Feeding Mood

Obviously, fish do not feed continuously. As creatures of reflex reacting to their environment, fishes' predisposition to feed is determined by specific conditions within the lake or river. Fish can be said to be in a neutral, or a negative, or a positive mood. Another way of expressing mood is in degrees of activity; i.e., they are active or inactive.

Fish exhibit one of two forms of behavior in their attitude to feeding: they are actively seeking an easy meal (so the angler would make presentations that imitate the natural predator/prey relationship) or they are acting on reflex responses to environmental stimuli. In the latter case, strikes can be triggered from fish which are not actively feeding by appealing to the various senses of the fish with the appropriate sound, vibration, color, flash, texture, or scent.

Active fish are the easiest to catch. They can easily be fooled into a reflex strike. Active fish are often quite close to the top of the water column, or at least further from the bottom or structural elements than less active fish. When the environmental conditions for the specific species are perfect, or close to it, you will encounter more active or positive fish.

Inactive fish are harder to catch, but not impossible. They can be teased carefully into feeding. Triggering reflex actions from these fish often produces more consistent results. Inactive fish may be resting, or reacting to environmental conditions somewhere between terrible and perfect. They are usually located deeper in the water column or closer to structural elements than active fish.

Negative fish are bad news. They are usually at the lowest end of the activity scale and are under stress as a result of one or more unfavorable factors in their environment. These Fish are the most difficult to catch. You'll usually find them plastered to the bottom or stuck to structural lements.

Click to Listen!