ARTIFICIALS MAY NOT BE BEST.

Byline: John Husar Chicago Tribune 

Could a widely held assumption in fishing - that live bait is more deadly to fish than artificial lures - actually be a myth?

Biologists in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are leaning in that direction after a study of bass mortality rates indicated little difference between the impact of artificial lures and live bait.

In fact, some artificial lure techniques may even be more harmful.

Anglers and fish scientists long have assumed the reverse to be true. Studies on mortality of trout and other species appear to bear them out.

But Texas fisheries chief Phil Durocher isn't sure these cautions apply to the hardy largemouth bass. ``It is a myth, according to the study we've done,'' Durocher said.

He conceded conventional wisdom insists fish should be harmed more when they gulp offerings of natural live bait like minnows, worms and leeches, becoming hooked deep in the gullet. Artificials generally are bitten, impaling fish in the mouth, where hooks easily can be removed. Deeply hooked fish have been given a much slimmer chance for survival by anglers who practice catch and release. Deep hooksets supposedly are harder to remove without damage to the fish.

That's a major reason why elite bass, pike and muskie anglers principally use artificials. They want to catch a lot of fish in a sporting manner and keep them alive for reproduction and future encounters. This has become the standard way to support a healthy fishery. Top bass tournaments strictly forbid use of live bait.

But the Texas study indicates some of those precautions may be unnecessary. The research took place after local anglers at Lake Fork, near Tyler, Texas, voiced concern about the growing use of live shiners by guides to catch trophy bass for their clients. Lake Fork has become Texas' premier bass fishery, featuring an abundance of largemouth in the 10-pound-plus range.

As Stephen Poach, a Texas fisheries biologist, put it: ``Most anglers around here no longer raise an eyebrow at a 13-pounder. It takes a 15-pounder to get them excited. We get Illinois people who are thrilled to catch a few 7- to 8-pound bass. But a local guy who is limited to 7- and 8-pounders wonders what went wrong with his day.''

To answer concerns about potentially detrimental use of live shiners in the 4- to 9-inch range, Durocher and Poach assigned eight anglers to catch 30 bass apiece on each of two summer weekend trips to a 49-acre private lake. Each angler was assigned to use one of four techniques, and the fish they caught were tagged and kept in holding nets for 72 hours.

The results were eye-opening. Twenty-eight percent of bass caught on Carolina-rigged plastic worms died, compared with only 16 percent caught on Carolina-rigged live bait. The plastic worm even killed more fish than the 25 percent that died after taking live shiners rigged on floats. Even artificial lures with treble hooks (Rebel Pop Rs, Rat-L-Traps and Bomber crankbaits for fishing different depths) at 18 percent mortality had a higher death rate than Carolina-rigged live bait.

Durocher explained that many deeply hooked fish were saved merely by clipping the line at the fish's mouth without trying to remove the hook. Strong body acids soon dissolved the hook, the wound healed and the fish got along fine. Of 17 fish hooked this way, nine survived.

Poach said the popular Carolina-rigged plastic worm rig - which involves a lead weight attached to a free-floating leader that holds the hooked lure - proved most fatal because anglers could not feel a pickup in time to set the hook in the mouth.

``Because of that anchoring weight, the fish would swallow the plastic worm before the angler knew it was there,'' Poach said. ``On the other hand, a live shiner puts up a fight. It doesn't want to get eaten, and it struggles while the bass positions its head to go into its mouth. A fisherman can feel what's going on and sets the hook faster.''

The study turned up other surprises, most notably with gill-hooked fish, normally presumed to be a fatal wound. Of eight bass hooked in the gills, seven survived. Likewise, 11 of 17 fish survived that were hooked in the esophagus, shooting down another ``automatically fatal'' presumption.

Durocher said bleeding didn't seem to be an indicator of mortality. Many bleeding fish recovered, while others died from shock with clean, conventional wounds.

Poach said his research may lead Texas to limit anglers to one rod instead of allowing multiples, because untended rods give fish more time to swallow baits.

Illinois fisheries chief Mike Conlin said the Texas study doesn't surprise him, considering the improved scents and textures of plastic baits. ``That's why fish chew on them,'' he said. ``They think it's alive.''