Continuation of discussion about lure choice

[SPOONMINNOW]

This year has been very instructive on many counts.
1. Contrast is key
When I think of all the lures I've caught fish on over the last 4 decades, I gotta believe that they just don't fit into the environment fish call home. We've heard the term natural as it is applied to lures. But in the previous discussion, lures in general are anything but natural in appearance or motion. They in effect contrast with prey in many ways which begs the question, do fish attack them to eat them or just because they can. Bullies-with-gills is still my description of fish that attack moving objects they are clueless about.

The most obvious contrast re: lures is color. No lure blends in against the background it is viewed - either to the side nor looking at a lure straight up or down. Even black and clear plastic lures contrast and florescent colors even more! Color, whether a tint or solid, gives the lure its shape and emphasizes its action no matter how subtle. Light refraction with a clear plastic lure does the same and I've caught many fish on clear lures whether hared or soft plastic.

Sonically, lures contrast far more than live prey in that they affect the lateral line differently. A lure can tickle the lateral line or thump it. Subtle-motion finesse lures and fur jigs tickle; spinnerbait blades, Rat L Traps and bass jigs - thump it. In both cases, sonic contrast in a quiet peaceful environment is as annoying as a motorcycle without a muffler going past my house at 6:30 am - daily! (Fish can get away with murder; unfortunately, I can't.)

Lure size and shape combination is important because it affects a lure's action visually. It brings up the question: how much is too much contrast? It depends on the aggression level of fish in that spot. Some areas of a lake hold fish at different aggression levels which can change hourly. My last trip I found gills clobbering 1.5"-2" soft plastics but in a different area 1/4 mi. away, only 1" plastics caught the same size gills due to a slower lure speed and length. Lure action was the same though subtle vs in-their-face contrast can make a big difference i.e. drop shotting thin sticks.

Note: someone asked if I test lures in my pond. My conscience won't let me seeing as how they are like pets. Even two 1 lb bass swim under the school of sunnies waiting for yellow perch to be thrown to them.

 

[Hawnjigs]

First day of the annual alewife spawn on Lake Mac, so walked the north end of the dam before sunrise today to search for predators. Jig choice was the usual light as possible for shallow rocky bottom 1/11 oz 2/0 Gami light wire head with 3" Berkley pearl Ripple Shad which is indeed an appearance CONTRAST with the silvery 5-6" alewives. Not many of these prey fish around yet and only a very occasional slurp to indicate the presence of a predator. For whatever reason 2 wipers 8 & 10# found the jig attractive enuf to bite despite the extreme difference in color & size compared to the natural forage.

The Ripple Shad boot tail vibration might be between "tickle" and "thump".

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

This year the word unnatural pops up in forum conversations applied to lures: manmade moving objects that provoke fish aggression.
Says a lot about lures in general and specific lure properties such as color, motion, shape and action. Like any engrained belief, some find it impossible to accept the above definition regardless of any evidence that proves it. In fact the definition allows greater flexibility in lure choice and variety that on any day can catch most fish speces in a lake.

Words or phrases I would use when describing a lure's inique quality:
1. those that thump the lateral line vs tickle it. (i.e. Rat L Trap and the Flat Fish vs the flutter of a curly tail)
2. eye candy vs what-the-**** is that?!!! (Mann's Shadow Minnow vs a fat fecal-looking Ned rig bait)
3. subtle colors such as black, gray or clear vs flourescent colors from the 60's (I should know, I was there); patterns such as coach dog vs no pattern.
4. retrieves and presentations best suited for a lure's action-by-design (i.e. buzz bait's steady retrieve vs dart & pause retrieves of lures such as the Floating Rapala, Mann's Shadow and most of my hybrid designs)
5. size matters! (i.e. downsizing can make all the difference when fish are less irritable; a larger size & action can challenge those big bruits to a dual-to-the-death) i.e. a very large swimbait)

There are more, but those characteristics - in combination - can make or break a lure's success rate. You can apply the above to any lure ever made. Now, isn't solving the mystery of what fish strike, the challenge we are addicted to as lure designers and lure makers?!! No live bait for me! zzzz.

 

[hookup]

Buddy of mine put it this way

Sometimes the fish want a meal and other time just a potato chip

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

But one thing I left out: jig weight.
Different weights for different lures and presentations make all the difference. i.e. we got into a school of small sunnies that nipped at the tails of our small grubs. Jig weight was 1/16 oz. - heavy and too large a hook for a slower retrieve in 3'. We downsized lure, hook and weight and immediately caught fish after fish including larger fish that came to play.

