Why do Fish Jump?

[Raybob]

I was always told it was to knock off the parasites .. kinda like us scratchin' our backs .. Don't know if it's a old wives tale or not! Hope someone has a real sci answer.

[jighead]

For the same reason dogs lick themselves.....because they can

[Troll]

They jump just to get a little fresh air!

[205]

Jumpin for Joy? :-);-)

[WAeyes]

The answer is in that oldies song, don't know the name of it. "I feel good, da da da da da da duh, I knew that I would now."

[Buckeye]

Raybob if you take a video and play it back frame by frame you will see unhooked fish "finning" (as opposed to thumbing) their nose at you. Hooked fish are giving you the "fin" (as opposed to the finger) :-)

[Buckeye]

Raybob if you take a video and play it back frame by frame you will see unhooked fish "finning" (as opposed to thumbing) their nose at you. Hooked fish are giving you the "fin" (as opposed to the finger) :-)

[RIVERRUNNER]

To catch the rod operater,sleepin at the wheel. Check this one out,no B.S. A friend and I are nite casting a point on the detroit river 2 hrs. and several spots no fish.We decide it's are last stop ,we're anchored in 8' casting about 20ft into a foot of water.Most times we get are fish right away first 10-15 casts anyway,about 10-15 min. goes by no fish, again.We're talkin and laughin all of a sudden bang there's one hit right on top about 2ft of water,jumpin ,dancing all the way to the boat, I'm thinkin smally, nope walleye.My buddy cast's, fish on.I notice several eyes in a frenzy,skimming the top and even breaking water.I change from slow retrieve to fast to keep the jig on top, we got 7 in 7 cast most 14-15" fish ,the 7th is a nice one my buddy asks for a hand I reel up and lean the rod against the side of the boat w/ the jig and twister hanging a foot above the water.I help him land a good one ,were jokin and high fivin,I go back to my rod quickly pick it up and there's an 8" eye hangin and swingin off my twister tail.WOW WHAT A LAUGH We got 8 fish in under 5 mins. then nothing, I LOVE THIS SPORT,I don't know what got into them, but I like it GOOD LUCK & GOOD FISHIN

[EyeJacker]

Because the can't pole vault!

[Pooch]

Chasing baitfish or being chased by a bigger critter than they are.

[THUMPER]

I've noticed that finning thing too Buckeye. The other thing I've noticed is that that while they're finning you, their derrier is always pointed in your direction. Makes you wonder.......Those Bass are the worst. Their attitude is along the same line as those high class Bass Anglers.

[Fritz]

Because they havn't invented above water cameras like our underwater cameras. They just wanna take a look around.

[gary]

Dont know,but it sure gets people going!
good fishing...www.garytheguide.com

[kevin]

I bet you jokers made this person feel pretty dumb good jokes guys keep them coming.I have seen small saugers jumping like carp you suppose they just want to see some of the honeys in there swim suits.

[SWIMWIZZ]

Hey, riverrunner I have noticed walleyes close to the surface at night also. This normally is in summer or early fall. I have caught 'em many times at night on the Mississippi just as i was pulling a lure out of the water. I fact one night me and my dad caught most of our fish figure-8ing on the surface after each cast. Also had some jump while hooked. Have caught some eyes' on lakes at night muskie fishing using Hawg Wobblers(slow, crawling topwater) SO I geuss the idea that walleyes are a bottom fish are false. I have talked to some guys who said they have had muskies come out of the water to hit their baits as they cast and I have had gar come out of the water to hit a bait. i think fish jump to get food and because they can.

[Raybob]

I got the idea for this post off the GFO MB .. Here is one of their better posts:

Carp jump because they are Carp. Bass jump because they are Bass. I jump when my Wife tells me to. Why do you jump?

[stewart]

There was a Discover magazine article on parasites, and one study found that most of the fish birds ate in the study area were infected by parasites(I think it was a salt water bay). Parasites caused the fishes to do weird things such as make rolling flashes more, and spend more time near the surface where they were vulnerable. Fish isn't trying to dislodge the parasite in this case, but being controlled by it.

Not sure if this relates to our topic here...

[Tough Guy]

Fish looking for Tough Guy. Fish no see Tough Guy, tell friends buffet ready. Fish see Tough Guy, tell friends go home hungry. Things never easy for Tough Guy.

[BGunn]

I almost hate to be the "DRY" one here, but yes, one of the reasons fish jump is because they are infested with flukes, or anchor worms on the outside of their skin. It can also be caused by water quality (low PH or high ammonia) but that is not usually the case in larger lakes or rivers.
I raise a few fish, and have seen these on everything from small minnows to larger fish up to 20+".
Of course they also jump for other reasons, such as being chased, and for the heck of it!

[SUPERTROLLER]

They jump just so they can show the other fisherman what baits I'm catching'em on.

Really though, I am under the impression that they are trying to break up the spawn in their bellies when they do those repeated rolls and flops. At least in the spring spawning times. At other times I'd say they were feeding.

[Buckeye]

Riverunner my boys and I had the same thing happen while casting for white bass on top of Peach Point reef as you come into the bay at South Bass. We were casting a Rattlin Raps and jigs beyond the white bass and every time we could get the retrieve under the surface frenzy, we'd catch a walleye. Pulled 8 or 10 in a short time and vacated the area because of all the maniacs coming into the bay at full throttle to party.

[hgf]

Ditto on the swimsuits. True story. Our office had a canoing party, 3 canoes, and one fish jumped into the canoe with one of the secretaries. She had a bright colored swimsuit on. Guess what kind of jokes were told from there on. Fish went in, she almost went out of canoe. She also attracts iguanas in Mexico, but that's another story.