Head First?

[P@UL]

Do all preds take dead baits head first or dose it vary between species?

 

I need to know because I'm going to do a bit of dead baiting this year and to make sure my rigs are setup right.

 

Paul

[dave e]

I have often watched pike take a dead bait in fairly shallow (3 foot in the margins), they have always taken the dead bait side on in the middle, either a carefull pick up in the tip of the jaws, or an inhalation of water, by flaring the gills and causing suction at the snout.

 

The pike that pick up delicately in the end of the jaws, seem to swim away with the bait still held, what they intend to do with it, I have never found out, as I have not hit these bites, I do not like to wait too long before striking, I do not want a deep hooked pike, and cannot bring myself to wait it out.

 

The pike that do full bodied pick up, often stay on the spot to eat the bait before moving off, tossing the bait like a bird with a worm, until the bait is head down the throat, and usualy swallow the bait as it moves off, as by this time the mouth is shut/slightly open for normal gill movement. That is the time to strike.

 

If my float or bobbin is off from a standing start, there is a good chance the bait is not in the pikes mouth, much better to see the bobbin/float do a jig for a while (may only be 10 seconds, but seems like ages), and THEN move off with purpose, those are the ones I expect to land.

 

Any help? dave e

[P@UL]

Dave,

Thanks thats just the kind of info I'm after.

 

Paul

[davidP]

If the prey fish is of any size compared to the predator then I would expect the predator to swallow head first simply because that's the streamlined direction. Any attempt to swallow tail first makes the prey potentially much bigger and difficult to swallow as all the fins and whatever protective spikes there are will open out and get caught. Think about how easily a barbed hook goes in compared to it coming out!

[Newt]

Not pike but over the years I have caught preds of various species with a fish only partly swollowed and all of them were headed down the gullet head first.

 

As mentioned before, the fins would make it very difficult to swollow a fish of any size tail first.

 

And while it would not apply to deads, I know that many of the strikes on lives are simply an attempt to stun the fish so it can be picked up later in a leasurely fashion. Especially with lures and lives fished on the surface, you need to force yourself to only strike when there is pressure and not when there is an explosion next to or into the lure but no pressure.

[P@UL]

Thanks for the excellent replies.

 

Paul

[phonebush]

Elton,

The answer is SPECIES specific for preference. Beyond preference there are exactly 304 variables.

Phone

[Newt]

Phone - how many times I gotta tell you - you are supposed to FISH with the bait, not smoke the stuff. Scopex especially will make you see interesting visions.

[phonebush]

Newt,

I looked this one up in the Phony Book of Misinformation. It's fact 304

Phone