Prior to assuming his current role as the CEO and chairman of Barings LLC, Thomas “Tom” Finke maintained a position as the founder of $3.6 billion high-yield loan manager First Union Institutional Debt Management. Outside of his nearly 30-year career in the finance sector, Thomas Finke enjoys the pursuit of hobbies like fishing.
According to a survey conducted by the Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program, the United States’ most popular freshwater gamefish is the bass. In their popularity, bass have generated many myths among fishermen about the right conditions in which to catch them, some of which have merit and some of which are not rooted in facts.
For example, it is a common misconception that bass won’t feed and therefore cannot be caught when water temperature turns cold and drops below 50 degrees. While cold water does affect the rate of a bass’ metabolism, the fish does not go dormant in cold water. Bass in cold water will feed less often, but many fisherman still have luck catching them under these circumstances using the right lure and technique.
One myth about bass fishing that rings true is the concept that the bigger the bait, the bigger the bass a fisherman is likely to catch. The average size of a bass is likely to increase with the size of a lure that a fisherman uses, and sizeable big mouth bass are prone to attacking larger bait, at times even larger than they are capable of consuming. One study conducted by the University of Arizona showed that, of the prey presented to them, adult bass attacked bait fish much larger than predicted, even to the point of choking on them.
