ATHENS DAILY REVIEW, TX; CORSICANA DAILY SUN, TX  – APRIL 1, 2007

Biosonix: Bait fish in a box
By Matt Williams

In contrast, not everyone knows what Biosonix is. But word is rapidly beginning to spread. Way too many anglers are fooling way too many fish with the newfangled technology on their side.

Developed through years of research by the folks at BSX Sound Technology in Alexandria, La., Biosonix is what I call bait fish in a box. The electronic unit emits digitally recorded sounds of distressed bait fish being chased, attacked and eaten by game fish in a natural environment. The real life sounds are dispersed via a small speaker that mounts to the trolling motor, much like an external transducer puck.

With the click of a button, Biosonix casts into the depths the signature sounds of an actual feeding frenzy. You can pause the unit just as quickly using a floor switch conveniently mounted to the casting deck of the boat.

Biosonix acoustics are potent. The sounds can travel up to 400 feet horizontally and 100 feet vertically through the water column. It is believed the sounds can arouse the competitive instincts in game fish, often to the point of making inactive fish suddenly become active enough that they will pounce on an artificial lure.

“Biosonix is not a fish call by any means,” says BASS pro Ken Cook of Lawton, Okla. “It is more a fish activator that works by putting sounds in the water that arouse the curiosity of bass and other predators. Basically, it plays on the natural instincts of bass by making them think other predators are in their territory, eating their shad. Bass that may be inactive might suddenly become more active, which in turn makes them more susceptible to striking an artificial lure.”

If you think the concept sounds like a gimmick, you are not alone. Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala., was admittedly skeptical of the idea until he actually put Biosonix to the test.

Duckett recently captured the 2007 Bassmaster Classic title on Lay Lake in Alabama. He was among a host of Bass Elite Series pros who laid over a couple a days following the “Battle on the Border” at Lake Amistad to attend a press session hosted by Rat-L-Trap, BSX Sound Technology and Tru-Tungsten.

Duckett and I fished with BSX’s public relations director Wes Higgins on the first morning of the trip. Interestingly, we made a pass over a main lake flat with no strikes. Higgins suggested we make another pass, this time with the Biosonix unit turned on. Within minutes we landed a pair of bass from an area that had already been combed with a trio of artificial lures.

The incident stirred Duckett’s curiosity enough that he continued to use Biosonix off and on throughout the day. He was sold on the technology after the experience he encountered while fishing with outdoor writer Brian Lynn on a windless March afternoon.

Duckett said he and Lynn made a pass over a brushy, main lake point with no strikes. Confident there were bass in the area, Duckett circled back and made a second pass over the point, this time with the Biosonix unit powered up. They caught five bass and missed two others within 15 minutes.

Still not convinced, Duckett went to an area where he and I had caught several quality bass earlier in the day.

Ditto. No Biosonix. No bites.

Things changed when Duckett turned the unit on. He landed a 7 pounder, 3 pounder and had several short strikes.

“I have to admit, I was sort of skeptical about the Biosonix until I actually saw it work,” Duckett said. “I won’t go fishing without it again.”

Duckett and Cook aren’t the big name pros with Biosonix technology on board their bass boats.

BSX has assembled a team of other reputable anglers including Tommy Martin, Stacey King, Aaron Martens, Kenyon Hill, Mike Iaconelli, Homer Humphreys and Bill Dance to help get the word out.

Many of their peers are listening. Peter Thiliveros, Chad Brauer, Skeet Reese, John Murray, John Crews and a host of other pro anglers have Biosonix on the front deck.

Kevin VanDam, BASS’ first $2 million man, has been using the technology for the better part of two seasons. He went on record in 2005 as saying Biosonix was a key factor in his winning back-to-back E-50 events on Lake Lewisville in Texas and Lake Wissota in Wisconsin, and eventually the Bassmasters Classic in Pennsylvania.

Martin was among the first pros approached by the company’s late research and development director Randy Flint in June 2004.

Like Duckett, the legendary Texas angler was somewhat leery of the concept at first. He became a believer once he saw it work in his own backyard.

Martin took Flint to some of his favorite worms holes on Toledo Bend. He purposely scheduled the trip well after the early morning feed. They fished six different spots, each for about 45 minutes. The unit was turned on half the time, paused the other half.

