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| Here is another interesting discussion I found on the internet. Perhaps this is why looking for "balls" of baitfish on our electronics is so productive? It is a sign that hungry muskies are in the area? What's been your experience when fishing muskies relating to "open water" forage? I pasted the discussion below:
Q: Why do fish swim in schools?
Fish generally arrange themselves into schools for two reasons:
For defense against predators - by being in a large group, fish have a better chance of escaping predators. Predators become confused by many fish swimming together, and the fish as a group are more likely to detect large hungry predators that may be nearby. To capture prey - predatory fish may cooperate by hunting together in schools by surrounding prey and forcing them to surface, making them easier to catch. Another interesting point about fish is that they only form schools when it helps them to hunt or defend themselves better than if they were alone. Fish that form schools generally do not have specialized defense structures such as poison glands or barbs
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| I agree very much so....have witnessed it many times in both salt + freshwater; in fact when fishing for rockfish(stripers)many of the larger heavier fish appear to remain below the "baitfish ball" + pick off the stray/fleeing bait when they are pushed to the surface + we try to cast beyond the surface fish + allow the bait to sink below the main school. Dad used to talk about L-mouth bass schooling in Louisiana but never saw it 'til about 7 yrs ago...the baitfish would regroup + the bass would bust them up again. [:sun:] |
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| Read "Functions of Shoaling Behaviour in Teleost Fishes" by Tony Pitcher, Chapter 12 in "Behaviour of Teleost Fishes" by Tony J. Pitcher. Selfish herd effect and other antipredator behaviors are explained nicely.
Zach |
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Schooling of Prey Fish