evidence is inconclusive about bass feeling pain, but they definitely experience stress.

Stress levels are increased by such things as the length of time an angler fights a fish, poor water quality in livewells and fish bags, and water temperature, especially when above 70 degrees.

Holding bass in a net, livewell, or transport vehicle after capture increases stress, according to Jones, and unfortunately larger fish, spawning fish, and those caught during tournaments are more susceptible to harm.

How bass react to stress and what anglers, especially tournament anglers, can do to reduce stress and bass mortality is discussed.

  •  In Chapter Eight of the book, Jones discusses the potential of future lure design and what it could mean for anglers. 

After studying bass responses to lures in the laboratory and field for 16 years, Jones has concluded that no one lure is irresistible to bass and also that there are times when dormant bass refuse to strike a lure for any reason.

He compares the effectiveness of live bait versus artificials, saying that when the chips are down and it’s crunch time for catching bass, he puts his money on live bait.

However, Jones believes the potential exists to one day design artificial lures, what he calls “super lures,” which will stimulate bass more than natural prey. This possibility exists because of ongoing research about bass sensory systems and their reaction to various stimuli. 

For now though we can only wish for “super lures,” at least until we “know bass even better.”

  •  Summary:  “Knowing Bass” is not for every bass angler, at least not the entire book.  Each chapter begins with a scientific discussion of the various aspects of bass physiology, senses, and behavior.

It is detailed and technical.  But, the conclusions drawn from the science are given in layman’s terms at the end of each chapter. 

The book is well supplemented with diagrams and graphs that help decipher some of the technical jargon. The science and conclusions drawn from it are interesting and well presented.

With 280 pages and a cost of $16.95, the book is neither overwhelming nor expensive and it succeeds in cutting through some of the old wives tales that dominate much of the thinking about bass and fishing for them.