What species of fish do fish target?

[WaterHond]

What are the most common species of fish targeted as food? This sound like a silly question, but besides the normal sardine, shad, bone fish, etc. what other baitfish are there and what clours are they???

 

So when you want to change to a different colour/shape lure, what would make sense (already knowing the discussed low light – dark/bright colour, good light natural colours theory) to make your choice.

 

 

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[Fin-S]

Here in the cape I would add anchovy (and sadly get rid of the bonefish!). Last weekend when the fish were biting, the better the copy of the bait, the better the results. Until the fish were full up, then it required something larger and different to excite them. The tail and snoek were busy on large anchovies (about 3 inches) and up until 11 I was outfishing my partners (4:1) on a blue and silver Onde. After this time when the fish were satiated, the Onde was outfished by the other guys fishing large snakes etc. - something of a different size and colour to excite them again. The same thing happened 2 days running so I reckon it was more than coincedence. At one stage I could've sold the Onde for R500, yet in the afternoon I couldn't buy a bite with it. I guess the moral is buy more lures!!

 

[will101]

Fin-S wrote:

I guess the moral is buy more lures!!

or in my case, TRY more lures. No good them lying in the box and not being in the water. I was chucking a snake all day with NO hits yet I might have had the answer in my bag. Just had to try it!

Another variation (also CT) is the swimming prawn, of which you sometimes find large shoals off Cape Point.

 

[WaterHond]

Thanks, but you are missing the point / question. What fish do the bigger fishies feed on? Not what are good lures…

Besides the crustaceans and worms etc. I want to know when I fish a lure that imitates a fish, what are the most common natural colours of bait fish in the water so to speak… So, say when my sard look-alike isn't performing the goods, before I start playing with the odd "pink", "purple" or "orange" for that matter, what change of lure can I make that looks different to the sard but is still not too different to what they pray on…

 

[neilg]

Sardine
Mackarel
Anchovy
Bonito
Mullet
Bonefish
Strepie
Blacktail
Elf/Shad
Karel GrootOog
RockBallie
Grunter
Cob

Mud Prawn
Sand Prawn
Swimming Prawn
Bloodworm
Pencil
Tape Worm
Mussel Worm
Corral Worm
Crab

just a few that comes to mind

but look at most fish, the colour you see most is SILVER.
There might be yellow, blue, green and other spots or lines, but Silver is still the base colour.

It's not always about what lure or the colour of it, it's about alot of other things aswell, but knowing what your quarry prefers to eat is A VERY GOOD STARTING POINT.

Other factors include clean or dirty water, cold/normal or hotter water, sand or rock or both, gullies or dropoffs and so the list goes on

And as we all know, fish are oppertunistic, a elf WILL take a periwinkle if it is there and the elf is hungry.

 

[Nepptune]

Guys,

If any of you get the chance, check out Bob Popovic's fly tying book called "Pop Fleyes"... even as a non flyfisherman or fly tyer, its an amazing book on bait batterns and how to imitate them when tying, and WHY to use certain materials, and taking a real look at baitfish, both in and out the water, as well as dissecting the,.... This can go a long way in helping you to choose a more lifelike and realistic pattern on the day, whether it be for Sardines, Mullet, Sprats, Anchovies, Prawns or Shrimps... Like Neil said the base colour of most of your prey species is sliver, but there is also ALOT of translucency in smaller baitfish patterns like anchovies, sprats and even in smaller sardines.... same goes for Shrimps and Prawns....

Tim have you seen this book? If not, give me a holler, be glad to lend it to you. Popovic is a league ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to imitative and inventive fly tying... we've got him to tahnk for all sorts from the Surf Candy to the Semper....

Waterhond - Not sure what answers you are looking for mate, but if your current colour is not working, and you are matching the hatch, I'd change size before colour, depending on the fish, up size or down size first... then change colour.... Changing action ( speed, retrieve movement ) also needs to be approached...

 

[WaterHond]

Nepptune wrote:

Waterhond - Not sure what answers you are looking for mate...

Spot on Nepps, you legend!!

 

You explained exactly what I was asking. Thank you very much, really appreciate it. Sizing up or down really makes sense.

 

Neilg, same to you, thank you! I know other factors, as mentioned, play a big role. Thing is I do not dive, so I have never really had the opportunity to have a look at the bait fish.

 

Thanks again, both of you!

 

 
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