Ever wonder how bass see, hear and feel in their world? So do we! That's why we asked a fisheries biologist to give us the real scoop. In this series, we'll explore the senses of bass (Micropterus sp.) and how they relate to their environment.
您想知道在鱸魚的世界裡，他們是怎麼看、怎麼聽、和怎麼感覺的嗎？我們也想知道！所以我們請教了一位魚類生物學家，讓他給我們提一些專業的意見——在本系列文章中，我們將一起探索鱸魚的感官以及他們與環境的依存關係。
Although not quite capable of cognitive thought like you or I, they didn't reach the top of the freshwater food chain by being slackers. Their senses have been refined over millennia, allowing them to become one of the most sought after, wily game fish in the freshwater environment.
或許不太像你我的認知那樣，因為生性懶惰，鱸魚並沒有列位在淡水食物鏈的頂端。它們的感官在幾千年的時間裡不斷進化，這使它們成為淡水環境中人們爭相追逐的、詭計多端的垂釣對象魚。
To truly appreciate this exceptional predator, you need to know how they see, hear, feel, smell and taste. Doing so will result in a more frequent, up-close and personal look at North America's most prominent fish on the end of your line.
要真正剖析這非同尋常的獵食者，你就必須了解它們的視覺、聽覺、觸覺、嗅覺和味覺。這樣的話你才能更加了解在你釣線另一端的這種北美最主要的淡水魚。
Sight is probably the most important sense of the bass genus. I say "probably" because most of the research on bass to date has focused on population management, life history, predator/prey interactions, reproductive biology, etc., rather than specific physiological characteristics. However, we do know enough about similar species — and bass in general — to draw some conclusions.
視覺大概是鱸科魚類最重要是感官了。我說「大概」，是因為目前針對鱸魚的研究，基本上都集中在種群管理、獵食/獵物互動關係、繁殖生物學等等，而少有特別針對鱸魚生理特徵的研究。儘管如此，我們依然對類似物種——鱸科魚類，在整體上有著一些了解，足以幫助我們得出某些結論。
To understand the commitment to sight in the bass species, one needs look no further than the fish's brain. The ocular lobe of the bass is huge, relatively speaking. This means that the fish invests much of its neurological resources in its ability to see.
要了解視力對鱸科魚類的重要性，就必須深入了解鱸魚的大腦。鱸魚的眼葉相對來說，數量巨大，這意味著它將自身大量的神經系統資源投資在了自己的視覺上。
Anecdotal evidence seems to confirm what scientists see in a lab. In perpetually turbid or dingy waters, bass struggle to grow to trophy size, even if the waters are fairly productive. Why? They can't see well enough to find adequate prey. That's nothing new to the average bass angler. But, what do bass really see? To understand that, we must look at the eye structure itself.
經驗之談往往證實著科學家們在實驗室裡的得出的研究結論。在昏暗骯髒的水裡，即便並不缺乏食物，鱸魚總是很難長到可觀的尺寸，為什麼呢？因為他們在渾濁的水裡無法看得足夠清楚以捕獲充足的食物。這對大部分的鱸魚釣手來說並不是什麼新鮮事。然而，鱸魚真正能看到的是什麼呢？為了弄清這個問題，我們必須首先了解鱸魚的眼球結構本身。
They have bulbous, protruding eyes positioned on both sides of the head that enable them to see a much wider field of view than you or I can see. Basically, their only blind spots are directly below and behind them.
球根將凸起的眼球置於頭部的兩側，這使得鱸魚擁有非常寬闊的視野，比人類的視野寬闊許多。基本上來說，它們僅有的盲區，只是身體的正下方和正後方。
However, much of that sight is monocular, rather than binocular. What's the significance? In order to focus on an object and truly get a good view, both eyes have to see it simultaneously. That means the bass has to be facing the object to discern the true shape and distance, and even then, it has to be pretty close. They may be able to detect motion on one side or the other, but they don't truly understand what they are seeing until they position themselves so that both eyes are peering in the same direction.
