Throughout the theme of the Pike Online site we have been extolling the virtues of correct positioning of the hooks in your baits, hopefully via this diagram we can explain why. If you understand the way pike feed and take baits you can understand the importance of wher and how you mout your bait. In this article hopefully you will get a better understanding of this, that's the hope!

MORE DETAIL IS TO BE ADDED TO THE FOLLOWING IMAGE

Here in this diagram you can see the typical 1st position of a bait that has been picked up by a pike, in this case its a deadbait. Typically it is likely that it will seize the bait in this fashion and go through the motions of 'killing' its prey.

Imagine that in normal feeding the pike will be catching live prey and needs to be sure, having captured one, that it must be disabled to allow it to turn and swallow it. To facilitate swallowing the bait must be turned to be swallowed head first, this not a whim, but an instinct bred into pike over millions of years. The reason is that by swallowing head first all the fins will be flattened against the prey/baits body and not hinder swallowing, prey or bait taken the wrong way will be impossible to swallow as the fins will open and snag in the pikes mouth or throat!

If the fish is not disabled there is the risk that when the pike opens its mouth to turn the bait, the prey fish could escape, result a hungry pike!) So even a dead bait gets the 'treatment' prior to being swallowed.

See 'video' below for a real view of this happening.

Once satisfied that the bait is 'dead' or 'crippled', the pike having seized the bait across the flank, will then eject it briefly before seizing it again head first in readiness to swallow it. This process from seizure to swallowing may only take a couple of seconds or may in the case of a large live bait several minutes. This is not a theory and it is hoped to load a video clip that visualises the action in this process showing the livebait siezed tail first, held to cripple and turned in a split second.

However long it takes though there are tell tales signs, the float rocks side to side, bobs up and down, or the indicator bleeps and rises and falls slightly, each of which should alert the angler to the attention being given to his bait....'good bite indication will reduce the risk of deep hooking'... This may then stop, at which point you may think that nothing is happening and ignore it, don't, take heed and be prepared, as this may be the 'seizure' stage in the take. The turning and swallowing phase will follow and the inevitable run will occur.

Now after the turning is completed the bait is taken head first and swallowing comences, we can see how the bait is probably positioned and where the hooks are likely to be at this stage of the bite. The end trebles will be just inside the pikes mouth and could secure a hold if a strike was made, with a smaller bait this could see the bait well into the mouth at this stage in the swallow.

Here now the bait has been fully taken and is entering the throat of the pike, larger baits won't be swallowed immediately, smaller ones though could very easily enter the throat and be passed to the stomach in a very few seconds. With the larger bait or section the hook mounts should prevent the hooks enetering the throat, but only if the strike is early and follows the first indication of the bite occuring.

Provided your attention is there and even if the bait is now swallowed, a correctly hooked bait should not get much further than illustrated here. On striking the bait should, if hooked up correctly, normally be expected to dislodge from the throat or the hooks from the bait and the hooks should take hold on one side of the mouth, the 'scissors'. See the 'bite indication' page.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of pike behaviour and can appreciate the importance of correct bait mounting, both for optimum opportunities to hook and land your quarry, and for pike conservation and welfare by reducing the risks of deep hooking.

Please look at the Baits section and how to mount live and deadbaits for some further advice and guidance.

In the event of deep hooking any pike you catch take a look at the page on 'Deephooking' to understand how you might deal with this, but do think firstly about how you hhok your baits!

Lecture over...... go catch some pike.

Video of how a pike takes a bait, it is not a fish taking a 'bait' in the real sense, but a tethered bait filmed to see thow the pike takes its prey by a videographer at underwaterireland.com, but it along with others he has recorded, shows what we can only imagine. Watch how in this clip that as the pike approaches the rudd plays 'dead' and lies motionless, the pike eventually seizes its prey, holds on until it senses it is 'dead' and then in a split second turns the prey into a position where it can be swallowed head first, confirming just what this articles tries to communicate about baits and hook positioning!

**: Video Insert above. The interesting thing in the video clip is how the active livebait goes from actively trying the escape to turning over and playing dead as the pike enters the swim, appearing to try and fool the pike into ignoring it. The pike watches the bait for some considerable time before striking, absolutely fascinating.