triggering fish to strike.

[Sam Conacher]

hi there guys.


I am very interested to know and i would like to know if it is ok,


who does what when they are fishing with poppers and stickbaits and they see a fish following or shadowing their popper or stickbait to convert the following or shadowing fish of their lure to strike and to get a nice and good hook up?



your feedback is truly tremendously appreciated.

[Jon Li]

In such situation , I would twitch the rod tip rigorously but still retrieve at the same pace and if the fish surges , will stop the retrieve but still twitch the rod tip . This is done more often when targetting sailfish which will follow the retrieved lure all the way to the boat , at least when fishing in Rompin , Malaysia .

In most , I wud vary the retrieve speed n twitch / jerk in order to create a frantic movement of a targetted baitfish n hopefully the predator will strike the lures .

Jon .

[Travis Heaps]

Something different.  You've obviously got their interest but what ever you're doing is making them think "this is interesting but kind of suss"...you need to make them think "bloody oath i'll eat that sucker" (more fun if you change the accent you're using in your head...i like ocker australian  )

Before switching lures I switch up the retrieve, if i'm running out of space i'll start the short sharp twitch bloops which still make a splash but don't need much distance.  From what i've read you're not supposed to stop the lure and i've seen it turn them off for sure but I think there's times it will trigger a strike.  As with all things fishing there's no one black or white answer, it will depend on the day - try different things until you find what is working on that particular day.

The next option (which worked for me the other day first cast) is if you're getting a lot of follows on the poppers but no strikes go to the stickbait.  It's a good tactic to use anyway if the water isn't so clear or you're popping deeper water.  Use the popper first up to create the disturbance and pique the fishes interest, bringing them into the area and then the more natural looking stickbait to attract the strike.  I saw this work (the first step anyway) for a second time that same trip on some queenies. Mick and I both had stickbaits on and peppered an area with 5 or so casts each for no follows, whipped the popper back on and first cast the Queenies came up from down deep and followed.  Couldn't convert though as lures too big and by the time i'd made the third switch to Sp's we'd freaked them out 

[Scott Maybury]

It is an interesting question, my instinct has always been to twitch or work lures more aggressively (in nearly all styles of fishing) when a following fish is lurking but not striking...however, when I did this in New Cal when a 35kg odd GT cruised up behind my popper Rudy started yelling at me to let the popper sit still for a few seconds, all too late really

He said more often than not if you stop it dead they will hit it

Given that in my limited experience many of the strikes I have had have been during the pause between bloops I guess this makes sense, though it is certainly very hard to do when you see a fish loom up

Note - whilst i was typing that Travis' post went up and I must say what he says mirrors my experience with many other types of lure fishing

[Andy Rowe]

During the times where feeding mode is not fully initiated, (I agree)give the fish (GT in this case) a chance and stop the lure, sometimes they will just come up and suck it in, not your anticipated massive surface strike but they run just as hard for cover when the hook sets. Occasionally here it is a big fish that takes this more timid suction approach. If it does not work try the panicking fish method, it's all about trial, error and some luck.

[Brock Arifovic]

If fish are not hungry (like humans, they will not eat) you can not make them eat! sometimes you just have to persist until that time might be, be patient, good things things come to those who wait??

Best of luck.

[Travis Heaps]

If fish are not hungry (like humans, they will not eat) you can not make them eat! sometimes you just have to persist until that time might be, be patient, good things things come to those who wait??

Best of luck.

You might not be able to get them to eat but annoy them enough in the right way and you might trigger a defence or territorial response, with some species at least.  Wonder if anyone has any insights into this RE: GT's?

[Jon Li]

I believe big GTs are territirial and with it's mate , guard a particular corner of an area which is the prime ambush point for them to attack the passing fish .

Big chugger which landed in their territory and worked rigorously like an attacking fish is treated more as competitor and to be driven away , I have seen my chugger being head butted clear out of the water without the fish wanting to eat it but time to time , when doing so , the fish may got snagged by the trebles .

Unlike stickbait which resembles more like baitfish in action and hence will be eaten rather than driven away from the territory . Pencil popper being retrieved fast on the surface resembles longtom which is the favourite food of GT are often seen chased across the shallow .

As for how to work the lures , we fishermen must send the right signal so our lures are attractive to be attacked or eaten . Having the gutt feeling on which lures are to be used in one particular area is in certain condition may proved to make the difference .

One thing for sure , those who can cast accurately to the required distance is generally come out to be the winner .

Jon .   

[Andy Rowe]

Completely agree on the territorial issue, head butts and half-hearted strikes on the lures are possibly part of this behaviour, I've had fish hooked through the eye and the forehead following this behaviour. I've noted this on the early part of the tidal movement perhaps the fish are jockeying for key ambush structures / locations in preparation for the for major tidal movement.

I read an interesting paper on GT which were radio tagged in Hawaii, one particular fish tagged had a circuit of locations which it regularly visited during the time it was monitored.