Photo: Chuck Beasley
August 11, 2020
By Gabe Gries
Fish Health—Black bass can ingest softbaits while they are being fished or by eating them off the bottom after they have fallen off a hook or been discarded by anglers, yet little is known about effects this might have on bass. Researchers investigated if shape and composition (biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable) of ingested softbaits affected feeding rates of largemouth bass.* Bass were fed one of the following softbaits: In the biodegradable category, a 4-inch Berkley Gulp ! Ripple Shad, 7-inch Berkley Gulp! Turtle Back Worm, or 4-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! Crawler; in the non-biodegradable category, a 4-inch Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad, 7-inch Berkley Powerbait Power Worm, or 4-inch Roboworm FAT Worm, and then allowed to eat as many live golden shiners as they could.
Bass that ate the largest softbaits by volume, the shad-shaped baits, consumed the lowest number of shiners. Bass that ate biodegradable baits consumed less shiners than those that ate non-biodegradable baits. Bass usually expelled a softbait within nine days and biodegradable baits were expelled faster than non-biodegradable ones. Although results suggest ingested softbaits do not present a significant long-term risk to largemouth bass health, softbaits should be disposed of properly.
*Sanft, E. J., A. P. Porreca, J. J. Parkos III, T. M. Detmer, and D. H. Wahl. 2018. Effects of ingestion of soft plastic fishing lures on largemouth bass. N. Am. J. Fish. Mgmt. 38:718-724.