然而，鱸魚的大部分視野都是單眼而非雙眼的。這樣有何意義呢？為了聚焦某個物上，並獲得該物體的清晰視覺，兩隻眼睛必須同時看到這個物體才行！這意味著鱸魚必須面對這個物體，才能準確識別該物體的外形和距離，並且要在非常近的距離內才行。它們也許可以在某一側感知某個物體的動作，但是要想真正理解它所看到的是什麼，就不得不讓自己正對該物體，以便兩隻眼睛可以注視這相同的方向。
Now for the most popular question we biologists get about bass vision, do bass see color? Without a doubt, yes! Not unlike humans, bass have cellular structures in the retina called cones and rods. Rods allow an animal to see black, gray and white in low-light conditions, while cones allow an animal to see color. The exact kind and quantity of cones in bass is uncertain, but the plentiful existence of cones, along with related research, indicates that color selection can be important, depending on the conditions.
現在我們生物學家最常被問到的關於鱸魚視覺的問題是， 鱸魚可以識別顏色嗎？毫無疑問，當然可以！與人類無異，鱸魚的視網膜上也有著細胞結構——視錐和視杆。視杆使動物能在弱光條件下看到黑色、灰色和白色；而視錐則使動物能夠分辨顏色。鱸魚視網膜上到底有多少種類和數量的視錐細胞還不得而知，但是相關的研究表明，鱸魚眼內存在豐富的視錐細胞。這意味著在不同的情況下，擬餌顏色的選擇是非常重要的。
眼球結構參考圖
Color is a product of light. Light is both absorbed and refracted by water, and the shorter the wavelength, the deeper the color can penetrate. In clear water, the blue end of the spectrum is visible at the deepest depths, while the red end is absorbed more quickly.
顏色是光的產物。水能吸收光，也能反射光，波長越短，相應的顏色穿透力就越強。在清澈的水中，藍光在最深處依然可見，而紅光則更快的被吸收。
（註解：不同波長的光能量不同，波長越大，能量越小。對人眼來說，從780毫微米~380毫微米為可見光譜，不同波長的可見光在人眼中產生不同的顏色。紅光的波長在620~750毫微米；藍光的波長在476~495毫微米）
However, the clarity of the water also plays a role. If there is a strong algal bloom, or the water is muddy from a recent rain, light behaves differently. In these conditions, colors that contrast with the surrounding water will be noticed more quickly. At night, bass rely on their retinal rods, just as we do, to see shadows and movement. During new moons, there isn't a lot of ambient light in the water, and it dissipates quickly with depth. In these conditions, darker lures have more contrast and can be seen better. On bright, moonlit nights where more light penetrates, more lure colors will be visible to a bass.
然而，水的清濁度也起著重要的作用。如果水中藻類繁多，或者由於降雨導致渾水，光的表現又會不一樣了。在這樣的情況下，與周圍環境反差大的顏色會更快的被注意到。在夜晚，鱸魚靠它們視網膜上的視杆來看物體的陰影和運動，這一點和人類一樣。新月時，水中的背景光並不多，且隨著深度很快就消散了。在這種情況下，深色的擬餌有著更大的反差，被鱸魚看見的可能性也更高。滿月時，月光明亮，射入水中的光線充足，此時鱸魚能看到的顏色也更多。
Bass can see color. Paying attention to color can make the difference between a curious follow and a definitive attempt to eat your lure.
鱸魚可以看見顏色。更多的注意到顏色的選擇，將決定鱸魚只是好奇的跟餌還是毫不猶豫的就餌！
Perhaps the second most important sense for bass is both hearing and feeling. Wait, isn’t that two senses? Well, for a fish, they’re very closely related. In order to understand how a fish hears and feels underwater, we need a quick refresher on physics.
對鱸魚來說，第二重要的感官可能就是聽覺和觸覺了。等等，聽覺和觸覺不是兩種感覺嗎？呃，是的，但是對魚來說，二者密不可分。為了理解魚在水中是如何聽和如何感覺的，我們需要快速的溫習以下物理學的知識。
You see, sound is nothing more than energy traveling through a medium. The medium could be a solid, liquid or gas, but there must be the presence of mass in order for sound to travel. When you beat a drum, some of the energy from striking the drum surface is transferred to the air around it via vibrations of the surrounding air particles. These vibrations are passed along to the next particles of air, then the next and next and so on until it reaches your ear, where the vibrating particles cause your ear’s tympanic membrane to vibrate, which your brain interprets as sound.
