By Roger Brown, The Bass Coach
Largemouth bass have the five major senses common to most animals: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch.
They have another sense, the lateral line, which is a series of sensitive nerve endings that extends from just behind the gill to the tail on each side of the fish. The lateral line can pick up underwater vibrations as subtle as a swimming baitfish.
Largemouth bass hear with external ears located within the skull. They may be attracted by the ticking or popping sound of some artificial lures. But, when they hear a loud, unfamiliar sound, they usually swim to deeper water or cover.
Bass can see in all directions, except directly below or behind.
Bass can see in all directions, except directly below or behind. In clear water, They can see 30 feet or more. But in most bass waters, visibility is limited to 5 to 10 feet. Largemouths can also see objects that are above water. Largemouths smell through nostrils, or nares, on the snout. The nares are small passageways through which water is drawn and expelled without entering the throat.
Like most fish, bass can detect minute amounts of scent in the water. Bass use their sense of touch to determine whether to reject or swallow an object. Sense of taste is not important to largemouth bass as it is to some fish species, because bass have few taste cells in their mouths.