“It was pretty impressive,” Martin said. “The first spot we went to I caught three bass with the unit turned off, seven with it turned on. I fished five more places after that and consistently caught more bass with the unit turned on than with it off. It definitely can make a difference.”

So, what does a screaming bait fish scrambling for its life sound like? I can’t say for sure, but the acoustics emitted by Biosonix sound a whole lot like a Rat-L-Trap zipping through the water.

Interestingly, the concept is a spinoff from the remarkable successes of the first lipless crankbait invented by Bill Lewis. Lewis’ son, Buddy, brainstormed idea in 1997 and spent the next five years refining it with help of several professional fisheries biologists and researchers including .

The end result is bait fish in a box. Biosonix operates using a compact flash card that contains a series of sound loops that can be combined to build custom programs.

The sound loops last 1-2 minutes. Most users have reported the best results by activating the unit at staggered intervals with a convenient foot switch that comes as part of package.

The cost? BSX technology doesn’t come cheap. MSRP is $699.00. For more info, check the Internet, www.biosonix.com.

Bassfan.com

When Kevin VanDam was asked what was the single thing that made the most difference in the tournament, he said it was his Biosonix unit. "One of the things I attribute (this win to), is a unit I've been using now throughout the Tour season, called the Biosonix unit. You can program different fish or baitfish-type sounds.

"The one I used here was bass attacking shad. These fish were keying on shad around bridges. This unit basically has a transducer that's a speaker under the water. It emits the sound of bass attacking shad. Smallies are real competitive.

"I can't tell you – story after story this season – how many times I had fish schooling around me. Not 50 yards down the bank, but (40 feet) away. I'm seeing them always schooling within casting distance. A lot of pros are starting to look at it. We've seen a lot of gimmicks, like the helicopter lure. But seriously, this is something I started using at the end of the Tour season. It took me quite a while to gain confidence in it. I've used it in every single practice and competition since Table Rock.
"It's one of those things now – I won't fish without it."

Notable

Main factor in his success – "My Biosonix unit really made a difference. (The last day) especially, when the water turned off. The fish suspended a lot, and roamed around bridge pilings."

BASS Insider

There's no doubt VanDam may have stunned the audience at an official press conference held the morning after he won the Classic, when he singled out his Biosonix Fish Activator as the one thing he did most different, that others were not doing. It's a safe bet that many at that press conference had never heard of a Biosonix Fish Activator before. After remarks like that by VanDam, however, Biosonix is destined to be bass fishing's new buzzword.

For VanDam though, it wasn't the first tournament won using Biosonix. VanDam is 3 and 0 with his Biosonix on at this point. The Classic was his third straight BASS win using the innovative product. During the last two BASS Elite 50 wins at Lake Lewisville, Texas, and Wissota, Wis., VanDam won those tournaments with his Biosonix Fish Activator.

-Bassmaster.com’s Russ BassDozer

Hi,

I just wanted to take a second to compliment you on your product!

In June of this year I had the pleasure of being an observer in the Elite 50 on lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I can't tell you how happy I was at the pre-tournament meeting when they announced that I would be with Kevin Van Dam on day 1 . Well the next day, there I was at the landing 1 hour before the tournament sitting in Kevin's boat when he picked up that gray box and started pushing buttons - of course I had to ask what that gray box was - I thought I had seen every gadget and gizmo ever invented for fishing. Kevin briefly explained what it was and in my skeptical head I was thinking "allrighty then".

Our flight took off at 10am and as everyone knows this was a tough tournament – I have fished Lake Wissota for 20+ years and I know being post spawn and in the middle of a cold front that these quality anglers would be tested. Being the detail oriented person I am I took note after note about presentation, conditions, spots, etc., and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind where Kevin's turning point was on day 1. After first getting a line wet at 10:15 until 12:54 Kevin had caught a few short fish but the action was slow.

At 12:55 Kevin said "oh shoot" and he looked genuinely upset - he jumped off the front deck of the boat and headed towards the gray box at my feet and said "all this time I had it on pause.....I forgot to unpause it!!"