聲音其實就是能量（震動）在介質中的傳播。這介質可以是固體、液體或者氣體，但聲音的傳播必須靠介質，真空狀態下聲音是無法傳播的。當你擊鼓的時候，敲擊在鼓面的能量通過震動傳導到它周圍的空氣原子中，這些波動由空氣中一層一層的原子傳遞開來，一直傳遞到你的耳朵，引起耳膜的震動，而大腦則把這種震動轉譯成聲音。
Sound travels about five times faster in water than it does in air, and about five times faster again in a solid like steel. The denser the medium, the more particles there are to vibrate and the faster energy can be passed from one particle to another.
聲音在水中的傳遞速度是它在空氣中傳播速度的五倍，而在固體中，比如鋼，的傳播速度又比它在水中的速度再快5倍。介質的密度越高，被震動的原子就越多，能量在原子之間的傳遞速度也就越快。
Now, back to what this means for bass. Water is already much more efficient at transferring sounds than air, so bass — and fish in general — are able to detect sounds more quickly and efficiently than humans. But how do they do it? They obviously don’t have ears … or do they?
好，現在我們回來探討這些對鱸魚意味著什麼。既然聲音在水中的傳播速度要比在空氣中的傳播快許多，所以鱸魚——或者基本上所有的魚類——都比人類能更快更高效的感知聲音。但是，他們是如何做到的呢？顯然他們並沒有耳朵…… 或者他們是有還是沒有呢？
Although they don’t have external oratory canals, bass do have internal ears that allow them to hear sound in the water, just as we do in air. Their inner ear also serves to help orient them in the water, just as our inner ear helps us to maintain our balance by telling our brain which way we are leaning.
雖然他們沒有外耳道，但鱸魚的內耳使他們在水中能聽見聲音，這和我們能在空氣中聽見聲音一樣。鱸魚的內耳同時也幫助他們在水中確定方向，就像我們的內耳時刻把身體的傾斜方向告訴大腦以幫助我們保持平衡一樣。
However, fish take hearing underwater a step further. Bass, like most freshwater fish, have an additional sensory organ for their underwater environment — the lateral line. Now, I’m not talking about the long, wide black color blotches that run down the side of a largemouth or spotted bass.
然而，魚類在水下把聽覺發揮的更加極致。鱸魚，與大多數淡水魚類一樣，為適應水下環境的需要，都有一個額外的感覺器官——側線。我現在討論的並不是鱸魚體側的長條大塊的黑色斑紋。
The lateral line is a series of pores or canals in a rowof scales that stretch from just behind the gill plate to nearly the tail in abass. They are perceptible, but you have to look closely. These canals containa series of cells that have hair-like extensions surrounded by a gelatinoussubstance, together called neuromasts. Vibrations from surrounding water on oneor more of these groups of cells send a signal to the bass』 brain that — alongwith the same effects on the inner ear — it interprets as sound.
側線埋在魚體兩側鱗片下，內呈鉤狀或管狀，由篩蓋一直延伸到接近魚尾。魚的側線是可以看見的，但需要您近距離觀察。測線管內充滿粘液，而類似毛髮一樣的神經丘則浸潤在粘液中。當魚體周邊的水流衝擊身體時，水壓通過側線管進入，傳遞與粘液，粘液的流動作用於神經丘再傳遞至鱸魚的大腦——這種感覺和鱸魚內耳的感應一起——就被大腦轉譯為聲音。
So how do bass feel? They obviously don’t have digits with extra sensitive nerves under their skin as we do. However, like with sound, the system of neuromasts in the lateral line can also sense the slightest changes in water pressure. When another fish swims by, the resulting difference in water pressure from the moving fish travels to the bass in waves. When the hair-like structures in the nueromasts are bent in a certain direction from the resulting wave pressure, they tell the bass not only what happened, but where in relation to the bass』 position and in what direction the movement occurred.
