Posted 2/6/2009 8:30 AM (#359295) Subject: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 32892
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Lousy shots, Esox are. This clip has several Pike taking aim at a near stationary lure...I didn't even see the second Pike until I edited the clip, that move was so fast.
Posted 2/6/2009 8:43 AM (#359300 - in reply to #359295) Subject: RE: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 909
Hey Steve, Thats awsome footage! I guess the way their eyes are set back on their head, they have a blind spot when they're up close and personal! That would be my guess!
Posted 2/6/2009 8:57 AM (#359302 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN
Stupid Pike!!
Thanks for posting Steve sure would be cool to see how a Musky reacts to a bait in the summer. If only there were a huge tank with cameras mounted 360!!
Posted 2/6/2009 9:25 AM (#359305 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI
Looks like you won in the end! Interesting how they don't seem to miss when the minnow is off the jig and suspended/in free fall. I guess you can see why an anchored, deadsticked minnow can be so effective next to a jigged lure.
Posted 2/6/2009 9:41 AM (#359307 - in reply to #359295) Subject: RE: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin
After watcing that clip a few times it occurred to me that maybe those attacks missed because the pike sensed something was wrong with the bait at the last instant. He sure didn't miss when the minnow came off the spoon! The way they looked at the lure you could almost see the fish trying to match that bait with other food they had eaten in the past and coming up with an error message. In the background I could almost hear "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!"
Posted 2/6/2009 12:29 PM (#359326 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 8792
Two things come to mind:
1. the gentle falling motion of the minnow seems to get a different response than the erratic motion of jigging
2. it seems like they miss because the motion of the minnow/jig is different than what you would see with a minnow
It makes sense if you think about it. Predators become efficient at attacking their prey based on the behavior it typically exhibits. Add in different sorts of motion in this case, and a feeding fish theoretically would still feed based on the normal movements it typically encounters from fleeing/dying baitfish. You've essentially provided them with an offering that has a very unique way of "escaping" -- it's movements are largely vertical, and it sinks faster than its size and shape typically would in that environment.
All the above "it's winter and I have cabin fever" nonsense aside, it's just plain fun to watch!
Posted 2/6/2009 12:56 PM (#359333 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 32892
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Ea,
My point exactly. Ever see any muskie lure behave like 'natural prey'? No wonder they miss so much. Plus, they missed when it was sitting dead still. bad shots, all the way.
Posted 2/6/2009 1:22 PM (#359335 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 210
Location: VA
WONDERFUL VIDEO!! Never seen anything like that before, thanks for sharing!
I kinda feel like Almost-B-Good. The pike wouldn't hit that bare spoon until a new bait was added, not only that but several of the takes seemed like the pike was trying to rip the bait off the hook/lure, almost like he realized that something was wrong and he was trying to rip the bait away and eat the bait ONLY, knowing full well that the hook/lure was "trouble". Notice when he was hooked and caught, only the hooks point caught the fish, he didn't suck the whole bait and lure in like he did the "free" minnow before it.
The take on the sinking minnow once it was knocked off the lure was a no brainer, it was instantly taken with no question in the pikes mind that it was "free and good". I dont think the sink rate had much to do with it, the free minnow only sank for a second before it was sucked completely in.
Posted 2/6/2009 4:25 PM (#359370 - in reply to #359326) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Very cool video. Nothing like natural presentation. The minnow slowly falling gets hammered. But the jigging action get them sparked a bunch of times but the pike held back each time. Kind of shows you why a suspending bait can be so good most of the time. Slow rise or fall is always deadly.
Posted 2/7/2009 10:25 PM (#359548 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 137
Esox are fast, and it's easy to see why they miss when they finally go for it. At the speeds they hit when they make the rush, they probably lose track of the bait and hit as closely as possible to where they expect the bait to be. That's why jerk baits and walk the dog baits are missed so much and are not the best baits to use at night. And with a naturally falling bait, they probably have a better ability to gauge where it is going.
For comparison, a baseball hitter doesn't actually see the ball when the bat hits it, because the eyes can't process the information at those speeds. The best hitters just have minds that are better able to process where the ball is going to be from the last point that it registers in their brains, which is several feet before home plate. It's also why good pitchers are the ones who can make the ball change direction at the end of the pitch, confounding the hitters expectations.
But you don't need to hit the bait every time, or the ball either. When you are as fast as pike and muskie are, you can afford to miss quite a bit of the time. There is plenty of bait in the water, and it's only a matter of time before they'll get one. Of course, I'm not sure how I would fare if I dove for a pizza from across the room, so I won't judge their technique.
