Unlike trout, bass do not actively hunt or ?feed? a large percentage of the time. Finding food for a bass, as long as there are no problems with it?s environment, is fairly easy. A bass spends only a short time every day or so ?feeding?. As a bass gets larger, it can consume larger meals, survive longer from them, and thus actively ?feeds? less than a smaller fish will.

Luckily for us anglers, bass are aggressive creatures as well as being opportunistic feeders. A bass can be ?triggered? into striking a lure or fly during the majority of the time that it is not ?feeding? actively.

However, what it takes to do this is ?movement? or ?action? or something that creates either a feeding response (?eat it?) or an anger response (?kill it?-when a bass ?kills? something out of it?s aggression response, it usually eats it-efficiency of effort is genetic).

We know, from countless hours of film and studies, what ?kinds? of actions or movements in a lure or fly will ?trigger? a bass to strike.

Bass are genetically programmed to kill and eat the weak or injured. Uninjured fish move smoothly though the water, unless actively feeding, such fish are safe from the bass. Erratic movement, as though injured, will elicit a response from a bass.

Bass will pursue a fleeing prey. A baitfish or crawfish that moves slowly and smoothly away from the bass is usually not bothered. The same prey that flees in alarm will trigger the bass to attack and feed.

Falling baits are extremely effective for bass in most situations. The only time prey ?falls? or ?drops? through the water column is when there is some problem or anomaly that signals injury or maybe just ?easy food? to the bass.

Surface disturbance. Any time the surface is disturbed by something alive, it signals either ?something injured? or ?something easy to catch? to the bass. Normal bass prey does not break the surface of the water unless injured or disturbed. Abnormal food sources, like terrestrials that enter the water, are out of their ?element? and are easy to catch meals for the bass.

There are others, of course, but you get the idea. It's how something 'moves' in the water, not how it 'looks' that will trigger a bass to respond.

All of this gives us some insight into how to design flies for bass fishing ,and how to manipulate them to better trigger a response from the bass.

Good Luck!