FISHING DURING ACTIVE FEEDING PERIODS
Tactics.
Fish feed according to a rhythm because of metabolic processes of digestion and energy loss. This is usually once or twice a day, in group action, and lasts for less than three hours. The best fishing times will be during these times.
Concepts and Applications.
In the previous chapters, there have been many suggestions that the fish feeds in some sort of rhythmic fashion - more or less. We have even looked at some of the physiological elements that reinforce this idea. What we have not really covered are the fish's physiological limitations. First of all, we need to understand that there are metabolic reasons for fish to feed in a cyclic fashion. We all know that they will feed in active sessions for a limited time, then stop. Why? We noted in the previous discussions that fish control their energy output very carefully and are keen to conserve energy. The metabolic reality is that they simply cannot afford to waste energy so if and when they do, they will need to wait quite a while to replenish energy for a new feeding frenzy.
But let us back up a bit. If you have spent any time on the water, you soon come to the realization that what will work one day will not necessarily work the next day. You will also not that even on two seemingly equal days, the time at which you catch fish can be quite different. This is most evident during periods when they rise to surface. The fact is that there are active and inactive times during the day when fish, like other animals, decide to look for food with some degree of aggression. Sometimes they are fierce and sometimes they are not, but they do not seek food all day long any more than we do. Just as we are active seeking food three times a day, fish also seek food. They feed and then rest to digest the food. But fish do not wear wristwatches so it is most likely that other more subtle instinctual timing systems are triggered. Yet another predictable observation is that the feeding period is limited, lasting somewhere between a short twenty minutes to longer three hours. Guess it depends on whether they are having a fondue or visiting McDonald's!
We'll, as you may have deduced by now, there are several reasons for his behavior. They can be grouped into three categories: mainly metabolic, instinctual, and environmental. Let us summarize from earlier chapters.
Metabolic.
Two major factors will force a fish to feed actively in some form of cyclic pattern. First, digestion takes several hours (up to twelve hours, typically), being a chemical process which is a function of body temperature (same as water temperature). If the water is cool, it can take much longer. As digestion is occurring there may be little reason for fish to pursue more food simply because he hasn't been activated by the hunger trigger. So if a school of fish prefer to laze around in a thermocline, and all eat together, it is quite likely that they will digest at the same rate and be hungry again at about the same time. Secondly, the fish has only so much energy for active feeding. Twenty minutes to two hours seems to be about the limit. Another cyclic characteristic which forces inactive time is the need to rejuvenate the energy level if any exertion has taken place to expend energy. Active feeding and swimming will inevitably force the fish into a rest period, which can take many hours, even up to a day, particularly if there has been any exhausting chases. Because water has four times the heat capacity of air, it can absorb heat very fast from the fish so he has to keep quiet to rejuvenate himself.
Instinctual.
Fish are highly competitive. Because of their effective sensing abilities, they can hear, smell or even see other fish feeding; this can be realized over lengthy distances. This more often than not will result in a chain reaction which gets more fish feeding because others are doing so. It can start by a fish jumping to create a splat on the water. Many times this can result in quite a frenzy. This aspect creates the end effect of group feeding frenzies. Either they feel they will miss some choice goodies or they detect an opportunity, but, regardless, they can begin to feed quickly and actively. Another factor that adds fuel to this group frenzy idea is that fish also have some social tendencies - they do tend to school together for social reasons. Either they feel better protected, or they feel there are more chances of finding food, or possibly there are reproductive reasons at work. When you consider this social action of schooling, it is not difficult to understand why they may all start feeding together. Finally, the tendency for them to attach them . . . . |
