Fish Hear the Silience

• No doubt, smell can be detected a long way off, on land and in the sea. In turn, that can either bring predators in for a closer look or cause them to flee out of self-preservation. In the world of copies, originals are becoming scarce. In the fishing world, there are countless imitations of fish food, mostly in the form of other fish. The better ones are more realistic. They act, feel, and look more like the real thing. The range of colors is mind-boggling.
• However, there is something that triggers a response. That something can either cause a fish to attack and feed or swim for cover. Threatening noises put all of us on guard. Peaceful ones evoke another reaction. Once danger is realized, it's usually too late so being aware of one's surroundings is the first line of defense. It's the same with fish!
• A fluttering, floundering soft bait emits a vibration easily detected by predator fish, like a bass. It won't be threatening to large fish but a death song to the bite-size ones. A quality bait is more apt to swim in a life-like fashion, while its soft body is held in the mouth of a feeding fish a bit longer before exhaling. This margin gives an angler the hook-setting edge often needed to land a trophy.
• Many inferior soft plastics cannot withstand more than one strike of an aggressive fish. Some discharge offensive smells, while others lose their coloration after a dunk or two. Often sub-quality hooks are used, giving rise to another reason fish are lost. With all things considered, select your baits based on existing fishing conditions and weight them accordingly.
• It is important to cause your soft plastics to act naturally in the water column. Each one swims differently, so selecting one that also best imitates the pattern you are attempting to achieve will greatly improve hook-ups. At times, size matters as does color, however, if the sound of your bait causes fright and flight instead of foray and feed, you might have to rename your boat Fishless. [capt morgan]