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and wolves that prey heavily on Salmonids in shallow streams. But, no tests have shown bass react negatively to L-serine or other natural human odors. In-fact, bass may consider human scents a combination of tasty amino-acids. Bass have liked L-serine in some taste tests.

Bass have little evolutionary experience with a sweaty mammalian attackers and thus have had no reason to develop any avoidance instincts. They might, however, individually learn to fear human scents and tastes through exposure to anglers during catch and release experiences.

18. Does the sun hurt the eyes of bass and force them to hide in shade? If you went out to a clear lake today you likely would see some bass cruising in clear water and direct sunlight. Bass don't need eyelids to keep their
eyes wet, and move their rods and cones in and out of pigments to adapt to different light levels. Moreover, water itself is a good light filter, which cuts light levels rapidly with depth. Bass, in effect, are constantly wearing the equivalent of sun glasses. Bass appar

ently hunt through shaded areas and hold in shade because low light hides them from preyfish, not because light hurts them.
19. Can bass hear anglers talking? Sound travels well in air but five time louder and faster in water. But, sounds generated in air are poorly transferred to water. Talking doesn't create enough underwater noise to bother fish. But banging any hard surface touching the water or rocking a boat creates strong underwater noises/vibrations/waves that alert fish. Fish that have learned to associate these events with anglers and danger may stop feeding or flee. But, if you routinely fish with someone who is too talkative, you may want to keep this myth alive.

20. Do bass follow baitfish schools across lakes? Bass have only white muscle and cruise relatively slowly, like a trolling motor on low. This speed is much slower than that of cruising stripers that have red muscle that allows faster cruising baitfish for long periods.  Bass may hover and feed near shad schools that move into their home ranges, but bass usually won't follow shad very far if the shad swim at full speed. This is the shad school's escape maneuver. The multiple surface attacks seen as shad make long daily migra

tions are more likely made by several bass schools than by one following school.
21. Are baitfish "blown" to downwind shores? No way. Baitfish are strong enough to swim against strong river currents. Wind currents are very weak and fairly shallow. If preyfish congregate on windward shores, it is because
floating plankton, which can't swim away, is pushed by there by the weak current.

22. Do bass remember things more than a few minutes? You bet.  That's how they function. They repeat behaviors and form habits. They go back to places where they remember that they caught prey to try again. They return a year later to where they spawned. They can find springs or sanctuaries in hot ponds every summer. They even seem to learn to avoid specific lures and lure colors.

But, bass only learn and remember things of immediate importance to them. They apparently can't learn abstract relationships. They learn to eat things they catch and that taste good. They learn to flee things that lunge at
them, or loom near them suddenly. We know this is learning, because they can learn to ignore things that make sudden noises but that are not really threats, like people swim



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