Can Pike Smell ?

[deadsmelthead]

So Ice Dog 69s' thread , " Lets Talk Dead Bait" doesnt get hyjacked I started this one...

I believe pike can smell... I understand that they are a sight orientated predator mainly.. But I also think their sense of smell is plays a role from time to time..

Have you ever caught a pike on a tip up using live bait and then within a short period of time a few flags follow ?
Now Im not stating this as fact because I really dont know, but most of us know that bait fish emit a pheromone when they feel they are in danger , I dont see why it would be out of the question to think other Pike couldnt pick up on that Pheromone and follow it knowing it means some food is nearby..Possibly resulting in the flags shortly after a catch...
 
Also I fish a lake that gets stirred up resulting in poor water clarity from time to time because of the water that flows through it.. For that reason I allways have some dead bait on standy... My thinking is since the water has poor visability the Pike may be lured in by the smell of some dead baitfish... On days when this lake has been stirred up dead bait has saved the day a few times....

Getting back to the pheromone thing.... I really didnt fish much last year so I didnt get to continue trying this much.. But what I was doing 2 winters ago was filling up a 5 gallon bucket with some lake water when I got on the ice, and putting my live bait in it... Every so often I would chase the minows around the bucket with the dip net, then take some of the water out and dump it down the hole....  Basicaly my thinking was I was releasing the pheromones from the baitfish in the water... In hopes to attract fish.... Couple times out it was kind of uncanny how shortly after a tip up was tripped and a fish was caught...

Im looking forward to trying this more this year...

[AT3NCION]

Have no idea why but I love the topic of fish anatomy!
Sooooo to the best of my understanding the sense of "smell" for a fish is a part of the olfactory system. My assumption there is that it's not scientifically referred to as smell because that is often a sense that is attributed to mammalian abilities and particularly is linked to the respiratory system. A fish's sense of olfaction isn't linked to their ability to breath but instead to internal sensors connected to the nares.
The nares are a fish's nostril. As far as I know, all or at least the majority of fish have nares but they are often used in different ways but the key is to move water through the olfactory system. Some move the water into the system using the system itself (muscles or some other organ?) and others need to move water into the system by propelling themselves through the water.
My guess is that the pike has a system that can pump water without hazing to move. They are such large predators and so well built, AND are good ambush predators that I think it would make sense that they can smell when they are not moving. This last bit is all speculation though. I don't know much about the specific abilities of the pike, just generalizations.
More speculation here, but as deadsmelthead said, using deadbait can work really well for pike even when in murky conditions. My thought process would lead me to think that if the pike in those waters are used to such conditions they most likely use the olfactory system quite a bit, maybe more than those pike that get the luxury of crystal clear conditions.

[saxmatt]

I would have put up some more info in the dead bait thread but that's not what the thread is for. Pike have a set of nostrils on each side of their snout that they use to smell. The nostrils are not connected to their throats like our nostrils, and they have 2 on each side that are connected to each other forming a tube so more water can flow through them over the sensory pads that they use to smell. They are primarily sight feeders but they can smell and do use smell to scavenge for dead bait. I hope this info helps, and I wouldn't waste time arguing with those who think they can't smell because they don't know what they're talking about.

[pikeaddict]

They have a sense of smell, but from what I have read it is poor.  Eye sight and their lateral line is their primary means of finding prey.

[RIVERRAT2]

if fish can SMELL,why do they have nostrils???you donot get parts you do not need,THINK,be the fish, you need the 3'C'
to live. cover,comfort,calories.some are better then others in each field,
I KNOW FROM ice fishing for over 60years that fish SMELL,[SCENT SOLD all kinds]THINK,
 
RAT

[Water Wolf]

I found this bit on pike sense of smell under "Northern Pike" From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Many countries have banned the use of live fish for bait, but it is also possible to catch the pike with dead fish which they locate with smell. For this technique, often fat sea fish like herring, sardines and mackerel are used. This is a particularly good method for catching really big and well fed pike in the colder season. Compared to other fish like the eel, the pike does not have a good sense of smell, but it is still more than adequate to find the baitfish."

