The other pole just has line hanging on it because you had to break it off last time you went fishing. You go through the tackle box and find a nice crankbait to tie on. Of course, you rub it around in your hands for a while and it takes about 2 minutes to get it attached to the line because you missed the loop when you brought the tag end back around....twice! Finally, you fished for 6 hours and told everyone you didn't understand why the fishing was so slow today!

 

The Science behind the Scent

 

First things first... I will use bass as an example because that is the species I primarily fish for and have studied for years. A bass has a very small brain in comparison to the human brain; the fish isn't dumb, but it's not smart either by the human definition. It has three purposes in its lifecycle--eating, surviving, and reproducing.

Bass simply interpret environmental stimuli, and then react to it. They are territorial by nature, but also very alert to changes in their environment. This same creature is also capable of conditioned behavioral responses. Dr. Loren Hill studied and documented conditioned behavior in bass while he was doing studies for the development of the Color-C-Lector. Bass are undoubtedly very complex creatures.

Reactions to any environmental stimuli including artificial lures can be directly related to three senses. These senses are mechanoreception (the use of their lateral line, hearing, and touch senses), photoreception (their use of vision), and chemoreception (use of their senses of smell and taste). Biologically speaking, chemoreception is further broken down into two categories: olfaction (sense of smell), and gustation (sense of taste).

Can bass smell different odors? Yes, they can, as do other species of fish. Bass however, don't depend on scent as a major factor in foraging. Sight and sound seem to be much more important. Compared to some of the super-smellers like catfish, salmon, or carp, a bass's sense of smell is a great deal less sensitive. Nevertheless, I can't ignore the capability they do have.

Let's analyze the subject matter of fish olfaction (their sense of smell). Bass have two nostrils on each side of their snout. One is the anterior nostril and the other one is the posterior nostril. Water will flow into the anterior nostril, over the olfactory nerves, and back out through the posterior nostril. More>