Page 22 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine March 2023

The Sixth Sense of Bass

Bass have a what is considered by some a sixth sense, referred to as the “lateral line”. But it does not operate alone. Bass
Also have the sense of taste, smell, sight, hearing, touch. Understanding a bass is just as important to an angler as having
the right equipment in their hand. So many anglers seem to have a rough time not knowing how to fish under different
conditions, how to use baits properly, what to buy and what not to buy, how to locate bass, what type of equipment is
necessary, and on and on! To start with we will cover just how important the senses of a bass really are and try to gain a
better picture of why bass acts certain ways using their senses.

TASTE
Bass have two regions of taste buds, one residing outside their lips, and the second inside
their mouths. Additionally, they have taste buds on their tongues, and gills. When a
bass tries a bait, it will first hold the bait in its lips, if it tastes undesirable, the bait may
never make it inside their mouths. The senses of smell and taste both detect waterborne
chemicals, so the two senses often work in unison when feeding. That means that a bass
can taste an object before it even gets in its mouth. The taste and smell of a bass are once
again synonymous with each other and that a bass smells and tastes at the same time.

For anglers, it’s vital to know that the bass sense of taste is powerful. With hard baits, an angler has an immediate indica-
tor of the bite and can quickly set the hook. Soft baits give the bass more time to investigate and as such often the bite is
more challenging to detect. A positive taste will cause the bass to hold onto the bait longer giving the angler more time
to detect the bite and set the hook. If you find you are getting bites but missing them on the hook-set, consider using
baits that have flavors or scents infused. The idea is the fish will hold on a little longer, giving the angler that needed
extra moment to set the hook.

Bass are primarily sight feeders, so their eyes direct most strikes, with input from the lateral line. But once a lure is in a
bass’ mouth, the taste buds evaluate its palatability. Attractive flavors or customary ones from common prey are quickly
swallowed. Negative cues mean a missed fish.

SMELL
It is important to understand that live bait that produces natural con-
centrated oils. Have you ever been in an area fishing, and it smelled
like bait-fish? While smell may dissipate quickly for humans in the
surrounding atmosphere, it lingers much longer in water, and a fish can
detect odors in far smaller quantities. Scientific research shows some
fish are drawn to chemical sources from hundreds of yards away. Bass
have two nostrils on each side of their snout. One is the anterior nostril
and the other is the posterior nostril. Water flows into the anterior nos-
tril, over the olfactory nerves, and back out through the posterior nostril. As the water holding the scent molecules flows
across the olfactory nerves, a message is sent to the brain, where the scent is classified as a positive or negative scent.
Bass then act on the sense by a conditioned response. When visibility is poor, this ability to smell prey becomes much
more important for survival.

Earlier we mentioned a positive response by bass. They can also have a negative response to odors that are unpleas-
ant. This can be things in the human environment that transfer from our hands to the baits, such as fuel, hand soaps,
and anything else that we touch. Another consideration includes chemicals emitted by the fish themselves. Have you
ever caught and released several fish in an area and the bite just stops? Some believe that caught and released bass emit
chemicals into the water that are interpreted as negative to other bass. This makes sense when you consider the “fight or
flight” in humans when faced with danger. We sweat like crazy, and we know that has an unpleasant odor.

22 Lady Bass Anglers Association The Sixth Sense of Bass