While doing my homework...

[joedog]

I find this video on cold water jigging. The commentater talks about how a bass ALWAYS swallows bait head first. I'm not so sure I agree. The topic was relating to how when a bass takes a jig it actually turns the jig in its mouth so it can swallow it head first. Most people set while the jig is turning horizontally in the fishes mouth to swallow and at set the hook is basically sideways at the time of set and smaller hook up ratios are the result. Again I don't know that I agree.
I know we've been doing alot of jig hook setting talk and this may be repetitive but I didn't hear talk about the fish swallowing bait head first and actually when I think of it, when a caught bass is brought in spitting shad and other bait fish out, the shad are almost always head first, right?
So the fish may have an ability to reposition bait on the way in and out.
So whats your thoughts on 'head first' ?

[bamabassman]

i don't believe a bass swallows a bait head first. i think bass swallow a bait anyway it can. head first, sideways, tail first. i've seen bass in the tanks at BPS swallow the monnows tail frist. they jsut suck it in however they can get it.

[keithdog]

I've never really heard of bass doing this with artificials. I have been told many times that when using large minnows for bait, they may do this. I've caught a few bass with tails of smaller baitfish protuding from it's throat. But I've never seen the head portion sticking out of the throat.

[badbrady06]

I would say larger prey or spiny rayed prey it would be swallowed head first. Crawdads bluegill they would get lodged in the throat if they went down tail first. Shad and minnows have soft rays so I would it doesn't matter unless they are larger. That said a jig doesn't taste or feel like natural prey so I would guess they spit it before trying to reposition it to swallow.

[pro reel]

I think that they are mizing up what happens when bass grabs a bait versus what happens when it actually starts to swallow the bait. Bass have a 2nd set of teeth pads at the back of the mouth. When they have a bait in there moutch i think that they use those back crunchers to smash and position the food. I have seen lots of underwater videos of feeding bass ans tey suck a bait up like a vacume cleaner. They don't care which way they suck it in, but they may use those back crunchers to get ready to swallow the bait into the gullet. As for what this means for using a jig, I don't think it comes into play much because if a bass has a jig that long, normally it would already know it was fake and spit it out. However, I have hooked lots of bass in the gullet with smaller plastic baits, and I don't know that any of them were pointed a certain direction. They probably only do that when they feel fins sticking them in the mouth.

[nofearengineer]

Don't make the mistake of thinking the bass has a plan. With backwards sticking spines and scales, it's just physics that bounced around enough, the prey is going to wind up pointed down the gullet.

I think the bass just sort of chomps and chomps until the prey winds up in the right position, and then it just happens.

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

.......winds up in the right position, and then it just happens.

There's a joke in there somewhere....something about teenagers and backseats of cars...

[kennethdaysale]

all things being equal a bass will eat prey with a fusiform shape first......shiners, shad etc

[bassinbob]

fusiform-now there's a great word.

[kennethdaysale]

Thanks I kinda like it too.

[merc1997]

i set the hook any time i think one is looking or breathing on it, hahaha.

[bluebasser86]

Originally Posted by pro reel

I think that they are mizing up what happens when bass grabs a bait versus what happens when it actually starts to swallow the bait. Bass have a 2nd set of teeth pads at the back of the mouth. When they have a bait in there moutch i think that they use those back crunchers to smash and position the food. I have seen lots of underwater videos of feeding bass ans tey suck a bait up like a vacume cleaner. They don't care which way they suck it in, but they may use those back crunchers to get ready to swallow the bait into the gullet. As for what this means for using a jig, I don't think it comes into play much because if a bass has a jig that long, normally it would already know it was fake and spit it out. However, I have hooked lots of bass in the gullet with smaller plastic baits, and I don't know that any of them were pointed a certain direction. They probably only do that when they feel fins sticking them in the mouth.

Agreed. They may swallow baitfish head first but I bet a bass isn't turning down a feeding oppurtunity just because he couldn't catch the prey head first. Last time I went fishing I caught a nice one on a 6" Spro swimbait and it had obviously attacked it from behind.

[gonefishin3]

Originally Posted by bluebasser86

Agreed. They may swallow baitfish head first but I bet a bass isn't turning down a feeding oppurtunity just because he couldn't catch the prey head first. Last time I went fishing I caught a nice one on a 6" Spro swimbait and it had obviously attacked it from behind.

Exactly as I was gonna say when useing big 8-10 in swimbaits out west they HAVE to gulp it from the behind....

[joedog]

Originally Posted by bassinbob

fusiform-now there's a great word.

I had to look it up !

[Dogmatic]

[joedog]

Just fuel,
I think the point wasn't how the bass catches the bait, head first, tail first, rather that the bait is position while in the mouth before swallowing.
I doubt very few if any crank baits, other than maybe a jerk bait, bite comes head first.
I'm thinking pro reel has the concept

They don't care which way they suck it in, but they may use those back crunchers to get ready to swallow the bait into the gullet. As for what this means for using a jig, I don't think it comes into play much because if a bass has a jig that long, normally it would already know it was fake and spit it out.

At least I now know the meaning of 'fusiform'.