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Posts: 35
Location: Johnsonville, Wisconsin | I've just finished reading an article in the Scientific American on right brain/left brain functions and one small part was very interesting. I'll quote: "fishes, reptiles and toads, for instance, tend to strike at prey on their right side under the guidance of their right eye and left brain hemishere".
I can't say that I've ever noticed any side preference from a muskie. On (most) follows or figure 8 chases, they seem to be dead centered on the bait - or am I just not noticing a preference?
Lusox |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | I agree - everything I've seen "appears" to be dead center but I'd never qualify any of my observations as scientific... |
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Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Isn't Trolling for muskies hit from the back ?
Jerome |
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Posts: 1270
| Jerome, While I'm no expert on this I don't think that fish hit from the rear very often. They will come at it from the side. I've seen underwater film of both musky and salmon attacking a lure and they both seem to follow the boit for a while then shoot to the side and hit the bait from the side. I'm sure that there are exceptions to this and nothing is 100% when it comes to fish but I believe that a fish prefers to hit from the side instead of the rear.
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Lusox - 6/21/2009 11:05 AM I've just finished reading an article in the Scientific American on right brain/left brain functions and one small part was very interesting. I'll quote: "fishes, reptiles and toads, for instance, tend to strike at prey on their right side under the guidance of their right eye and left brain hemishere". I can't say that I've ever noticed any side preference from a muskie. On (most) follows or figure 8 chases, they seem to be dead centered on the bait - or am I just not noticing a preference? Lusox Weird... I was just talking to my Dad about this last week and thought I was making this up in my head. Glad to see there's some science to back it up. I was telling him that I thought roughly 75% of the fish I saw eat a bait were hitting it on the left side (using their right eye).
Edited by Will Schultz 6/21/2009 11:29 PM
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | This is part of an interesting seminar I do covering Muskie vision.
Imagine the limited stereoscopic vision as the fish attacks...the rear of the bait provides a very small target, while the side presents a much larger profile. Fish attack from the side many times because they can see the presentation better. Track it using vibration and sound, attack using sight. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | The ski's in my tank hit from the side. almost always a head head/mid back hit. Interesting little things. |
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Location: Oswego, IL | So would that make you change the direction on the 8's or 0's? |
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Posts: 3165
| have you guys ever seen that video/dvd that Drifter runs in their show booth from an underwater camera filming a beliver being trolled...the muskies always hit it from the same side.
if you can prove this it would go along way in where to mount hooks on baits |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Some proof or just coincidence?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQLfAC9rjM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPwVB7IKelg&feature=related
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Posts: 2361
| Thus if you are cheap or lazy, just repaint the LEFT side of your baits when needed. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | I've caught them on both clock & counterclock wise directions when figure eighting... If you do think there is a difference you could change direction during the 8.
I would imagine you would want to 8 in a clockwise direction to keep their right eye on the inside, eyeing the bait.
Interesting topic none-the-less. I'll try it this summer. |
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Posts: 1270
| Also remember that most fish actually have a blind spot right in front of them because there eyes are on the sides of there heads not on the front like humans are. |
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Location: Oswego, IL | I will try the clockwise approach and see how that goes next time. lol |
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Posts: 35
Location: Johnsonville, Wisconsin | Interesting observations. For me, I'm going to pay attention to the direction of a throwback lure on a busted follow and try to keep it on the (maybe) mostly likely side of the retreating fish.
Lusox |
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Location: Lake Tomahawk, WI | When open water trolling, muskies are almost ALWAYS hooked on the front hook of a 3 hook crankbait. I also think it has to do with bigger profile from the side, plus they have to swallow baitfish head first anyway. I've watched them follow a trolled short-line crank, then 'curl' on it and hit it from the side. Interesting thread.
JS
Edited by J.Sloan 6/22/2009 5:56 PM
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Posts: 75
| i know the two fish I watched eat a bait last year both hit from the left side on bucktails could be just random but they were both coming almost at a 90 degree angle to the bait so maybe they were using their right eye still...interesting topic |
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Posts: 692
Location: Pelican Rapids, MN | I have a great (VHS) video called the Blue Marlin of Ghana. It has a ton of underwater trolling footage of giant billfish off the west coast of Africa. They have a segment that explores the strike habits of billfish. They aren't muskies, but it is neat that they may have similar attack patterns. Definitely worth checking out. |
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | OK... please clarify this for me.
If the fish will hit a bait from the left side.... does that mean MY right side as I'm facing the lure and watching the strike unfold?
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | jlong - 6/23/2009 3:56 PM OK... please clarify this for me. If the fish will hit a bait from the left side.... does that mean MY right side as I'm facing the lure and watching the strike unfold? ;-) :o Yes, they would be coming from your right as you face the bait. Imagine if they are going to point their right pectoral fin at the bait before they hit it.
Edited by Will Schultz 6/23/2009 3:18 PM
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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | Lightbulb went on for hook placement on suckers this fall. |
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| Interesting...
The question I have, if this is indeed true is:
So WHAT? Not trying to be a jerk, just wondering... If they really do hit from one particular side or the other, does that matter? |
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Posts: 59
| i think that even if they could prove that muskies normally hit the left side of the bait, the hooks would still be in the same spot so the lure runs properly. if you try to move hooks the action would be effected. Muskies try to bite walleyes on the head and side to stun them and then slide them down headfirst, and no lure manufacturers have put hooks on the very front of lures to take advantage of the headfirst swallow. I think that the lures wouldn't be any more effective in hooking percentage if you tried to move hook positions to one preferred side |
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | IF this is true.... when you see a fish... or think you know an ambush location... perhaps it would be to your advantage to cast your lure to the LEFT of that fish/spot rather than the right???
Still struggling with this concept..... but it can't hurt to try.  |
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| interesting point about the sucker hook placement....just by chance I have been putting the hooks on the left side of the sucker for years...and the hookup percentage has been excellent...hmmmm
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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | BN nice observation regarding sucker hook setting........holding the suckers with my left hand I have cheated placement of many single treble hook rigs on the suckers right side. Last years hook-up % ended up around 50%.
Larger suckers and running the double trebles ,I will be sure to have the front hook (suckers head) placed on the baits left side. |
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| i've been putting them both on the upper left side for years...usually batting over .750, with 25-35 fish on suckers per season typically....so maybe there is something to it
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Posts: 2893
Location: Yahara River Chain | I had a follow yesterday on Monona and the reason it didn't look like a weed on the lure is because it was to the right of the bait. Maybe knowing this, someone might rethink how to start into a F8. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQg6Zdve7UQ
This was posted over on Musky Hunter website. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Has anyone been keeping track of fish you see hit or how baits are situated in mouths since you read this? I've looked at more underwater footage and they all hit from the left. Even when it appears they overtake the bait from the back they really use their right eye to line up at the last second.
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Muskie strikes predominantly from the right side?