然後，鱸魚是怎麼感覺的呢？顯然它們不像我們一樣有手指，有皮膚下超敏感的神經。但是，和他們處理聲音一樣，側線中的神經丘系統能夠感知最輕微的水壓變化。當一條魚遊過的時候，遊動的那條魚產生的水波傳導到周邊的其他魚身上，帶來水壓的變化。於是神經丘中類似毛髮的結構（纖毛）因為水壓的變化而向某個方向出現一定彎曲的時候，神經丘不僅會告訴鱸魚周邊發生了什麼，還能告訴鱸魚水波傳來的準確方位。
Pretty amazing, isn’t it? The lateral line not only allows fish to hear underwater, but it enables them to feel what is going on in the neighborhood.
非常神奇，對吧？側線不僅讓魚在水下「聽見」，也同時讓它能夠「感覺」到周邊發生的一切。
Anybody that’s ever ripped a lipless crank bait through the grass knows that sound travels very well in water, as evidenced by the rapid ticking noise emanating through the bottom of the boat as you sweep the lure. On days when bass are reacting to the bait without much scrutiny, or when the water conditions and light are such that they can’t see it very well, aloud lure certainly gets their attention.
不管是誰，只要你曾經把VIB從水草中扯出來過，你一定明白聲音在水中傳遞的很好。因為當你在船上抽竿的時候，聲音馬上就通過水傳到了你的船底。在那些鱸魚活性高不怎麼挑餌的時候，或者鱸魚因為水混或者光線昏暗而看不太清楚的時候，一個聲音大的擬餌顯然更能引起他們的注意！
However, even if you’re fishing a good ol』 Texas-rigged worm without any rattles, rest assured that if you get it close to a bass, it』ll know where it is, even if it can’t see it.
不過，即便你用一個沒響珠的德州釣組，如果你的餌離鱸魚足夠近，即便它看不見，它也一樣知道餌在哪裡。
There is no doubt that bass rely heavily on their eyesight and lateral line for survival, but do scent and taste play a role as well? A lot of lure companies have certainly based their products on the fact that their stinky baits will catch more fish than the average competitor. However, bass are sight predators for the most part, so should you really be concerned if your lure smells or tastes good?
毫無疑問，鱸魚很大程度上靠它們的視覺和側線生存，但是是否嗅覺和味覺也起著一定的作用呢？許多擬餌品牌都把自己的產品建立在其特殊氣味（可能腥臭）的擬餌比市面上其他競爭者的產品能帶來更多釣獲的基礎之上。可是鱸魚在很大程度上靠視力來獵食，那你還需要關心你的擬餌是否聞起來或者嘗起來味道不錯呢？
You bet ... though at times it may be more important thanothers.
當然！有的時候氣味可能比其他的還重要。
Although the olfactory (odor-detecting) portion of the bass』 brain isn’t quite as large or well defined as a typical scent feeder like a catfish, they can smell, and scent does play a role in their feeding. Like with sound, fish are able to detect smells underwater far greater then the average human can in air.
雖然鱸魚大腦中嗅覺的部分，沒有比如鯰魚之類典型的「嗅覺捕食者」大，它們還是有嗅覺的。因此氣味在它們的感觀中還是起著一定的作用的。和聲音類似，魚類在水中探測氣味的能力比人類在空氣中探測氣味的能力強許多。
While smell may dissipate quickly for humans in the surrounding atmosphere, it lingers much longer in water, and a fish can detect odors in far smaller quantities. Some fish, like salmon, can even smell their home stream from miles away, using scents as faint as one part per million to navigate to the same spawning stream where they were hatched.
氣味對人類來說，在空氣中消散的很快；然而在水中氣味可以維持的時間要長的多。魚在水中探測氣味的能力也遠超人類。有些魚，比如三文魚（大馬哈魚、鮭魚）甚至可以在幾英裡之外聞到它們家鄉小溪的味道，依靠氣味，他們一路洄遊幾百公裡一直回到它們被孵化出來的那條小溪裡產卵（因大馬哈魚的魚卵只能在淡水中存活）。
Bass aren’t quite as perceptive (at least we don’t think so). However, like most fish, bass have nostrils on either side of the head. These nostrils contain an olfactory rosette that detects odorous chemicals and transmits them to the brain for translation. When visibility is poor, this ability to smell prey becomes much more important for survival. However, even when visibility is good, a finicky bass may be more enticed with a sweet smelling morsel than one that has no other special appeal.
