Fish are mean! Here’s how Idaho anglers can take advantage of their aggression

Jul 09, 2023

Years ago, while on vacation in Belize, I spent some time fishing off a pier with spinning gear I’d brought from home. I had great fun catching more than a dozen saltwater species, but one experience stuck with me most.

Every time I hooked a fish, others chased it, nipping and biting at it all the way back to the pier. It was crazy watching it all unfold in the gin-clear Caribbean Sea. Many of the attacking fish were no bigger than the hooked fish they were bullying. But it reinforced an important fact every angler should keep in their knowledge tackle box — fish, in their heart of hearts, are mean!

It is generally understood that most game fish are carnivores. But until you’ve witnessed their vicious behavior firsthand, it's easy to underestimate them.

Take crappie for example. As Idaho fish go, they seem relatively tame, averaging 10-12 inches and maxing out around 16. Anglers usually target crappie with small panfish jigs, but years ago, I stumbled into a fun surprise while trolling for flathead catfish on the Snake River. Our huge crankbaits, which were about the size of a small crappie, kept getting slurped up by — you guessed it — crappie! Massive, slab crappie that tipped the scales at more than 2 pounds. I’ve fine-tuned my setup since then, and trolling with cranks has become my favorite way to fish for big crappie. The same strategy works on perch, which are notorious cannibals. I recently caught a dozen of Lake Cascade's famous jumbos by trolling big, perch-colored lures!

So why is it such a fish-eat-fish world? The answer boils down to math. In order to survive, wild animals constantly calculate how much food they need to eat, and how much they’re willing to risk to get it. Eating one juicy fish provides as many calories as hundreds of small bugs or dozens of hard-to-digest snails, so fish learn quickly that a piscivorous diet is the best way to move up the food chain.

Even large predators often surprise anglers with their aggression. For fish like bass and tiger muskie, the list of prey doesn't stop at fish. These apex hunters will take down frogs, rodents, birds, snakes — literally anything that fits in their mouths. I’ve watched a largemouth bass attack an 8-inch bluegill my buddy was reeling in. I’ve seen rows of ducklings decrease in number while trying to cross the pond. Students in my fishing classes raise their eyebrows at the thought of fish hunting terrestrial prey, but it happens more often than you’d think. Even large trout will snap up mice and other rodents!

As anglers, knowing how aggressive our target species are can help inform what kinds of lures and tactics we use to catch them. When I’m trout fishing, I almost always throw a minnow imitation like a Rapala to try and attract the biggest, meanest fish in the area. I jig for panfish sometimes, but I’d rather target big slabs with cranks and swimbaits. A fired-up bass will eat almost anything, but I love watching them explode on a noisy topwater lure or crush a crankbait right before it reaches the boat. And don't even get me started on the adrenaline-pumping thrill of a tiger muskie hunt!

Next time you’re on the water, don't be afraid to tie on that lure you’ve always thought looked too big. Because in the eyes of your mean, meat-eating quarry, it probably looks like a perfect snack. Tight lines!

Jordan Rodriguez has been fishing Idaho waters since he was a teen. Share your fish stories, adventures and questions with him at [email protected], or visit www.tightlines208.com for the latest local fishing reports and upcoming class offerings.