Ultimate Kayak Fishing

Debunking and Affirming Some of the Many Striped Bass Theories

Bass Move Shallow to Feed – Many studies have been conducted to better understand feeding habits of striped bass. Bass are more likely to move horizontally across the water column rather than vertical, which is contrary to what some anglers believe. Drastic changes in depth do occur, but oftentimes during occasions when the predator is attacking baitfish located closer to the surface. Although vertical feeding movements do occur, depth change is limited to the expansion and contraction of the striper’s swim bladder. Rapid ascent or descent may cause pain or discomfort and therefore these movements are not in the best interest of the striper. Extreme weather will force bass to migrate to differing depths, but the changes will be made over the course of several days, not several hours. In most instances, bass moving into the shallows to feed were most likely stationed in similar depths (10-15 foot maximum variance) during the day before moving in closer to shore. Simply put, the striper does not move from 75 feet of water to 5 feet in the course of a couple of hours. From a physiological standpoint, it can and won’t be done.

Loners of the Sea – Bass are, by nature, a flushing predator and the term “power in numbers” is most appropriate to define this form of feeding. It is the modus operandi of all striped bass, regardless of their size. Bait fish, in most cases, are more maneuverable and can oftentimes escape the attack of one striper. As the number of stripers increase, the odds of the baitfish living another day drastically decrease. By utilizing this “flushing technique,” baitfish dash near an unsuspecting striper while trying to avoid another. As the striper matures and grows, this instinctive feeding technique is a genetic trait that does not diminish over time. As the size of the striper increases, the size of the school decreases, but this is not due to the incorrect theory that “cows” are loners. Inherently, there are fewer large bass in the sea and therefore, the size of most schools are much smaller. It is simply a matter of numbers.

Stripers and the Sun – Science has proven that striped bass are nocturnal feeders by genetic design, but the reasons behind this fact may surprise you. Truth be told, stripers simply are more effective fishermen under the cloak of darkness and are more prone to failure as the light of day brightens the various water columns. Striped bass do not have eyelids and their pupils do not extract and dilate like humans. As a fact, water reflects and absorbs light beams, thus reducing its intensity. Therefore, slow or even sudden increases of light intensity do not present an issue for the striper. Stripers are simply more effective and more comfortable hunting baitfish in low light conditions where stealth can be utilized to stalk unsuspecting prey. The sun and its bright rays of light are not enemies of the striped bass, it is simply a hindrance to their feeding behavior.

Be Quiet, They Can Hear You… Or Can They? – Have you ever fished with a buddy who refuses to speak above a whisper because he’s terrified to spook the fish? Well, next time, tell him he’s not watching a golf match. Sound, and more specifically human voice, does not transfer well from air to water. In fact, striped bass, who are most likely swimming closer to the ocean bottom, can’t hear a damned thing your saying. If this theory was true, then Charlie Moore, the idiot of all idiots, with his incessant screaming and laughing wouldn’t catch a single fish. Conversely, noise made by a boat bottom or the smacking of an oar or paddle on the water passes easily through the water to the lateral lines and ears of the striper. Advice: Talk all you want, just keep those paddles as quiet as possible.

Sight is Not Imperative for Bass to Feed at Night – This is completely untrue. The lateral line and stripers’ sense of smell certainly plays a key role in alerting them to nearby prey. But the eyes of the striper are also required for effective ambushes. Keep in mind, stripers are capable of seeing in light conditions considered much too dark for humans. This keenness of sight provides the bass with the visual depiction of prey in nearly complete darkness, providing them with an advantage some animals of the sea do not possess. To prove this, tests have been conducted with blind bass and although the bass were capable of capturing prey using their other sensory organs, their rate of success was greatly diminished as compared to bass with capable eyesight.

Wind Alone Does Not Push Baitfish to Downwind Shores – This statement in a sense may be untrue, but some reasons in which anglers believe this is true are incorrect. Most baitfish, and in this case I’m referring to the likes of shad, bunker of all sizes, and butterfish, are capable of swimming against fairly strong currents. The reason why baitfish constantly appear along certain shore locations during times when the wind blows from a specific direction, is due in part to what they are feeding on. Due to their microscopic size, plankton are oftentimes at the mercy of the ocean’s current. Many varieties of baitfish rely on plankton as their primary food source. In the case of a downwind current, the plankton will be pushed to the shoreline, which in turn will also push the baitfish in closer to the shore. When baitfish are feeding in shallow waters, this allows the opportunistic striper (blues and tuna are not excluded) to move into the strike zone where chances of success are increased in the shallower water.

Bass Seek Spots with Optimum Conditions – Striped bass are not clairvoyant. Unless they have recently experienced an area with optimum pH, high oxygen content and bountiful prey, they are not capable of knowing such conditions exist elsewhere. Bass shift locations when conditions become unsatisfactory. Many studies show that most bass tend to stay put until environmental conditions change. Optimum conditions may concentrate striped bass in a small area, but don’t draw fish from distant areas unless conditions force the stripers to leave all other spots. No matter how attractive a place may be, it won’t attract bass unless they know it exists. However, once they’ve occupied a specific spot, bass are very capable of returning to the exact same location after several months’ absence.

Find the Bait and You’ll Find the Bass – This statement is partially true, but once again, not for the reasons you might think. Baitfish are engineered to scurry along at a quick pace with a surprising amount of endurance. Conversely, striped bass may dash rapidly in an attempt to garner a quick meal, but will then cruise slowly, and then stop to rest. When you run into a blitz situation or times when bass are thick amongst the baitfish, the striped bass have actually hovered and surrounded a school of bait, thus trapping them in a “circle of death.” Blitz situations occur when pods of bait are pursued by multiple schools of stripers, thus making it appear that one school of bass is tracking the same pod of bait for an extended period of time. This is simply not true.

I may be in the minority, but I find it interesting to understand the prey in which I stalk. The striped bass is not only a fantastic game fish, but it generates a multitude of questions and theories that may never be totally understood. This, among everyting else is the reason for my addiction to battling the striped bass, and knowing I have so much to learn only brings me back with more interest and excitement every time I load up the yak.