I will take to my grave what I saw in the next 20 minutes - that sound brought the dead sea to life!! There were shiners breaking at the boat and at 1:01 Kevin caught a 13.5" smallmouth - not a keeper but the closest resemblence we had seen to a keeper. This was followed by 3 more non-keepers at 1:15, 1:17 and 1:18 - then at 1:21 Kevin put the first keeper in the boat. He continued on to get 3 more keepers and lost a couple nice fish on Day 1 and went on to win the tournament over the next 3 days.

Two things I know for sure:

1. Kevin Van Dam is an incredible fisherman!

2. Your BSX is absolutely amazing - my skepticism was 100% without merit –anyone that can experience what I saw will be sold!!!! I buy 1 big fishing item a year - this May I bought a new Lowrance 332C GPS/Graph

- the BSX will without question help the avid bass angler more than any fish finder - I wish I would have known about this product earlier. Guess what my big item will be next year?? You got it!!

Keep up the great technology!!

Sincerely,
Gregg Kizewski

Presents
The 2005 Catch Of the Year Best New Product-Electronics

Biosonix.com

ProBassAnglers.com awards the 2005 COY Award for best innovation in the electronics category to Biosonix Fish Attraction System ProBassAnglers This may seem "out there," however what has really Cinched it for us is the elaborate testing that this product has been put through.

Biosonix bills itself as a manufacturer of sonic fish attraction technology. The Biosonix research team recorded and digitized the sound of feeding bass and baitfish. The digital sound was then created by computer and that remastered sound is what the Fish Attraction system plays.

Biosonix used Loren Hill, head of Zoology at The University of Oklahoma to conduct the trials and all evidence points towards fish becoming more active feeders when the sound is played under water. ProBassAnglers thinks this is a remarkable innovation and we plan to test it in the future.

Very Cool

Day one forgot to charge the BSX unit. Three fish for 3.22 lbs, 169th place. Day two, had unit on weighed in a limit, jumped to 60th place. Day three, had the unit on weighed in a limit and jumped to 24th place. Finished 18th overall in the country. I believe I owe most of it to the Biosonix. Fished the first tournament of the ABA season on the Ouachita River October 23. Never been there before, used the BSX and came in 1st. I caught one bass in an area that had a lot of bait in the area. Turned on the BSX, and caught a fish, each time I changed the sound I caught a fish on the first couple of cast. I caught nine keepers and ten short fish in the same area.

I need to get you to show me how to make a custom sound configuration.

Thank You,
J. R. Burt

Been working a lot so went awhile without fishing. I did fish the American Bass Anglers two-day championship on Sam Rayburn, May 14th & 15th. The first day I forgot the unit, it was in the hotel charging. Weighed in 3 fish for 6.37 pounds. I was almost 8 pounds out the lead. Day two ran the BSX caught 11.50 pounds and won the tournament.

Fished Toledo Bend, (RMTT Tournament Trail) On May 21st. Did not use the BSX, fished out a buddy's boat, came in 13th with 9.98 pounds, (That is the total for the both of us). Sunday fished an American Bass Anglers on Toledo, went to the same area, used the BSX and weighed-in 11.86 for fourth place, by myself.

I will keep you posted.

Thank You,
J. R. Burt

This is just a general report of the test done onLake Wylie the day after the classic.

8/3/04 Lake Wylie, NC/SC

We fished from 3pm to 7pm and tried shallow water and deep water. We roughly fished an hour without Biosonix and got no bites and then fished about 3 hours with Biosonix and caught one 2 lb. bass by a dock on a Rat-L-Trap. Then I got a strong strike by the brush close to the bank on a topwater frog. After a slow period we headed out to the deep water and turned on Biosonix we immediately noticed a lot of fish on the screen. After fishing for a while and getting no bites, I switched the sound to Shad Active and raised the volume to 18 and on my first cast I popped a spoon at about 20 ft. deep and a hung a nice 3 pounder. The interesting thing was that several other bass surfaced with my bass as he came up by the speaker. It was apparent that the bass were deep water bass because they were close enough to the boat that you could see they all had a yellow tint to their scales. Then the same thing happened again with in the next five minutes. After about 10 minutes of no catches following the two catches I switched the sound to a sequence of Distressed Bait and Shad Normal with the volume in the 16 to 18 range. Almost as soon as I switched it we had another catch. Then they stopped biting and we called it a day.