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Now that a few of us are noticing the number of fish just playing with or nipping the tails of baits (recent stinger successes), does anybody have any views or ideas on exactly what the fish might actually be playing at? Its never so obvious with bass, but do they too follow baits and just nip at the tails - or are they more aggressive? Stinger hooks generally report successes with Pollack mostly, although I know they'll hook bass too.
Are these fish just nipping baits to see if they're real with the intention of eating it? Or do they know full well from the start that the bait isn't real and they're just angry little devils having a swipe at it. Or is it just general curiosity?
...Do fish 'play'?
Competiton, I think, will make a fish grab more aggressively at a bait. Having watched groups of 3 or 4 small pollack chasing tiny lures recently, they'll follow and almost take turns in swiping at the bait. One fish on its own rarely had the same number of swipes - it'd be much more inclined just to just follow and watch. But still its the same question... playful aggression or are they trying to eat the lure before the others get it - even if they're not 100% convinced its real? Maybe this is why single bass seen following a lure will not always bite, no matter what you do with the lure before it's back to shore? From memory, I do think that if you have 2 or 3 bass following, one is much more likely to strike. It's almost the opposite situation in terms of tackle and technique, but maybe the same principle does apply.
Really I'm obviously mostly thinking about soft baits though, and am especially intrigued by tail-nipping. Why? Anybody with tropical fish experience that has watched them closey enough to think about it?
As I mentioned in a recent report, I expected more natural looking baits to be most successful when fish became shy - the reverse was true. The tackle I was using was very fine and light. Does it not matter how light and realistic we go (do they STILL know the bait is not real?), or were those fish just not hungry? Personally I'd find it hard to believe that juvenile fish would pass up an easy meal. Something's not right.
Every non-lure angler I speak to instinctively suggests that lure fishing is about closely mimicking an injured baitfish. In some cases this is obviously true (or is it?!)(deadsticking would be one good example of mimicking real life - and you're not even doing anything!), but bright colours .... strong vibrations ..... loud rattles ......
If even young fish know that a well presented tiny bait IS NOT real, what about our averagely presented larger baits for more mature fish? Do they laugh at our lame attempts of mimicking real life? We catch fish, but is it because what we're actually doing is something different to what we think we're doing??!!!
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Sorry, bit deep and meaningful for mid-week...
Mods, is there any chance you could move this out to the main sections? Rambled on a bit in here and its gone much more general.
Are these fish just nipping baits to see if they're real with the intention of eating it? Or do they know full well from the start that the bait isn't real and they're just angry little devils having a swipe at it. Or is it just general curiosity?
...Do fish 'play'?
Competiton, I think, will make a fish grab more aggressively at a bait. Having watched groups of 3 or 4 small pollack chasing tiny lures recently, they'll follow and almost take turns in swiping at the bait. One fish on its own rarely had the same number of swipes - it'd be much more inclined just to just follow and watch. But still its the same question... playful aggression or are they trying to eat the lure before the others get it - even if they're not 100% convinced its real? Maybe this is why single bass seen following a lure will not always bite, no matter what you do with the lure before it's back to shore? From memory, I do think that if you have 2 or 3 bass following, one is much more likely to strike. It's almost the opposite situation in terms of tackle and technique, but maybe the same principle does apply.
Really I'm obviously mostly thinking about soft baits though, and am especially intrigued by tail-nipping. Why? Anybody with tropical fish experience that has watched them closey enough to think about it?
As I mentioned in a recent report, I expected more natural looking baits to be most successful when fish became shy - the reverse was true. The tackle I was using was very fine and light. Does it not matter how light and realistic we go (do they STILL know the bait is not real?), or were those fish just not hungry? Personally I'd find it hard to believe that juvenile fish would pass up an easy meal. Something's not right.
Every non-lure angler I speak to instinctively suggests that lure fishing is about closely mimicking an injured baitfish. In some cases this is obviously true (or is it?!)(deadsticking would be one good example of mimicking real life - and you're not even doing anything!), but bright colours .... strong vibrations ..... loud rattles ......
If even young fish know that a well presented tiny bait IS NOT real, what about our averagely presented larger baits for more mature fish? Do they laugh at our lame attempts of mimicking real life? We catch fish, but is it because what we're actually doing is something different to what we think we're doing??!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, bit deep and meaningful for mid-week...
Mods, is there any chance you could move this out to the main sections? Rambled on a bit in here and its gone much more general.