# The Fish Were Already Beside the Lure—Why Didn’t They Strike? CHASING CanFish Fishing CamX Reveals the Underwater Story **By Canfish Doris** · 2026-08-10 To the angler above the surface, it may have felt like an ordinary retrieve. No sudden pull on the line. No rod tip bending under the weight of a fish. Nothing that clearly suggested a strike was about to happen. Underwater, however, the lure had already attracted an audience. Several fish appeared from the green water and began moving around it. One followed from behind. Another crossed in from the side, turned, and came back for a closer look. At moments, a fish moved so close that a strike seemed inevitable—only to hesitate and swim away. Spanish fishing creator [**gjcazapesca**](https://www.instagram.com/gjcazapesca/ "gjcazapesca instagram") recorded these hidden interactions with [**CHASING CanFish Fishing CamX**](https://canfishcam.com/pages/canfish-camx-underwater-fishing-camera "canfish-camx-underwater-fishing-camera"), showing how much can happen around a lure even when the angler feels almost nothing through the rod. ![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0744/9726/1731/files/why-fish-follow-lure-without-striking_1.jpg?v=1786343648) His original Spanish caption reads: > Algo nuevo que quería presentaros y que si os gusta en no mucho sacaremos un SORTEO 😎💪🏾 Para que veáis todo lo que ocurre allí abajo 💪🏾🎣🤫 @[canfishofficial](https://www.instagram.com/canfishofficial/ "canfishofficial instagram") A natural English translation would be: > I wanted to show you something new. If you like it, we may organise a giveaway soon. So you can see everything that happens down there. **Video source:** [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaQjBZVI162/](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaQjBZVI162/) ## One “Empty” Retrieve, Several Underwater Encounters When a lure returns without a fish, anglers often describe the cast as empty. But the footage from gjcazapesca tells a different story. The fish had noticed the lure. They were not simply passing through the background. They changed direction toward it, followed it and repeatedly closed the distance. The fish appear to be European perch, based on their body shape and darker vertical markings, although the underwater visibility does not allow a completely certain identification. Their reactions are not identical. One fish keeps its distance and watches. Another approaches more confidently, positioning itself directly behind the lure. A third cuts across the frame and then turns back, as though the first pass was not enough to make a decision. This makes the footage far more interesting than a simple question of whether a fish was caught. It shows that the lure had already succeeded in getting attention. The missing step was commitment. ### The Lure Is Not Simply Moving Forward ![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0744/9726/1731/files/why-fish-follow-lure-without-striking_2.png?v=1786343647) From above the water, an angler controls the lure through the reel and rod tip. But the movement the angler imagines is not always exactly what the fish sees. In the footage, the brightly coloured lure does more than travel in a straight line. Its body swings as it moves through the water. When its angle changes, the coloured sides briefly flash. Small changes in line tension cause it to turn, rise or settle into a slightly different position. These changes appear subtle, but the fish respond to them. When the lure continues moving, some fish follow from behind. When its position changes, they adjust their own angle. At certain moments, a fish closes the gap quickly, before slowing down again as it reaches the lure. The scene feels less like a simple chase and more like an underwater negotiation. The lure moves. The fish follows. The lure changes direction. The fish comes closer, then hesitates. A rod tip above the surface would reveal almost none of this. ### Interest Does Not Always Become a Strike One of the most revealing moments is not an obvious bite, but the repeated hesitation. The fish are clearly interested. They remain close to the lure and return after moving away. Yet they do not all attack immediately. For lure anglers, this difference matters. A cast without a landed fish may still have located active fish. The colour may have attracted them. The swimming action may have encouraged them to follow. The lure may even have passed through the correct depth. But something stopped the fish from completing the final movement. It would be misleading to claim that the footage proves exactly why. Fish behaviour can be influenced by light, water clarity, temperature, feeding activity, lure speed and many other factors. What the video provides is not a final answer, but a much better question. Instead of asking, “Were there any fish there?” the angler can begin asking, “They were already following—what might have made them hesitate?” That is a far more useful starting point for reviewing a cast. ## The Moment the Fish Suddenly Accelerates ![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0744/9726/1731/files/why-fish-follow-lure-without-striking_1.png?v=1786343648) The calm following behaviour does not last throughout the footage. At one point, a fish that has been holding back suddenly accelerates toward the lure. The distance closes almost instantly, turning cautious interest into a brief, aggressive movement. It is the kind of moment that lure anglers hope to trigger. Yet even here, the video does not show a fish being landed. The approach and apparent contact do not become a confirmed catch. That makes the scene more realistic, not less valuable. A fish may attack without becoming securely hooked. It may touch the lure, change direction at the last second or fail to take it fully into its mouth. From the bank, this might register as a faint tap—or nothing noticeable at all. Underwater, the sequence is visible: The fish notices the lure, holds position, follows, closes the distance and finally makes a sudden move. The strike is not an isolated moment. It is the end of a longer decision-making process. ### Reviewing More Than the Final Result CanFish Fishing CamX records the lure and the surrounding fish from the same underwater perspective. After retrieving the equipment, the angler can review what happened during the cast: how the lure moved, where fish appeared and how their behaviour changed as they came closer. This is different from judging a cast only by whether a fish was caught. A landed fish tells the angler that one presentation worked once. Underwater footage can reveal several interactions during the same retrieve—including the fish that followed, hesitated and turned away. Over time, this kind of footage may help anglers compare details that are difficult to assess from the surface. Was the lure swimming at the expected depth? Did fish follow more closely during a pause? Did they approach when the lure changed direction? Was the action smooth, or did the lure tilt or rise unexpectedly? The video from gjcazapesca does not answer all of these questions. One piece of footage cannot explain every reaction. But it makes the questions possible because the behaviour is no longer hidden. ### A Cast Can Be Successful Even Without a Fish on the Bank Fishing content often focuses on the final result: the hook-up, the fight and the fish being held in front of the camera. Those moments are exciting, but they show only the outcome. The footage recorded by [CanFish Fishing CamX](https://canfishcam.com/pages/canfish-camx-underwater-fishing-camera "canfish-camx-underwater-fishing-camera") reveals the part that usually disappears between the cast and the retrieve. Several fish noticed the lure. They followed its swimming action, changed position around it and came within striking distance. One appeared to make an aggressive move, yet the video did not end with a fish on the bank. From the angler’s perspective, that cast may still have felt unsuccessful. From the underwater perspective, it was full of activity. That is what makes the video from gjcazapesca worth watching. It does not promise that seeing fish will automatically lead to catching them. Instead, it shows something more honest—and often more useful. A quiet rod does not always mean an empty stretch of water. Sometimes the fish are already beside the lure, watching every movement and deciding whether the next one is convincing enough to make them strike. --- > Source: [canfish.store](https://canfishcam.com/blogs/reviews/why-fish-follow-lure-without-striking)