Posted 2/8/2009 12:56 AM (#359561 - in reply to #359557) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 4266
My Siskel and Ebert report.
I thought that the leading lady was beautiful. The markings on that pike were very beautiful. I'm glad that we got several good looks at her.
I think that the fish may have missed the lure on purpose. They could see it very well, and I'm sure that they could smell it. I think that they may have been trying to knock the minnow off all along. If they were bad shots, that dislodged minnow would have fallen helplessly to the bottom with those 2 pike bumping heads like The Three Stooges. But no, that minnow was slurped down like the dead fish that it was. This just goes to prove my theory that fast lures are good at raising eyebrows and interest, but the pause/flutter of good gliders trigger strikes. Heck, I might not be pausing enough.
Beav
Posted 2/8/2009 1:13 AM (#359566 - in reply to #359295) Subject: RE: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI
Those pike strike like I putt. It often takes me up to three tries before I make a putt. What surprised me was the music. I had no idea music plays below the surface like that. Does the genre of music change often?
Posted 2/8/2009 9:57 AM (#359592 - in reply to #359557) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 137
I totally agree with you that they are lousy shots Steve....I guess my point is that they can survive in spite of their bad aim by being fast and by being good at sneaking up as closely as possible to the bait. They may have to do it ten times before they eat, I guess, but since they don't have to pick up the kids from daycare, or take out the garbage, I'm sure they have plenty of time in their day to make repeated trips to the grocery. Good thing we humans don't have that problem. Although, I have found that on occasion I have headed out to the supermarket only to somehow find myself in the aisle of the local tackle shop with no knowledge of previous events.....hmmm, does that mean that I am a lousy shot too?
All I know is that that video is cool, but it really makes me not want to know how many muskies have really taken a shot at my baits with me never knowing. That would make this game waaaay more infuriating than it already is. I already get irked when I feel a brief tick on a pounder and find toothmarks all up and down the bait and somehow the fish missed the hooks completely. Don't want to think about the fish that miss the bait entirely at all. Lord how I wished muskies hit at worms below bobbers sometimes, lol.
Posted 2/8/2009 3:54 PM (#359632 - in reply to #359295) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 210
Location: VA
Beaver,
I like your Siskel and Ebert report. Sometimes ...... I think these fish are not quite as dumb as we think they are. And if they are, they surely make up for it in senses and instinct.
Posted 2/8/2009 11:02 PM (#359692 - in reply to #359689) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 4266
Steve, seems to me that some of the worst shots followed your boat around for a weekend a couple of falls ago One in particular came charging at a paused Perka, and it opened it's mouth and came flying out of the water thrashing it's head a good 3 feet behind the lure that wasn't even moving. We laughed so hard that I never evn bothered to attempt a hook set.
Off conversation, I'm watching "Monster Quest", and they are following and catching sharks in The Saint Lawrence Seaway, The Mississippi River near Saint Louis and 200 miles from The Gulf in Louisiana. They think that there might be sharks in The Great Lakes, and just had contact with a 12 footer West of PA in The Saint Lawrence. It's freaky! Maybe we should stock sharks to eat the flying Carp in the Mid-West rivers. You trollers better watch out on the SLSwy this year, or rig up with your best wire line outfits.
Beav
Posted 2/10/2009 5:52 PM (#360015 - in reply to #359692) Subject: Re: Ever Wonder How an Esox misses your Lure?
Posts: 156
Off conversation, I'm watching "Monster Quest", and they are following and catching sharks in The Saint Lawrence Seaway, The Mississippi River near Saint Louis and 200 miles from The Gulf in Louisiana. They think that there might be sharks in The Great Lakes, and just had contact with a 12 footer West of PA in The Saint Lawrence.
I remember seeing a news story a while back about a shark in the Mighty Miss a LONG way from the Gulf. Somewhere around St. Louis IIRC.
In the first VID it looks like the first strike is triggered by the bait getting into a natural upright position. To my eye the first pike shows more interest when the bait gets into a natural position, and then a few seconds later the second pike trys to take it out.
Edited by Makintrax73 2/10/2009 5:58 PM
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One in particular came charging at a paused Perka, and it opened it's mouth and came flying out of the water thrashing it's head a good 3 feet behind the lure that wasn't even moving. We laughed so hard that I never evn bothered to attempt a hook set. 
