One of the thrills of fishing is the challenge of getting fish to bite on your line. A lot of thought and preparation typically goes into deciding upon the best mark to fish from and which combinations of bait and hooks to employ. Then, it's just a waiting game; you present your baited hook or your shiny lure and wait expectantly for the first bite of the day.
What is it thought that makes a fish bite? Well, I must admit that when I first saw this article topic, the first thought that popped into my head was the glib answer of "hunger". Certainly, the need to satiate hunger pangs and sustain life is the core reason why fish (and other animals) choose to feed. However, with a variety of foodstuffs on offer, the real question is "what makes a fish bite on your hook?"
Success in angling is usually linked to how well the angler understands his or her target fish species and the environment in which they live. Without covering individual species, however, here are some general criteria that will influence your success:
The right food in the right place:
Some fish are unfussy when it comes to their diet and will snack on pretty much anything that you present to them. However, there are many other species who are more suspicious and will refuse offered titbits if they don't form part of their regular diet or are presented where the fish would not expect to find them.
Groundbait / chum:
In lake fishing, anglers often put down groundbait over a series of days in the spot that they want to fish from. This free offering of food attracts fish in and they get used to the fact that this spot offers good safe feeding. The angler then should get a good return when he or she casts out their line.
The same approach can be used by sea anglers. Additionally, the principal is extended to some boat fishing expeditions where anglers cut up bait fish and dangle it from the boat to attract fish. The practice of using chum on shark fishing trips is particularly common but anglers need a strong stomach to cope with the smell!
The irresistible lure of smelly bait:
Many fish are drawn to the scent of their prey. Some species may even have poor eyesight and will therefore rely on finding their food mainly by scent. In such cases, a baited hook will be more effective than a shiny spinning lure.
Shiny sparkly things:
Some fish are suckers for shiny things. Pelagic fish species, such as mackerel and herring, often go crazy when a spinning shiny lure flashes past them. It ignites their instinct to give chase and feeding frenzies can ensue where you hit a large shoal. Again, however, it's all about knowing your fish species as there are other species that may have no interest in a fast moving piece of metal.
Proper presentation:
Imagine that you're sitting outside and there are two restaurants that are delivering meals to their customers. You see that one of the restaurants provides its steak with vegetables neatly placed to one side and a jug of gravy to allow you to add as much as you like. The other restaurant, however, has piled all the food haphazardly onto the plate including the gravy. You're most likely to opt to eat with the restaurant that has taken the time to present its food nicely. Similarly, if you're fishing from the shore as one of ten anglers in a line, any fish in the vicinity are likely to choose the best looking morsels that are on display.
Proper presentation in fishing means getting the portion size right, ensuring that weights are far enough away from the bait not to be a distraction and the way that you attach the bait onto the hook. You also want as little of the hook as possible to be visible. Having too much bait on offer often causes the common angler's curse of having fish constantly nibbling on your bait but never taking the hook.
Visibility:
The visibility of your lure or bait will differ depending upon the time of day, the amount or cloud cover or the murkiness of the water. In poor visibility conditions, you are often best to add bait to your hook so that fish can be drawn to your hook more by scent than vision. Alternatively, you might switch to a brighter lure.
Motion:
I've been on charter boat trips where I've caught more fish than other people on the boat. Usually, this has been where my fellow anglers have been content to drop their line of feathers into the water and then just let the swell of the waves move their line. In contrast, by jigging my line and sometimes winding the line up further away from the seabed, I have been able to attract bites. Predator fish often have a synaptic reaction to movement from small prey sized lures and so the more energy you are prepared to expend, the more likely you are to get bites. If nothing else, it will also provide a good physical workout!
If at first you don't succeed, try something different:
Fishing is not an exact science and there are times when the fish you are after don't behave in the way that you expect or have experienced before. Maybe you've fished a mark before with huge success using sandeel as bait but today you're getting nothing. If that's the case, try switching to a different bait or a lure or try moving to another spot.
Summary:
There are a variety of factors that go to determine whether a fish will bite on your line. You will increase your chances of success if you select the right location and know the feeding habits of the fish that you are targeting. Presenting the right bait in the expected fashion will be key to convincing the fish that it's worth snacking on your offering. Hopefully, as you learn more about the species of fish, their habits and the environment in which you are fishing, you will achieve greater success. Remember, though, only to take those fish that you intend to eat and return the rest so that our fish populations remain sustainable.