Fish Talk Translator Needed

I always hear folks say, "You gotta let the fish tell ya what they want". Makes sense, "if" you speak fish. So, some of yall that do speak "fish talk" maybe you can decipher what the fish were telling me. I was on fish. I was on baitfish as well. I was also getting bit with a decent consistency, but I wasn't hooking up with them well. Several, several short strikes. The fish that were landed weren't hooked like they choked it, but the strikes were pretty aggressive, which tells me maybe they were small fish strikes ?

So, here's the story: Overcup 4:30-6:45 PM
Started out fishing Nimrod style, with Nimrod's lure of choice. Had some bites, all short strikes. Changed to exposed 1/16 pink head, white/chartreuse Midsouth. Basically same result, but did hook up with 1 fish. Changed to exposed 1/16 pink head and solid white Midsouth. Nothing doing there, not a sniff. Changed to exposed 1/8 pink head and went back to a white/chartreuse Midsouth, but this time I trimmed the tail at an angle like I do on my spinner baits when I'm getting short strikes and don't wanna fish with a trailer hook. I ended up landing 3 with this setup before dark settled in on me but had enough interest and strikes that I feel like I should have boated more fish if I had made the correct adjustments to convince the fish to "take the bait" instead of "sample" it.

At holiday gatherings, when I was a kid and would just pick at my food but not eat, my granddad used to tell me, "Boy, if ya ever wanna be a bass you cant eat like a bream".... That's all that kept running through my head !

So, in "fish talk" what were they saying ?

You weren't giving them exactly what they wanted. It was close enough to get them interested, but not enough to get a good commitment strike. Lots of times it is as simple as a different color or size jig head. I had that problem at Overcup a couple of months ago. I changed to a white head and never lost another fish.

If you are tipping with a minnow, try a smaller minnow, or no minnow at all with a nibble. If you are not using a minnow, then try tipping your jig.

Some days are just like that, but there is almost always that one little trick that gets the job done. For me, I always start playing with colors and that usually does the trick.

As you said, let the fish tell you what they want!!

Alot of times sharp strikes with no hook up are Bream too. We see lots of that on brushpiles where after a bunch of hits catch a Bluegill . Seems like even fish too small to get the bait will bump it . Some days fish are feeding and will inhale a bait and others they just don't do anything than bump one . Fish also have different moods where they will not move to take a bait . Some call it a neutral mood and will not chase anything .
I have seen slow times where I was about to give up on a spot , catch one and then 2 or 3 in the same spot as fast as I dropped in . I figure fish are like dogs . There are times when a dog will pick up a bone or other offering but not eat it . Put 3 more dogs in the same situation and they will inhale the offering and even fight for it . Boils down to feeding frenzy or competition at times . Keep trying and if something fails change up (depth , location , type of cover , speed , ect )

Looking back on it, the Chartreuse tail was the common denominator on the baits that were bit... Wonder if moving the Chartreuse color to the head would have been the ticket ? Only colors that didn't get bit at all was pink head and solid white body tube. Everything else had chartreuse tail, and most of the strikes resulted in "getting caught with my skirt pulled down" ! Ha ! That is one of the advantages of fishing Nimrod style.... They cant yank your skirt down !

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Originally Posted by Cmj

If you are tipping with a minnow, try a smaller minnow, or no minnow at all with a nibble. If you are not using a minnow, then try tipping your jig.

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No minners were harmed in this outing. I'll have to try keeping some nibbles on hand, never tried em'.

If they are jerking the skirt down, for me that usually means it small bream hitting it. They grab the skirt and you try and set the hook pulling the skirt down, but no fish.

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Originally Posted by Minners N Jigs

No minners were harmed in this outing. I'll have to try keeping some nibbles on hand, never tried em'.

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Don't believe the hype. Minners will get you bit when nothing else will! Go to a tournament and see how many of the pros launch their boat without minners....

None !!!!!

Good advice from people that "git r done".

Probably yellow bass or bream, if crappie you would eventually catch one. Hey Nimrod have they cranked back up yet?

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Originally Posted by RBM

Probably yellow bass or bream, if crappie you would eventually catch one. Hey Nimrod have they cranked back up yet?

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Deer hunting some this week and trying to rest up .Have been running wide open for too long( fishing or hunting everyday for about a month !) between fishing and hunting .Nimrod's catch put here foot down and told me I need a rest . I can't give a report . Plan on setting nets for awhile and that rules out Crappie fishing here for me.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Alot of times sharp strikes with no hook up are Bream too. We see lots of that on brushpiles where after a bunch of hits catch a Bluegill . Seems like even fish too small to get the bait will bump it . Some days fish are feeding and will inhale a bait and others they just don't do anything than bump one . Fish also have different moods where they will not move to take a bait . Some call it a neutral mood and will not chase anything .
I have seen slow times where I was about to give up on a spot , catch one and then 2 or 3 in the same spot as fast as I dropped in . I figure fish are like dogs . There are times when a dog will pick up a bone or other offering but not eat it . Put 3 more dogs in the same situation and they will inhale the offering and even fight for it . Boils down to feeding frenzy or competition at times . Keep trying and if something fails change up (depth , location , type of cover , speed , ect )

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I was on Nimrod Sunday, same thing, lots of short strikes and skirts being pulled down or off. My buddy was trying a variety of jigs, I stuck with old faithful. Eventually we caught a nice bream and two rock bass off a brush pile. That kind of answered the short strikes problem for us. We did go home with a decent mess of crappie.