I don't think their sense of smell is is high as a catfish, eel or burbot and other similar fish from long distances and I feel they might have to be a bit closer to the prey to smell it, but when they combine their sense of smell with, sight and vibration pike are one effective predator.

WW

[PikeSticker]

Actually those "pits" or pores you see lining the edge of the underside of the lower jaw are their olfactory sensors which they use to identify something in the water that might be edible or elicit a positive or negative response to their surrounding environment (fight/flee/mate). In the true sense of definitions the term smell is based on odors or scents that are airborne which our mammalian sensors detect and report to the brain. Since a fish's environment is liquid, their sense of smell is technically more like tasting and their various sensory organs are tasting "flavors" in the water like taste buds. As an oddball comparison, a snake "smells" the air with its tongue and taste buds to interpret its surroundings.

I suspect that a pike's sense of "smell" is quite acute at least at times and perhaps most tuned in to pheromones associated with locating a receptive female/mate during the spawning process in dense vegetation or murky and stained waters.

Now you know why a pike will frequently nose right up to a stationary bait or spearing decoy without striking it. Sniff sniff.  I haven't really checked other fish species closely to see if they have these same pit organs but they may be unique to the pike/pickerel/muskie clan. Catfish and carp have similar organs only theirs are external appendages (whiskers) covered with sensors for "sniffing" out their food.  Since a pike's and catfish's head design doesn't allow looking below them without tilting their bodies down I suspect this is an evolutionary adaptation to "cover their blindside" below them.

[deadsmelthead]

Actually those "pits" or pores you see lining the edge of the underside of the lower jaw are their olfactory sensors which they use to identify something in the water that might be edible or elicit a positive or negative response to their surrounding environment (fight/flee/mate). In the true sense of definitions the term smell is based on odors or scents that are airborne which our mammalian sensors detect and report to the brain. Since a fish's environment is liquid, their sense of smell is technically more like tasting and their various sensory organs are tasting "flavors" in the water like taste buds. As an oddball comparison, a snake "smells" the air with its tongue and taste buds to interpret its surroundings.

I suspect that a pike's sense of "smell" is quite acute at least at times and perhaps most tuned in to pheromones associated with locating a receptive female/mate during the spawning process in dense vegetation or murky and stained waters.

Now you know why a pike will frequently nose right up to a stationary bait or spearing decoy without striking it. Sniff sniff.  I haven't really checked other fish species closely to see if they have these same pit organs but they may be unique to the pike/pickerel/muskie clan. Catfish and carp have similar organs only theirs are external appendages (whiskers) covered with sensors for "sniffing" out their food.  Since a pike's and catfish's head design doesn't allow looking below them without tilting their bodies down I suspect this is an evolutionary adaptation to "cover their blindside" below them.

Nice Post

[Nightbird]

PikeSticker: that's a very informative pic! Now I understand how pike locate my deadbaits right on bottom, which I often find successful when they're not hitting higher up. Thanks for post!

[captain54]

YES,I've caught tons of them on dead smelts on the bottom or not.

[icyveins]

I have always been told when "baiting" a hook the smell on your fingers can be transferred to the bait you are using as well as scare off fish! ? is this true? not trying to steel the thread here but im curious

[chadroc]

i absolutely feel that pike have and use their smell to locate bait in the winter.  dead bait makes up a good portion of their diet, there is little else besides smell to attract.

[coldsteel]

this is a great thread, is there anywhere you can buy herring oils or other attractant to add to baits since herring are naturally filled with thos odors that pike seem to love

[pikeaddict]

this is a great thread, is there anywhere you can buy herring oils or other attractant to add to baits since herring are naturally filled with thos odors that pike seem to love

Smelt Rite by Ridge Runner Scents.

[coldsteel]

Smelt Rite by Ridge Runner Scents.

great thanks!!!

[PikeSticker]

this is a great thread, is there anywhere you can buy herring oils or other attractant to add to baits since herring are naturally filled with thos odors that pike seem to love

Blue Fox tackle mfg also makes a ton of scents called Dr. Juice. I've got a couple of the pike/musky bottles but the only time I use them is adding scent to my spearing decoys with a dab or two on the metal fins. This stuff eats my decoy paint! 
http://www.bluefox.com/products/dr_juice_scents.php

Pro Cure is another mfg that makes a ton of scents......oils, gels, liquids, brines, powders, sauces, dyes.....you name it!
http://www.pro-cure.com/products.html

[coldsteel]

Thanks Pike Sticker, I most definately will have to order online as there isnt much pike fishing around here so the shops typically dont carry much.

