Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish

Bass, especially largemouth bass, are easily the single most popular freshwater gamefish in the United States. Knowing Bass is a book about the science of bass fishing, with particular emphasis on the bass itself: What bass can sense, how they use their senses to feed, how they relate to fishing lures, and ultimately how they interact with anglers. Understanding why bass behave as they do will greatly improve your chances of being a better and more successful angler, no matter your present skill level. And that's the purpose behind this book, to improve everyone's chances of success at catching bass, no matter where or how they fish. A renowned aquatic biologist and expert in the field of bass behavior, Dr. Jones has made the finest and most up-to-date scientific research accessible to everyone who loves these great gamefish. Whether you fish with bait-casting, spinning, or fly tackle, the more you know about bass, the more and bigger fish you will catch. Topics covered include bass biology; life history; the bass's organs of vision, hearing, smell, and taste, including the smells and flavors bass like-and don't like; how smell and taste control feeding behavior; the best kinds of lures to trigger the attack response in various situations; what factors will make bass strike your lures and baits - and what might make them shy away. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 320 pages, color photos, b&w photos, charts) Keith A. Jones, Ph.D. brings a unique professional perspective to the task of illuminating bass senses and behavior. For sixteen years he has studied bass intensively as Director of Fish Research at the Berkley Fish Research Center in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The Center is dedicated to the study of bass and other gamefish, most notably their attack behaviors, for the purpose of designing improved lures and baits.