Head first or tail first?

[MedicineMan]

I was told walleyes eat a minnow head first and a northern eats it tail first. Is this true?

[outdoor fanatic]

Medicine Man,
I'm a rookie at this, but what walleye fishing I've done (1 trip up in Canada) I found that I was missing a lot because they were short striking it. We caught a bunch when we placed stinger hooks on. I may be completely wrong here (and if I am, I'm sure I'll hear about it :P ) but that led me to believe that walleye were going for the tail. Of course, that's just what my experience was and my 2 cents.

[s.f.]

i have watched several hundred walleyes eat minnows, leeches, nightcrawlers and spoons. there is not any consistent way they hit them. they don't nibble. they gulp. now that said, all fish swallow the bait head first. if they didn't swallow head first, it would be tough to get the gills and fins through. but in no way, form or fashion, do they zero in on any part or end of the bait, whatever it might be. they don't hit "short". the presentation of the fisherman creates "short bites". again, they all swallow head first.
#49

[punch1]

I've been told that the reason fish eat other fish head first is so the dorsal fin on the prey fish doesn't protrude or scrape on the way down. Makes sense to me. I have never watched a walleye take a minnow but have watched many northern pike and all ended up eating the fish head first. Just my two cents!

[Kevin/CO]

All I can say is that my understanding is that walleye key in on a bait through orientation of the body and the eyes of the bait. With that said I think that walleye really aim for either the tail, surprise from behind, or the middle of the body, least likely to miss the prey. Adding eyes to lures for me tends to increase the catch and the quality of the strikes.