05-18-2006, 08:15 PM
I apologize in advance that this post doesn't involve a fishing report, a tackle tidbit, or some other stimulating or useful bit of information.
I do, however, feel that what I witnessed yesterday, as I stood gazing at some pretty impressive fish in Cabela's two fish tanks, is worth mentioning.
As any of you who have been to Cabela's knows, they have two separate fish tanks, one primarily containing trout and walleye, and the other containing mostly large and smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass, and the like.
As I stood there, I heard several comments from passersby, including, "Look at how the trout are constantly swimming around and being very active, yet the bass seem so stationary, as if they're waiting to ambush something" and "I thought they put some big catfish in one of these tanks, but I can't see them."
These comments made me notice that indeed the trout seemed very hyperactive, and the bass looked like big bullies, standing their ground, waiting for anything to tick them off enough or to entice them enough to warrant their attack.
I couldn't get the idea of seeing a big catfish out of my mind, though, so I kept looking for them. Though there are very few hiding places in the two tanks, after awhile I did notice movement in one of the large and very dark hollow logs. Since I knew something was in there, I kept looking, and sure enough after a few minutes out popped a whiskered head just long enough to look around and then turn and head back into the darkness.
It made me think of how wild fish tend to mimick these behaviors. Yes, bass do swim around a lot, too, and so do catfish, but it was interesting to note that the trout never seemed to be able to keep still; the bass always seemed to move very slowly, if ever, and always appeared as if they were poised to burst into an explosive attack; and the catfish seemed like the most shy of the bunch, preferring to hide in darkness and stay close to the bottom.
Anyway, it was all very entertaining to watch. Cabela's seems like they've added a lot more big fish to their tanks, so it was worth the drive, especially since I had a business meeting close by yesterday.
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I do, however, feel that what I witnessed yesterday, as I stood gazing at some pretty impressive fish in Cabela's two fish tanks, is worth mentioning.
As any of you who have been to Cabela's knows, they have two separate fish tanks, one primarily containing trout and walleye, and the other containing mostly large and smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass, and the like.
As I stood there, I heard several comments from passersby, including, "Look at how the trout are constantly swimming around and being very active, yet the bass seem so stationary, as if they're waiting to ambush something" and "I thought they put some big catfish in one of these tanks, but I can't see them."
These comments made me notice that indeed the trout seemed very hyperactive, and the bass looked like big bullies, standing their ground, waiting for anything to tick them off enough or to entice them enough to warrant their attack.
I couldn't get the idea of seeing a big catfish out of my mind, though, so I kept looking for them. Though there are very few hiding places in the two tanks, after awhile I did notice movement in one of the large and very dark hollow logs. Since I knew something was in there, I kept looking, and sure enough after a few minutes out popped a whiskered head just long enough to look around and then turn and head back into the darkness.
It made me think of how wild fish tend to mimick these behaviors. Yes, bass do swim around a lot, too, and so do catfish, but it was interesting to note that the trout never seemed to be able to keep still; the bass always seemed to move very slowly, if ever, and always appeared as if they were poised to burst into an explosive attack; and the catfish seemed like the most shy of the bunch, preferring to hide in darkness and stay close to the bottom.
Anyway, it was all very entertaining to watch. Cabela's seems like they've added a lot more big fish to their tanks, so it was worth the drive, especially since I had a business meeting close by yesterday.
[signature]