Casting distance is limited by light set-ups, so I try to stay on the large side. But in one situation a 1/32 or 1/64 oz jig is necessary for a a presentation that uses a 5" Kut Tail Worm (GY's). The lure has weight for casting a distance and the light jig allows a back & forth whip action at a given depth that fish go nuts for. Any heavier a jig and this presentation/technique would be impossibe.


A Softie Worm does the same thng.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Previous sessions successful, decided to try a different newly found 3" paddle tail soft bait this AM by a local mfg with a close as any appearance to baitfish a semi-transparent silvery pearl color vs. the opaque white pearl with pink highlight sheen contrast color previously used. More alewives present = more predators so bite was hot with 4 wipers and 3 cats obliging. Interesting that live bait dunkers on either side of my stand didn't appear to get bit, tho I might have missed their catches if any being bizzy with my own. So even with a natural as possible appearance guessing that there was still a contrast factor that enabled a better bite reaction than actual live bait.

Also, the dunkers were typically casting their free swimming baits straight out while I was casting in close sideshore to the rocks mindful not to cross over their lines 20-25' away on both sides. Some strikes were just a few feet from their stands.

Whatever, I'll be hitting the tackle shop for more of these - feels good to buy local !

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

guessing that there was still a contrast factor that enabled a better bite reaction

Contrast says it all!
I had a great day last weekend catching fish on many shapes and colors and mostly in 7' of water. The strikes & fights were hard from decent size crappie to larger than hand size sunfish. Glad I took the usual photos to document the catch so I can duplicate those shapes and rig them on the same size jigs. Actions are different between shapes with presentations that emphasize each's action the best way.

What do fish think they are just beforet they attack? Don't know. Never enters my mind. The simple fact is that they excite them to strike with a pull on my line the only thing that matters.

 

[Hawnjigs]

The exact same jig as yesterday semi transparent pearl shined again this AM at a different spot - 3 wallys, 2 cats, 2 white bass, & a smallie. The paddle tail 3" softie is a Keitech Easy Shiner knock off but the plastic is way tuffer without the useless top & bottom hook slots holding up for 15 chunks vs. the Keitech 1 or 2 before being torn up.

Something special about this color...could be the "one ring to rule them all"

Update: bought 3 more packs today from a local fishing supply store.
.https://www.leadheadfishingco.com/shopall/p/44nehi4om4xgh81gdqu2rhop9d84tg

 

[Hawnjigs]

The "Lead Head" 3" pearl "Shiner" continues being a multi-species attractor. This AM an unusual 20 chunk white bass, 5 smallies, 2 smaller wipers, stray cat, & a big wally. Meathead harvest has severely depleted the big predator #s.

After the first 2 fish nipped off the tail paddle the stub remainder continued to get bit modifying the retrieve to include more vigorous twitch action.

 

[Hawnjigs]

BTW this warm season big fish night jigs are primarily JiggerJohn's Boolie hook shank propeller design which is modified adding a bead stack collar to hold plastics. 1/11 oz Hooksup & 1/10 oz ball heads both unpainted with 2/0 Gami 604 hooks.

Can't say the jigs get bit better with or without a prop but per Spoonminnow's assessment the propeller spin adds tactile thump as well as visible flash to perhaps increase bite attraction. Taken to an extreme spinnerbaits have become the most popular walleye lure on the lake casting from shore or boats.

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

I thought of something that might explain my theory why fish attack lures: fish senses do an incredible job of detecting live prey via instincts. When it comes to lures, the message sent to it's tiny brain is zero instinctual. The brain doesn't have a clue what the thing -the lure that is. It's brain hasn't evolved to be able to put 2 & 2 together. If it did, the sight of hooks would be a #1 warning sign as well as indicating: this thing ain't edible or easily swallowed! But being a fish, sometimes it can't help itself and it will bite the alien thing just because it can. Again, lures contrast with nature in different ways - not copy it.

Having caught most freshwater species on a huge variety of lures, I've proven to myself that strike-triggers are key. In fact, I could chose one lure design and still catch a large number of fish almost any time in the future. Discovering strike-triggers is my obsession and as I've indicated, strike-triggers are any combination of shape,size, & action which defines the lure. Bladed lures + plastics is one combo but not all blade shapes and sizes. Certain lures work better under or behind a blade - but not all.

I swear by all of the examples shown in many posts that anyone can catch fish with them using the right retrieve, at least 8 mos. of the year.