I agree that color and assize are key factors in the fish committing with an aggressive bite. If bite is tough and I have fish that do not want to commit I try more natural colors in silver or a smoke grey shad color. Also I have seen fish that will not hit a small offering but hammer a large bait willingly. Do not hesitate to go large in your bait presentation. Speed is also a big factor try speeding to vary speed and see if you can get more of a reaction strike out of the fish versus very slow where they have a long time to examine the bait. Make them decide to eat or let it go force the issue. hope these suggestions help.

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Originally Posted by Minners N Jigs

I always hear folks say, "You gotta let the fish tell ya what they want". Makes sense, "if" you speak fish. So, some of yall that do speak "fish talk" maybe you can decipher what the fish were telling me. I was on fish. I was on baitfish as well. I was also getting bit with a decent consistency, but I wasn't hooking up with them well. Several, several short strikes. The fish that were landed weren't hooked like they choked it, but the strikes were pretty aggressive, which tells me maybe they were small fish strikes ?

So, here's the story: Overcup 4:30-6:45 PM
Started out fishing Nimrod style, with Nimrod's lure of choice. Had some bites, all short strikes. Changed to exposed 1/16 pink head, white/chartreuse Midsouth. Basically same result, but did hook up with 1 fish. Changed to exposed 1/16 pink head and solid white Midsouth. Nothing doing there, not a sniff. Changed to exposed 1/8 pink head and went back to a white/chartreuse Midsouth, but this time I trimmed the tail at an angle like I do on my spinner baits when I'm getting short strikes and don't wanna fish with a trailer hook. I ended up landing 3 with this setup before dark settled in on me but had enough interest and strikes that I feel like I should have boated more fish if I had made the correct adjustments to convince the fish to "take the bait" instead of "sample" it.

At holiday gatherings, when I was a kid and would just pick at my food but not eat, my granddad used to tell me, "Boy, if ya ever wanna be a bass you cant eat like a bream".... That's all that kept running through my head !

So, in "fish talk" what were they saying ?

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Just for the record, crappie vocabulary is very limited and understanding it will help you catch fish day in and day out. They only have 3 sentences and ALWAYS are saying one of them. The sentences are as follows....

1. I'm hungry.
2. I'm uncomfortable. (or I'm comfortable. The word comfortable can be replaced with "afraid" or "unafraid")
3. I wanna have babies.

Now you have it. Fish language 101. You remember this and it will help you catch more fish:biggrin

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Originally Posted by warhawk

I was on Nimrod Sunday, same thing, lots of short strikes and skirts being pulled down or off. My buddy was trying a variety of jigs, I stuck with old faithful. Eventually we caught a nice bream and two rock bass off a brush pile. That kind of answered the short strikes problem for us. We did go home with a decent mess of crappie.

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You probably caught two Warmouths because Nimrod has no Rock Bass .

Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus)

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

You probably caught two Warmouths because Nimrod has no Rock Bass .

Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus)

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"The difference between the two is in the anal fin: warmouth have three spines on the anal fin ray and rock bass have six spines." Well dadgum, who'da thunk it.... ?! Warhawk, next time take a closer peek at those fish's anal region before you go spoutin' off bout your catch ! (Sarcasm included at no charge)

We've got into this before at work about the google eye/rock bass warmouth on the St Francis river. I don't know the difference, but if I ever caught over 10, I probably need to be counting spines:biggrin

Rock Bass	Rock bass, Ozark bass and shadow bass, combined	10
Bream	Bluegill, redear, longear, warmouth and other sunfishes combined. No daily limit on bream shorter than 4 inches.	50

	.

Rock Bass , Ozark Bass, and Shadow Bass only live in certain streams mainly northern Arkansas . Warmouth live in most of the lakes or slow moving sloughs or streams in the rest of the state .

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Originally Posted by Minners N Jigs

"The difference between the two is in the anal fin: warmouth have three spines on the anal fin ray and rock bass have six spines." Well dadgum, who'da thunk it.... ?! Warhawk, next time take a closer peek at those fish's anal region before you go spoutin' off bout your catch ! (Sarcasm included at no charge)

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They live in different habitats, different part of the state and also colored differently . Not that big of deal but limits are a big difference . We have folks out there that don't properly identify fish and in some cases could cause problems . We have seen people around Arkansas catching Stripers or Hybrids post big stringers calling them White Bass before . Limits vary greatly on some species and waters . Just trying to help educate folks on what they are actually catching .

I's just jerking your chain a little Nimrod. Your advice and input is always welcomed and appreciated. Especially insight involving your home water !

Nimrod,

It was my fault for the misidentification. But, under no circumstances will I start counting anal fins when that "species" cuts in on a perfectly good brush pile filled with crappie.

Besides, Warhawk kept getting his skirt pulled down and I was to busy laughing!!! :Rofl