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Rylee A . Bundy Lopez Elementary. Science Fair Project. Bait Debait. Purpose.
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Rylee A . Bundy Lopez Elementary Science Fair Project Bait Debait
Purpose I choose this topic because I was interested in the fish and what they eat at West Lake, Red Feather, Colorado during ice fishing season. I wondered if I added a mealworm to a jig, if it would increase my chance of catching a fish?
Research • Rainbow Trout I learned that the mealworm relates to bugs and other small fish in their food source. Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout have a similar diet. • Brown Trout The Brown Trout’s appearance is stunning. They are brown with silver sides and black spots. A mealworm looks like larvae which they eat. • Long Nose Sucker It’s appearance isn’t so stunning. They have a piece of flesh under their head. They are reddish brown, dark brass, or grayish black. The mealworm relates to bugs in their diet. • Ice Fishing I already knew that you drill a hole in the ice and fish from there. The fishing rods are usually smaller than those used in other types of fishing. • Types of Bait After interviewing several people I found out that people prefer salmon eggs over mealworms.
Hypothesis I think we will catch more fish in the same amount of time using a jig tipped with a mealworm. I think my hypothesis will be proven correct because the meal- worm has a stronger scent than a plain jig. The smell should attract the fish.
Experiment Design To test my hypothesis I will travel to West Lake and conduct three separate experiments using a jig tipped with a mealworm. Another fishermen will also use the same jig without a mealworm. I will measure my results based off the number of fish I catch. • Controlled :A jig without a mealworm. • Treatment : A jig tipped with a mealworm. • Independent variable:Number of fishermen. • Dependent variable: Number of fish caught.
Materials • One ice auger- found at Jax • One container of mealworms- found at Jax • Three ice fishing rods-found at Jax • One packet of pink jigs(power nymphs)- found at Jax • Three buckets- found at Home Depot • One ice scooper- found at Jax • Notebook- school supplied
Procedure • Step1- Drive up to West Lake in Red Feather. • Step 2- Take the materials you need to do the experiment out on the ice. • Step 3- Find a spot more towards the shore to start fishing on the ice. • Step 4- Drill a hole in the ice with the auger. • Step 5- Slide a pink power nymph (the jig) on the hook. • Step 6- Take a meal worm and split it in half. Take the other half and put it on the hook. It should be right below the jig. • Step 7- Flip the bail on the reel back so it’s pointing up. Drop the hook in the hole. The line should be moving and when it stops, flip the bail back so it’s sideways, reel it in 3 times. Flick the rod softly up and down. • Step 8- Have fun fishing!
Data/Experiment #1 Fisherman 1 with mealworm Fisherman 2 without mealworm
Data/Experiment #2 Fisherman 1 with mealworm Fisherman 2 without mealworm Fisherman 3 with mealworm
Results After analyzing my data I learned that the fish in West Lake, Red Feather prefer a jig tipped with a mealworm. On average we caught about 6.6 fish with mealworm and about 1.3 fish without meal- worm. During the experiments I expected to catch at least one fish without a mealworm. One thing I didn’t expect to happen, happened on my third experiment. I expected to catch the same amount of fish as the first two tries. Instead I only caught one fish, and I was using a salmon egg!
Notes About Experiments Experiment one went just as planned. There was a little wind and it was around 40 degrees. Surprisingly, there was not much snow and the ice was around 8 inches deep. The 19th of December was a good time to go. Experiment two was about the same except my little sister came along. We collected more data which was good for my results. It was still around 40 degrees, a little more snow, and the ice was around 10 inches deep. The 24th of December worked perfect because everyone was home for the holidays! On our third trip, January 23rd, it was freezing, much colder than the other two trips. The ice was a foot deep and it was around 25 degrees.
Conclusion Throughout the project I learned about the scientific method, how scientists record data, the importance of data collection and how to write a bibliography. My results showed me that the Rainbow Trout in Red Feather Lake prefer a jig tipped with a mealworm rather than a plain jig. My hypothesis was proven correct. I think that by adding the worm/scent the fish were more likely to be attracted to the bait. The scientific principle that was involved in my experiment was Biology, because the fish interacted with the bait. I think fisherman would use this information to help them decide which bait to use when ice fishing for Trout. If I were to do this project again I would test salmon eggs as well.
Bibliography • Haslam, Jason, “Brown Trout” Stonefly Society.org, 2004 http://www.stoneflysociety.org/fishinfo/browntrout.htm • Mansfield, Kelly, “Long Nose Sucker” Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 2004. http://www.adfg.state.ak.us • McCosker, John, “Rainbow Trout” World Book.com, December 7, 2010 (date accessed). http://www.photo.pds.org:5005/advanced • “Rainbow Trout” Wikipedia .org , December 3, 2010 (date accessed). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rainbowtrout
Acknowledgements I would like to give a huge thank you to my dad who helped me with almost everything. He drove me to Red Feather. He has been supportive through the whole thing. I liked it when he shared his knowledge about science with me. We spent a lot of time talking about this project together. I also would like to thank my mom for helping me decorate my poster board. My project wouldn’t be this good without their help!!
