The Burning Question

Here are some benign photos of a thistle blossom gone to seed.








***WARNING***

The following post contains graphic photos that may be disturbing to the casual reader, PETA activists, and other non fishermen. Reader beware.....

Ever since Jonah survived for three days in the belly of the great fish, there has been one question that causes fishermen to examine the stomach contents of their catch.

"What have they been eating?", they ask thinking that this information will help them unlock the secret to the current pattern.

Bass fishermen who prefer using plastic worms over natural bait sometimes lose the worm to an over zealous fish. That brings up some even more pressing questions.

Can the fish digest the plastic? Does it hurt the fish?

Most true fishermen are conservationists at heart and either eat what they catch or release them relatively unharmed to grow and fight another day. They don't intentionally harm the very thing that they enjoy.

Bass are voracious eaters and largemouth bass in particular can eat big prey. Frogs, mice, lizards, birds, crawfish, and other fish are easily swallowed and digested.

Redfish are the big eaters of the saltwater crowd and eat whole crabs as shown in this photo.



I've lost my share of BGWs in Evans Lake and often wondered what became of the wayward worms. Well wonder no more - the mystery has been solved.



The science of the senko. Salt impregnated and lifelike in form but apparently completely undigestible. The good news is that it passed through without any damage whatsoever to the fish. This bass was in great shape and was well on his way to clearing the worm on his own. I helped it along to make sure there was no hook on the other end and released Mr. LMB to grow and fight another day.

Just in case you were wondering...