Understanding Feeding Patterns Through Fish Anatomy
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Fish anatomy can reveal a TON about how fish are likely to feed.
Feeding behaviors impact your lure selection and overall approach to targeting specific species.
In this video, we’ll analyze speckled sea trout, snook, and redfish.
Dive deeper in the video below!!
Understanding Feeding Patterns Through Fish Anatomy [VIDEO]
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction to Fish Mouth Anatomy
- 0:24 Snook Mouth and Feeding Behavior
- 1:06 Speckled Trout Mouth and Feeding Behavior
- 1:46 Redfish Mouth and Feeding Behavior
If you are missing strikes or getting no strikes, it might be due to lure selection.
You could be fishing with a lure that is not easy for that fish to hunt down.
Snook
Snook have a longer lower jaw than their upper lip.
This type of mouth is typical for ambush predators accustomed to attacking their prey from below.
That means the fish is holding down near the bottom and striking upwards.
Fish with this type of jaw structure also tend to have a wider mouth and want to attack prey in front or above them.
Topwater lures and subsurface soft plastics are excellent lure choices for targeting snook.
Speckled Sea Trout
Trout have a very similar jaw structure to snook.
Their lower jaw is longer than the upper lip.
Again, this is more suitable for attacking prey in front or above them.
Just like with snook, the best lure options are topwater lures and subsurface soft plastics in the middle of the water column or just off the bottom.
Redfish
Redfish are quite different than both snook and seatrout.
The lower jaw of a redfish is shorter than the upper lip.
This jaw structure is best suited for feeding off the bottom or directly in front of them.
Redfish are more of a scavenger than an ambush predator.
They tend to nose around on the bottom digging up crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans.
Cut bait or lures directly on the bottom are the best options for targeting redfish.
You can catch them on topwater lures if they are actively feeding, however, you will notice they have their backs almost completely out of the water.
This is so they can attack the lure head-on.
When all else fails with redfish, keep your lures on or as close to the bottom as possible using a slow retrieve.
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FINDING THE FISH HELP
In order to help make sure that you are targeting the right areas based on the latest feeding trends and upcoming weather forecasts, make sure to use the following 3 resources because they will save you a ton of time.
1. WEEKEND GAME PLANS (UPDATED WEEKLY)
These regional game plans will show you exactly what types of spots to target in under 10 minutes… just click the video to start, and you’ll be informed on what to do on your next trip.
Weekend Game Plan Lessons2. SMART FISHING SPOTS PLATFORM (UPDATED EVERY 15 MINUTES)
This exclusive software literally shows you where the most fish are likely to be feeding based on exactly when you’ll be fishing. It factors in the tides, wind, and weather to help you quickly see which areas to target throughout the day.
3. COMMUNITY REPORTS (LIVE FEED)
The Insider Community platform is what you can use to see what is biting near you, and you can get to know other members who fish in your area. Plus, you can use it to keep a log of your catches so you can use past trips to help predict future catches.
90/10 ZONE INSHORE FISHING NEWSLETTER
Oh, and be sure to sign up for FREE Access to Salt Strong’s 90/10 Zone Newsletter!
It’s the Ultimate Inshore Fishing Blast with the MOST RECENT on-the-water updates, weekly trends, hot lures, catches of the week, fish tales, conservation news, and everything else for Inshore Fishing…
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
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Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Thanks, Toni. Always enjoy your tutorials.
You’re welcome Michael!
I have always said know your species that your targeting because it’s very hard trying to figure out how to catch any fish if you don’t know them I might add it’s also pretty important to know what there favorite prey is because they all have there own favorites and also the preferred water temps that each species prefer but all these basically have to do with knowing the fish your seeking basically how they feed what temp is best for feeding and what there preferred prey that they like to feed on thanks for the info Tony and as usual all you do😀👍
Knowing your target applies to a lot of things in life!
Great video, Tony! I’m always learning. I never really thought about different feeding behaviors; I only relied on the 2 C’s – condition of water and color of lure. When combined, these three things will significantly increase your chances of catching fish and the variety of fish in your creel.
Thanks Robert! Always want to know how your target behaves to get the advantage on them. Very true for a lot of things!
Excellent lesson. Thanks Tony. The videos and your markings and explanations are perfectly detailed.
You’re welcome Jan and thank you for the great feedback!
Very helpful to know why fish do what they do, thanks Tony!
You’re welcome James!
Great video, helps to better understand the fish.
Thank you for the feedback Dave!
That was a very helpful video, Tony.
Thank you for the feedback Ron!
Very good lesson and reminder for us rookies
I appreciate the feedback John!
Makes great sense. Thanks
Great video Tony! Thanks’
You’re welcome Wayne!