So we have all seen muskies opening thier mouths and flairing thier gills when after a bait or sucker. What the heck are they doing it for????
I seen a video on you tube with a big muskie checking out, and ultamitly
striking a sucker(through the ice).(Darn cool vid).– You can clearly see the big girl slightly opening her mouth as to get a "sence" of the bait. Is it possible that some prey fish "pizz" them selves when confronted by a predator and that is what the predator is trying to "sence"?? I have heard that muskies have a poor sence of smell, but something is going on there. ????
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My supposition is that if they have to make a lunge at something, they must open their mouth AND their gills. If they just opened their mouth, it'd act like a wind sock and greatly impede their rush at the bait. Opening their gills gives the water being forced into their open mouth somewhere to go…
Plus, if they do it just right, they can create a suction and PULL things into their mouth by opening their gill flaps very quickly.
Nothing I like more than a big open mouth with flared gills, they usually eat unless I mess up! I agree with Chemi on the water needing a place to escape as well as creating the suction to pull in prey. Lazier fish that jaw at the baits without the gill flare are the mystery for me, and I have a hard time triggering them to eat.
If you've ever watched a Bluegill, perch, crappie, etc.. down a hole while ice fishing you can really see exactly what takes place when fish actually suck in a bait. A very similar concept really just on a much larger fish. They can suck in a bait , with water, and blow it back out before your rod tip ever moves. I've watched bass, pike and even musky do this through the ice and it's pretty cool.
It is tasting or scenting behavior? Maybe but not too likely with a sight/lateral line feeder.
This seems to be an invesitgative behavior usually with no real effort to suck in the bait. I can't recall watching a fish do this that was an active fish, they're always lazy. It could be they're trying to get the lure to do something natural before they close the deal but even when you take the bait away from them it doesn't change their mood. I've written this off as one of those quirky things they do… like how they'll rub their head and body on a suspending lure.
The fish in the video is not at all a lazy fish. That body language is what I would call "fired up". The fish is tense, the fins are active, the "huffing" that she's doing looks more like breathing and not the lazy huffing that inactive fish will do. If the guy could have reeled down to the sucker and started a figure eight she would have gulped it on the first turn.
Yep! I agree that these fish are curious but in a neutral/negative mood.
They simply don't want to commit but seem to be "feeling" things out with sensory and/or tasting behavior. When they do flare the gills it looks to be very half hearted and lazy, like they are thinking " ya know, I'm not going to eat this but I quess I'll go through the motions". You can really see and study neutral versus feeding fish thru the ice because you are basically still fishing with a jigging motion. I've had fish flare gills, look at the bait, back off, repeat process for up to several minutes and then just put it in reverse and their gone.. I've caught some of these fish hours later when they become active and want to eat.
We don't get as many opportunities to watch musky do this because we are usually bringing in a moving bait. Still fishing or drift fishing with live bait or on the figure 8 are a few of the times that you may get an opportunity to see this type of behavior.
I do the same thing all the time, maybe you guys do too?
Its like after piece # 7 of Geno's East pizza in Chicago the other week. The last 1/3 of that piece was sloowww going- the stomach side of my brain was saying "don't do it man!" while the taste buds side was saying "gotta have more! There's still pizza on the table!!". My mouth would try to open a bit, I'd go for the big bite, but then involuntarily would close down and get just a nibble, or sometimes I'd short strike it.
I think those muskies are going through something similar- if they aren't stuffed, then there is some other inner conflict going on, like "man that lure is triggering my Banjo minnow-genetic response but somethin just ain't right…", or "it moves like food, but what is that loud clanking coming from it?", or "wait, why does that thing have 3 tails?", or "Orange with black pokadots, really?… If that thing was just Firetiger it would be DEAD!!"
"Duke" said:
I do the same thing all the time, maybe you guys do too?Its like after piece # 7 of Geno's East pizza in Chicago the other week. The last 1/3 of that piece was sloowww going- the stomach side of my brain was saying "don't do it man!" while the taste buds side was saying "gotta have more! There's still pizza on the table!!". My mouth would try to open a bit, I'd go for the big bite, but then involuntarily would close down and get just a nibble, or sometimes I'd short strike it.
I think those muskies are going through something similar- if they aren't stuffed, then there is some other inner conflict going on, like "man that lure is triggering my
Banjo minnow-genetic response but somethin just ain't right…", or "it moves like food, but what is that loud clanking coming from it?", or "wait, why does that thing have 3 tails?", or "Orange with black pokadots, really?… If that thing was just Firetiger it would be DEAD!!"
Classic Duke interpretation! I understand now! 
SO now I understand my response when the waitress tries to take away the leftovers I instinctively lunge out and chomp it even though I am full. It is the fleeing pizza strike response passed from our ancestors who hunted pizza in the wild. What a great way to start the day…except now I want Pizza…
Kevin
"Cyberlunge" said:
SO now I understand my response when the waitress tries to take away the leftovers I instinctively lunge out and chomp it even though I am full. It is the fleeing pizza strike response passed from our ancestors who hunted pizza in the wild. What a great way to start the day…except now I want Pizza…Kevin
Mmmm. Pizza… [smilie=drool.gif]
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