While pike-perch can attack your lure with violence, translating as a jolt in your arm, they are also sometimes capable of the utmost discretion. So, I'm convinced, we miss bites that we don't even feel, so at the slightest doubt or abnormal sensation, it's time to strike. One day, with experience, you won't know why you hooked, but the pike-perch will be there.
Keys with many faces
Pike-perch strikes can be very varied. The most typical and emblematic is the famous rifle shot! But they are often just as imperceptible.
It may be a small toc, a slight suction, a heaviness, a sort of scratch or sizzle in the line or just a slight loss of tension which is synonymous with a simple nose strike from the pike-perch.
Sometimes, I'm unable to say why I'm hooking and yet the fish is on the end! An abnormal sensation, but indefinable.
I particularly remember one time, in the middle of a flood, when I fished a bait. At this time of year, I always fish very slowly with long pauses and add a triple thief. During an animation retrieve, I had this weird sensation that my lure had been pushed, as if it had just made a leap forward. I cast by reflex more than by conscience and a nice pike-perch of about 80 cm was caught. He was hooked on the triple thief just by a piece of skin at the edge of his mouth. He had simply pushed the intruder's mouth closed.
A perfectly stretched banner
With this in mind, while a well-tensioned line is essential for perfect control of your lure, it is also fundamental for consistently hooking pike-perch. Violent bites will always be perceptible, but the others, the remaining two-thirds, will not have been identified and this is what explains the difference in effectiveness between two anglers.
Related to technology
The physiognomy of a pike-perch's touch is closely linked to the technique used, which in turn depends on the mood of the moment.
The faster, more aggressive and linear the animation, the stronger the bite. That's simply because they're more likely to involve active fish and because your banner will be perfectly taut.
On the other hand, as you reduce your weights, slow down your animations and pause on the bottom, the strokes become finer and more discreet. This can be explained by the fact that you're targeting opportunistic fish that aren't necessarily in the feeding phase, and that this type of presentation requires less tension on your banner.
Key interpretation
Missed bites, especially those that reflect a nose or lip attack, have a meaning that you must analyze. In the same way, a pike-perch caught on the triple thief at the tip of the bill is a fish that has not attacked the lure frankly.
This means that your product is either disturbing or of interest to them... But not enough! But one thing's for sure: pike-perch are there, not very active but inclined to attack a lure that matches their expectations.
So, when I record this type of key, I try to understand it as a message: "there's a trigger missing in your approach". This may be the weight or the animation itself, but also one of the secondary factors, or a combination of these different parameters.
So I play on the size and color of my lure, and lastly on the shape of the jig head to try to trigger more direct hits.
Adapting to stay efficient
From these messages, you must interpret the mood of the fish, and violent bites, especially between two waters as the lure descends, must be understood as a sign of significant activity. To make the most of this moment, you need to fish fast and aggressively.
Correctly baited lures and clean hits mean you're fishing right. Finally, those that slow down and become more discreet should lead you to partially change your approach to continue to be effective.
That's why I fish for the fabulous pike-perch. For the complexity of its fishing and for that unique touch that you never know what form it will take... Concentration and rigor are required, but succeeding in fooling them regularly is a gratification without equal!
