“Fish aren’t hungry all the time, but they can often be provoked”
OF ALL the reasons we catch fish, could a natural feeding response be less common than we think? When a fish seizes a writhing worm or a lure, how often is it about curiosity, aggression or instinct?
It’s a very good question in spring, as temperatures fluctuate and fish think of things other than feeding.
Our sport is loaded with claims that baits are ‘natural’ or irresistible to eat, of course. Lures are touted for their ‘lifelike’ actions; baits are sold as being little delicacies for fish. But do you always get a bite because the fish are feeding?
As any keen angler knows, fish aren’t hungry all the time. The most skilful anglers can seemingly still catch them when they’re not in the mood at all! But even on the worst days there are other reasons fish will bite at a bait or lure. Virtually all species have a level of curiosity and aggression. Without hands to explore their world, fish use their mouths for many purposes beyond eating, whether that’s to test an unknown object or chase an animal out of their territory.
Angling is littered with so many examples of unexpected fish behaviour, it’s hard to know where to start. Atlantic salmon, for example, stop feeding in freshwater, making it a mystery why they’d ever take a worm or fly. But the fact is that they do, with all sorts of reasons given – from curiosity to outright fury.
Don’t think for a minute that coarse fish are different. Why on Earth will a chub hit a surfacepopping plug it can’t physically eat? Why are there days when perch will accept an obscenely bright lure and refuse a natural one? And is that carp thinking “oh great, dinner” when it accepts a Zig Bug or pop-up, or merely asking: “what is this?”
Every angler has a tale to back up the strange preferences and responses of fish. A glaring example in my world was a pike trip a few seasons back. I was guiding a bloke who’d spotted a nice fish of 8lb-10lb. It lay motionless as we tried all the usual flies. As a last resort, I’d suggested a huge, ugly orange fly, just for the hell of it. When it landed right on the pike’s head, I fully expected her to spook, but the very next second she took it savagely!
Even the most cautious fish can be creatures of inquiry and reaction. Whether you’re lifting and dropping a worm, or presenting a bright pop up, it’s often worth trying something ‘unnatural’ when all else has failed. Whatever the reasons, perhaps there are days when fish will react even when they don’t want to feed?
“Why on Earth will a chub hit a surface-popping plug it can’t eat?”