| __________________________________________________ March 30, 2004 - Vol. 5 No. 8 __________________________________________________ NEW RETRACTABLE LANDING GEAR The Hibernet is happening! It's a new heavy duty retractable landing net. The net retracts completely inside the stout handle for easy tangle-free storage in a rod locker. The manufacturer, Jebran, says the Hibernet is the maximum allowable net length and size specified by Bassmaster and FLW tournament rules. So it is the most net the law allows. If you are interested in a heavy duty maximum size retractable landing net, go here to check out the: NEW RETRACTABLE LANDING GEAR http://www.jebran.com __________________________________________________ SIZE (AND COLOR) DOES INDEED MATTER There's much hullabaloo on marina docks, between the front and back of the boat, at tackle shops, club or tourney meetings, in magazines, and on the web. Heck, it's a morass of personal and subjective opinions we wade through on whether something so simple as lure color or size matters. Have you heard the one about you build it and they will come? Or when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you? Or how about when you throw your confidence bait (makes no difference what it is or where you throw it) then it will work for you? Just throw it and they will come? It's hokum. Fish don't bite confidence, okay? You don't need it in a bait. But you do need the right size and the right color, whatever it may be at the moment. I spoke today with Dr. Gene Wilde, an associate professor of fisheries ecology with the Wildlife and Fisheries Management Institute, Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX). Dr. Wilde and two associates recently conducted angling experiments to examine whether lure size or color affect the number or size of largemouth bass captured by angling. LURE COLOR In the lure color experiments, four colors of the same model of original Rapala floating minnow were assessed being fished simultaneously against each other. Results were that lure color affected catch rates. Catch rates averaged 3.88 bass per hour for the worst color up to 6.25 bass per hour for the best colors. If I extrapolate that out to an eight hour day, it means either 31 or 50 bass per day - a difference of 19 bass per day attributed to lure color. That's quite a lot of bass. Dr. Wilde had anticipated these results since three earlier scientific research studies (in 1937, 1949 and 2001) also indicated that lure color may affect catch rates of largemouth bass. LURE SIZE In the lure size experiments, four sizes of the same color of original Rapala floating minnow were assessed being fished simultaneously against each other. Results were that lure size affected both the number and size of bass caught. More and smaller size bass were caught on smaller lures. Fewer but larger size bass were caught on larger lures. Catch rates averaged 3.29 bass per hour for the largest lure up to 13 bass per hour for the smaller lures. If I extrapolate that out to an eight hour day, it means either 26 larger bass per day on a larger lure or 104 smaller bass per day on smaller lures. Catching many smaller fish using smaller lures, even though you may catch-and-release them, you do unnecessary potential damage to your future fish stocks. Especially in a tournament situation, where you typically weigh only five fish, the biggest you can, it makes strategic sense to throw a big fish bait. You will get fewer but larger fish needed to win versus more smaller fish that consume your time capturing, culling and releasing scads of them all day, and you are unlikely to win. So wet a big bait, boys. In the right color. Scientists with the gray matter say it may matter. Regards, Russ Bassdozer __________________________________________________
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