[m_t_u]

Like all predator fish, Pike have three main senses available to them to find prey.

They are capable of using all three, and broadly speaking use more than one whenever possible. So, first of all, your catch improves if you can combine attractions.

Sight is fairly obvious; they see movement, shadow, profile, etc. I haven't found pike to be particularly finicky with colour or imitation, but there are times when they do play a role.

The lateral line senses pressure. Our own sense of hearing is also a pressure sensitivity but we tend to think of it differently, as "sound". All fish are extremely sensitive to pressure; pike in my experience more so than some species.

Finally they will "taste" water via the holes in the bottom and top of the head.

Many years ago (probably 20) I read a study where biologists defeated nerves serving the main senses of pike and observed the behaviour, to determine if feeding ability or stalking behaviour was altered or impaired.

When they defeated just one sense ... sight only, lateral line only, and taste only, there was no impairment in the pike's ability to find prey, attack it, and feed.

When they defeated two senses in tandem, they found differences in behaviour and hunt success.

Sight and lateral line together had a profound affect and caused significant impairment in feed ability.

Sight and smell did not harm the pike's ability to find and attack prey.

Lateral line and smell did not harm the pike's ability to find and attack prey.

They concluded that pike do not significantly rely on smell to find and attack prey, but did significantly rely on both sight and lateral line.

In my experience I found that the conclusions were well founded.

I have not found fish attractants to be particularly effective; or more to the point, I have not seen a pattern where an oil-type attractant generated any more or any fewer strikes than a "dry" bait if you were, say, casting or trolling, or jigging.

I have seen where pike will either hold on to a scent-holding bait longer after the strike, or will swallow a scent-holding bait after mouthing it. Dead bait such as belly meat does work on pike, but works best when rigged with movement in mind, keeping in mind that you do not need much movement at all. I don't normally find pike that likely to strike a completely dead bait on the bottom, but the slightest movement ... even one that only stirs up the bottom in murky or soft bottom, will trigger attention and a strike.

Sight works well ... fast and slow movement, stop and go, etc are all effective.

Similarly, vibration or displacement with large lures or a displacing body smaller lure also is effective.

If scent has any value, it is when the pike is extremely close to the bait, and when one of the other senses brings the pike to the bait first.

For ice fishing I would say sight is number one and smell may be useful when the pike is very close. In open water vibration or displacement is as effective as sight. Broadly speaking movement is more effective than still fishing.

When the environmental stimulus the pike is experiencing results in a low activity behaviour, a slower presentation works best; this may be a time when smell has a role.

I think you would have better luck relying on other aspects of pike predatory behaviour but as always in fishing there are occasions where the fish surprises you with an unusual reaction, so certainly I would not suggest you abandon taste attractants altogether. Put another way, I have not seen where it hurt, but it is a low-percentage presentation and you will have better success exploiting sight or vibration most of the time.

In particular by far the biggest predictor of pike success in my experience is lure time in the water so if your scent presentation requires you to remove the bait from the water to replenish then in my opinion you are significantly impairing a good presentation in favour of a less effective one. If you can fish a scent presentation without taking time away compared to an alternate known effective presentation, then I say have at 'er.

[george33]

this is a great thread, is there anywhere you can buy herring oils or other attractant to add to baits since herring are naturally filled with thos odors that pike seem to love

Gulp sells a herring spray

[coldsteel]

has anyone tried it? I tried using deadbait I found that live bait still outfished dead when I went to champlain however if I could salvage the bait after landing a fish I found that it would catch more fish for as long as I could reuse it as long as it still had a little life (more of a twitch) left in it...

[Fontona19]

They have a sense of smell, but from what I have read it is poor.  Eye sight and their lateral line is their primary means of finding prey.

This is the way I have always understood it too.

[jlaclair]

they can totally smell...