| When you smell or taste food you generally eat | | | | will catch or not. |
| what you like and reject what you don't like. In | | | | Fish have special receptor cells both externally and |
| many ways fish are just the same with our | | | | internally which electrochemically interact with |
| fishing baits. In fact the palatability of your bait is | | | | water-born chemical stimuli. It may not come as a |
| often the deciding factor in whether you get a | | | | surprise that you can sniff and taste a beef |
| bite or not at all! | | | | burger and love it one minute, then when you've |
| But what makes a fish bite at a bait and get near | | | | had 10, a biofeedback mechanism from your |
| enough you hook to get caught anyway? There | | | | stomach to your brain tells you no more please. |
| are very many reasons a fish will investigate and | | | | Fish have many biofeedback mechanisms and |
| sample a bait or common object. Fish are very | | | | rhythms related to feeding habits and efficient |
| highly attuned to their aquatic environment having | | | | food digestion. Like humans, they regulate how |
| lots of specialised cells inside and outside the body | | | | fish get turned on by food, in this case our bits. |
| to detect things like electric fields, sounds and | | | | What if you could get inside their heads and |
| pressure waves, light, movement, smells and | | | | influence their behaviour from there, that would |
| tastes of things in the water giving-off myriad | | | | be cool right!? Well we can easily make baits |
| signals for the fish to detect. | | | | impact upon fish senses and on their brain |
| It is any wonder that we get bites at all with all | | | | chemical and hormones to incite a favourable |
| the aquatic clutter of distracting signals that fish | | | | feeding behaviour response to our baits and |
| experience all the time. But fish do respond to | | | | hugely improve our chances of catching fish. Just |
| many things in very tiny levels. Many fish can | | | | consider this; when you drink plain water why do |
| detect the movements of tiny food items like | | | | you prefer a sweet fruit juice or can of Cola. |
| water fleas swimming around them, and detect | | | | That is the principle I'm talking about. |
| their size and density in order to decide whether | | | | In carp fishing, there is an over-used phrase that |
| they are worth the energy expenditure of | | | | supposedly describes what baits fish prefer: |
| feeding on. Many omnivorous fish are also | | | | "Sometimes they want ice-cream instead of roast |
| opportunistic predators and many is the time carp | | | | beef." But why is this an interesting phrase? Well |
| have been caught on spinners and plugs. | | | | fish can be stimulated into feeding by at least 6 |
| Worms are a very successful bait for many | | | | obvious types of stimuli, from sound and |
| species like catfish and tench, not least because | | | | movement to hormones and electrical fields, to |
| of the movements they make in the water, and | | | | sight, and others too, but more specifically these. |
| any angler who has ever used live bait will agree it | | | | Fish feeding is stimulated by substances which |
| works better when it is still actually moving and | | | | approximate or mimic substances found naturally |
| active! (Dead maggots on the hook do not | | | | in their environment and also those that are not. |
| match-up to fresh live ones for example.) In the | | | | So teamed with the substances they naturally |
| case of worms and maggots it is obvious that | | | | respond as in their natural diet for instance, there |
| many species will reliably instantly chomp on them | | | | is a gigantic range of substances you can use in |
| with no need whatsoever of introducing any free | | | | your baits. |
| baits into your swim beforehand and this might | | | | The trick in many respects in making fishing bait |
| pose a good question. | | | | more exciting to fish is to match the stimulating |
| Apart from movement there are other things | | | | substances found within their specific natural |
| going on. Many fish species have good eyesight up | | | | foods and use these perhaps in more refined and |
| close to things even if they do have an area | | | | much more concentrated form. For example, |
| directly in front of them that might be blind. As | | | | when fish are processed one stage produces the |
| long as there is sufficient light then various colours | | | | water soluble fraction which is often high in quality |
| and shades of bait can improve your catch rate | | | | easily digestible fish protein and fish oils. These 2 |
| and at night luminous glowing baits can make a | | | | substances when used together in a dough or |
| difference. | | | | paste, pellet or boilie fishing bait work wonders as |
| Many fish depend on movement instead of sight | | | | they are such naturally potent fish feeding |
| at night but other signals are used such as | | | | triggers. Other aspects of fishmeal can be |
| reception of minute electrical fields issuing from | | | | analysed to see what turns your fish on. Betaine |
| live creatures for example. Carp depend | | | | is used very frequently in carp and catfish fishing |
| predominantly upon chemical stimuli along with | | | | baits for the same reason. |
| detection of tiny electrical fields and pressure | | | | But do not forget that flavours substances |
| waves for instance, which all enable these fish to | | | | impact upon and enhance the mass of flavours |
| orientate themselves in the water and to locate | | | | already inherent in a bait. These flavours and their |
| food. Fish can orient their preferred location by | | | | individual components can be detected by the fish |
| sensing the level of dissolved carbon dioxide | | | | in various concentrations and depending on the |
| (carbonic acid) present in the water, and they are | | | | fish species. One of the most important |
| very sensitive to water pH changes. (Fishing bait | | | | substances both flavours and betaine interact with |
| substances that can elicit pH changes when | | | | and enhance are the amino acids. |
| realised into the water column certainly impact | | | | If you add gravy or black pepper or salt to a |
| upon fish nearby.) | | | | steak it helps you enjoy it just as much as real |
| In the case of bass for instance, they utilise | | | | ice-cream with that rich Tutti Frutti favour that |
| whatever ambient light there is the atmosphere | | | | makes you want more and more. The funny |
| by sitting in dark shady position in the water and | | | | thing is that there is far more vitally essential |
| waiting for prey fish to silhouette themselves so | | | | nutrition in the steak and if you were lost in a |
| giving themselves away to the predatory bass. | | | | jungle you would choose to eat a steak rather |
| Some fish have more highly developed radar | | | | than eat an ice-cream as soon as you got out. |
| which is similar to the side-scan radar of a | | | | Why you prefer the steak over the ice-cream is |
| submarine. Although dolphins are mammals, you | | | | because a steak has nutrition you essentially need |
| might wonder how they detect sand eels hidden | | | | to stay alive and without the amino acids and |
| underneath the sand! | | | | trace minerals needed you body would start to |
| Hormones are secreted by fish to identify | | | | rapidly deteriorate. |
| themselves, to find a mate, to enable tight | | | | The fact that over the decades countless big fish |
| shoaling behaviour essential for survival, as in | | | | from carp and catfish, to bass, trout, pike and |
| young big mouth bass for instance. | | | | even sharks, have fallen to protein based baits |
| But 2 of the most significant aspects of how fish | | | | rich in fish essential nutrients means that this is a |
| experience their world which we can use to | | | | proven basis for big-fish baits. Add to this the |
| exploit in order to catch, are the olfaction and | | | | benefits of flavours from natural to synthetic, |
| chemoreception systems. They sound | | | | nature-identical to mixtures of many forms, |
| complicated, but basically olfaction is the smell | | | | fishing baits can be made to be constantly unique |
| sense and chemoreception is the taste sense and | | | | to keep ahead of the fish and keep you catching! |
| although there is far more to this simplistic | | | | This fishing bait secrets ebooks author has many |
| description, when combined together, the taste | | | | more fishing and bait edges; just one could impact |
| and smell of your bait can truly determine if you | | | | very significantly on your catches! |