fishing pressure

[bassinbob]

We are all aware of how bass become pressured by seeing the same lures, methods, etc. Do you think they feel overly pressured in a body of water that is mostly fished for other species with different lures or methods? This being when they are not the intended quarry.

[Jrob78]

This is purely speculation on my part but I would think the 2 main things that make highly pressured bass hard to catch are boat traffic and seeing the same baits over and over again.

If they aren't being caught on the same bass baits or even seeing bass baits then they shouldn't be bait shy.

If they aren't being targeted would they even recognize boats as a bad thing? They might even be desensitized to boats allowing you to get closer without spooking them.

[bamabassman]

hmmmmm, very interesting. i have NO idea though.

[nofearengineer]

I think they would instinctively be afraid of boat traffic. They don't have to understand what a boat is in order to recognize it is big, fast, and loud...three things that all animals pretty much instinctively fear.

However, with regards to baits, it might actually be the opposite. Bass and other predators, when not pressured, sometimes seem to be curious about odd baits. As long as they have no reason to fear it based on experience (and their memory probably isn't very good), I would think they might give it a "wonder what this is?" nibble or two.

[Jrob78]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

I think they would instinctively be afraid of boat traffic. They don't have to understand what a boat is in order to recognize it is big, fast, and loud...three things that all animals pretty much instinctively fear.

This was my initial though too but then I thought about deer hunting. On farm land where trucks, tractors and heavy equipment are common you can drive right up to your stand, the deer aren't afraid of vehicles because they are used to them and they don't associate them with a threat.

Obviously deer and fish are 2 completely different animals though.