* When To Strike

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Fishing includes a knowledge of when to strike to set the hook firmly in the mouth of the fish. Figure 36 gives an interpretation of what happens underwater when the fish encounters the bait.
First the predator approaches the live bait (Figure 36a). Next the predator immobilizes the bait fish with a bite to the backbone (Figure 36b). Note that the hook is nowhere near the fish's mouth, but the handliner will feel this as a bite. Then the predator flicks the bait fish from its mouth to take it again from the head on the turn (Figure 36c). The predator now swallows the bait fish (Figure 36d); the dorsal fins lie down and do not stick in the predator's throat. Now is the time to jerk the line to catch the fish. If you strike at b or c, the fish will escape.
Know how your fish will take the bait in order to jerk the line at the right moment. You will learn more about each particular fish by looking at where the hook is embedded.
Other ways fish will take bait:
• Small fish nibble bait that is too large for them to take whole. Either reduce the size of the bait and hook to catch the smaller fish or keep rebaiting the hook hoping a large fish will come along. Small fish nibbling at bait may attract the attention of a larger fish.
• Some fish will just snatch at the bait with no preliminary investigations.
• Some fish, such as mullet, have soft mouths. While these fish may take the bait, they are difficult to land with a handline as the hook comes out. However, if fishing especially for these fish, a much smaller hook can be used which is taken into the gullet (stomach) and then struck home. This is a technique that can be used to catch much larger fish, but the hook must be of the strongest material available.
Figure 36. Fish taking a live bait





Originated by: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
http://www.fao.org/

Text: B. A. Bjarnason
Illustrations: M. Carlesi

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
David Lubin Memorial Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Bjarnason. B.A.
Handlining and squid jigging
(FAO Training Series, no. 23 )
ISBN 92-5-103100-2