Something to remember....

[Oldfart9999]

Something to remember; the lateral line that bass have will let them pick vibrations that we would think are to weak for them. They know when a bait hits the water, when a boat comes near them, and that silly little weight you just dropped. Sometimes noise is an attractant and sometimes shuts them off. Do everything you can to keep all the noise confined to your baits and not worry, they know you are there, you're not hiding from them you're just trying to make yourself seem benign. They also know when bank fishermen are about, the vibrations transfer to the water from footsteps and dropping your tackle bag or box on the ground. Bass are aware of their surroundings, if they weren't we wouldn't have them to fish for.
Rodney

[Deadeye]

When I was a Kid I remember reading in an Outdoor Life, I believe it was, a Tip that showed a boy sneaking up to the creek on the ground. It went on to say that walking directly up to the side of the stream causes the fish to both feel you walking and also see you approaching.

It works. If you think about it Fish get attacked from the sky by birds and animals on the bank, so an image appearing there would give them cause for alarm.

I can say for a fact that by doing that I have caught many fish, Bass and others, that I would not of ever caught.

One day on Pa's Opening Day of Trout Season I wore a Camo Jacket and sat beside a pine tree on the High Side of the bank on a hole that I knew held trout. I watched those big boys ease out to eat and ease back under the bank long before the Angler walking down that other side ever appeared to my vision. Not one of those guys caught a fish out of that hole. It was a very eye-opening day for me.

[saltystick]

I agree with Rodney: fish have a super sense when it comes to detecting vibration. The same goes for vision. How they interpret vibration is anyone's guess including that of fish predators.

A few years ago I saw a heron standing in a few feet of water and then the sudden action of its beak as it snapped up a sunfish. The same thing happened in my pond. A heron walked into the shallow area, waited a minute and then all of a sudden a small 1/2 lb. bass was in its beak. It made me wonder why the fish swam so close to a predator with its long beak even after the bird moved a bit to look around ever so often.

Another example of fish not seeming to be alarmed or put off the bite is when I wade a shallow area of a smallie local river, I can sometimes catch over 6 smallmouth bass in one area. I'm most definitely making noise with my wading stick along with stumbling on rocks when I move about, but those fish bite anyway. The water from bank to bank is less than 5' deep and it's likely they can see part of my head due to refraction and me being less than 25' away.

Just one more mystery of nature left unsolved, speculation notwithstanding.