鱸魚的感官並沒有那麼敏感（起碼我們認為是這樣的）。但是，和其他大部分魚一樣，鱸魚在頭部的兩側也有鼻孔。鼻腔內的嗅囊探測有氣味的化學物質，並傳輸到大腦中進行轉譯。當能見度低的時候，這種對獵物的嗅覺能力對他們的生存變得更加重要。即便能見度很好，相對於那些沒什麼特別吸引力的獵物，一條小心謹慎的鱸魚顯然會更願意對那些散發著美妙氣味的獵物大張其口。
So fish can smell, but can they taste what they eat? They certainly can, and in many fish the taste buds are quite developed. Like in humans, most fish have taste buds around the inside of the mouth and on the tongue. However, there are some fish that take their sense of taste to a whole new level. Obviously, catfish are among the most specialized. Their bar buless(whiskers) are loaded with taste buds, allowing them to determine if they want to eat a morsel just by brushing it with their whiskers.
因此鱸魚是有嗅覺的，那它們能否感知自己食物的味道呢？顯然可以，而且許多魚類的味蕾相當發達。和人類一樣，許多魚都在口腔內和舌頭上有味蕾。而有些魚的味覺異常發達。顯然，鯰魚就是其中的佼佼者。它們的觸鬚中含有味蕾，它們只要用觸鬚觸碰某個物體，就能決定是否要吃掉它。
Bass don’t have barbules, and when you think about the differences between catfish and bass, you can understand why they don’t need them. As we have already discussed, bass are sight predators and use their vision as the primary sensory tool to locate and capture prey. Catfish, on the other hand, don’t see as well and have to rely on their highly developed sense of smell and taste to locate food. Although a bass doesn’t rely as heavily on taste as a catfish, flavor still plays a role in a bass』 feeding activity.
鱸魚沒有觸鬚，你仔細想想鱸魚和鯰魚的差別，你就會明白為什麼鱸魚不需要觸鬚。如我們上文所探討的那樣，鱸魚是「視覺捕食者」，他們主要依靠自己的視力來定位和捕捉獵物。而鯰魚則大不相同，他們的視力很差，他們不得不靠高度發達的嗅覺和味覺來覓食。鱸魚雖然不像鯰魚那樣依賴味覺，但是味覺顯然在鱸魚的獵食行動中也發揮著作用。
So, as an angler, how does knowing about a bass』 sense of taste help you to catch more fish? Obviously, hard baits generally have immediate hooking ability with the standard treble hook configurations. However, bass have an opportunity to inhale a soft plastic and scrutinize it a bit more. They can sometimes do it so subtly that you don’t even know they have it. If they don’t like the way it feels or tastes in their mouth, they can just as quickly spit it back out. If you’re getting a lot of hits on your favorite soft plastic, but there’s nothing there at the hook set, you might want to experiment with flavored scent sprays. That’s all it may take to get them to hold it a second or two longer and allow you to connect next time.
因此，作為釣魚人，了解了鱸魚的味覺之後怎麼利用它來增加我們的釣獲呢？顯然，硬餌因為裝著三本鉤有著直接的著鉤能力。而軟餌，鱸魚則可能突然一口吸入嘴裡嘗嘗味道。有時候這樣的動作非常微妙，你甚至感覺不到它們已經這麼做了。如果它們覺得這餌感覺不好，或者味道奇怪，就會馬上吐餌。如果你在做釣的過程中遇到很多咬口，揚竿之後卻一無所獲，你也許就應該仔細檢查檢查餌的味道。只要味道對了，鱸魚能把餌在嘴裡含一秒鐘或者兩秒種，你就肯定能在下一次的楊竿中刺中它。
The bottom line is that bass can smell and taste. It may not be as important for an angler as lure selection or presentation, but it could mean the difference between catching a limit and being skunked.
總而言之，鱸魚是有嗅覺和味覺的。雖然這對於一個釣手來說，不足以成為擬餌選擇或者擬餌呈現的依據，但有時候這其中的差別，可能就意味著是釣獲成功還是悽慘打龜。