The fish senses-to-brain connection is like a combination lock.: many but not all strike-trigger combinations provoke attacks on any given day. Anglers unlock the combinations - lure and fish's - that get fish to react, not by choice but by provocation.
Blades may work great in warm water, but less so in cold. Lure speed range is less in cold water; greater in warm water. So in a sense (no pun intended), part of a particular strike-trigger's effectiveness is based on time of year, the spawn, fish activity level, cover/no cover, fish in a school vs isolated and maybe even the weather and pre-weather changes. It's an ongoing mystery and we are the detectives.

JMHO

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

"So even with a natural as possible appearance guessing that there was still a contrast factor that enabled a better bite reaction than actual live bait."
Definitions of
instinct:
1. inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
2.the ability to know - without thinking - how to behave or respond in certain circumstances
and
lure - unnatural-looking, moving manmade objects that provide the stimuli fish at times can not resist attacking. Lures in fact contrast with nature in ways fish have never seen nor felt thereby adding to a lure's effectiveness.

I thought about the term instinct as I was throwing bit of bread to about 20 sunfish and 5 turtles in my pond - a daily occurence. Fish and the turtles come to where I'm standing, waiting for balls of starch to be thrown to them in shallow water near pads. Since when have those animals ever eaten bread, yet they seem to know it's edible and valuable it to the point of fighing for it on the surface and competing with the turtles.. Instinct somehow tells those different animal species that bread it good! But at the same time a different instinct tells fish that earthworms are also good to eat - an animal never seen by fish in its environment.

When it comes to lures, instinct doesn't kick in nor any sense that the thing with hooks is a dangerous. Yet the senses - like sonar - send signals to a fish's simple brain of the moving objects shape, action, size and color, allowing it to track it. Live bait is stationary whereas lures must move even if slightly.

Why do some lures excel and excite fish to strike? Natural is not a word I can apply in any sense of the word as it is applied to lures. Fish simply attack and not because they have a vocabulary containing words usch as shiner, any number of fly patterns, shad, crawfish, frog etc. The moving object - lure - is in a category all its own.
An example would be the Sassy Shad boot-tail: a thin flat body and a back & forth moving boot tail that causes the entire lure to shimmy while in motion.
Another is the curl tail grub: the curl tail whips back & forth like a flag causing the body to wobble while in motion.
These action/shapes trigger aggression - period! Colors don't matter as long as shape/action/size/and type of retrieve is within parameters of the strike.

The above allows a far greater selection of lures on any day.

 

[hookup]

Why do some lures excel and excite fish to strike?

Is it the lure that entices fish to strike?

Or photo period? Water level? Water temps? Outside temps? Clarity? Current?

So many factors

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

The best lures provide the highest potential for provoking fish to strike that are in the hands of the angler along with the right presentation. All the rest is beyond anyone's control and must be dealt with during the search for more active fish. Fish aggression levels change based on many factors - some you mentioned. But even a day on the water resulting in few or no fish is still better than a day sitting at home wondering.

 

[hookup]

even a day on the water resulting in few or no fish is still better than a day sitting at home wondering.

On that we agree!

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

Is it the lure that entices fish to strike?

Man made moving objects- lures- do just that - entice and provoke! Fish may ignore a live minnow, but put the right lure in range of their sense detectors, worked the right way and they can't help themselves once the lure is within the strike zone.

The hybrids photos I display on jc.com are proven instigators just asking for trouble. Fish can be downright mean and attack not even knowing what they are attacking seeing as how most lures are unnatural in motion and appearance. If a lure is natural in both, it's purely accidental but can never be discounted as contributing to the almighty STRIKE PROVOCATION.

Thank God fish intelligence doesn't increase with age or experience. How many fish have you caught that still had lures still stuck to them or partly swallowed!?

 

[Hawnjigs]

How do you explain predators swallowing lures like food and getting deeply hooked ?

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

I imagine it's like you or me: once an object gets past the mouth, a process starts that moves food (or non-food stuff like in the case of lures) toward the stomach:
Once the food reaches the esophagus, the fish then use a complex combination of mouth opening and closing, body muscle contractions, pharyngeal jaw movement, hyoid depression, and a few other moving parts to transport food to their stomachs.

We can't stop the swallowing process and fish can't either. Of course Of course we vomit up stuff that doesn't belong but fish can't. Also, we know what not to eat; fish not so or a bass wouldn't attack a sausage-shaped, hard plastic, Zara Spook with very large treble hooks hanging down, rhythmically swishing back-&-forth on the surface! Talk about unnatural!

What fish eat by instinct is a limited to where they live, whereas the number of unnatural lure designs that fish attack is huge - no survival reason for the attack. What I've found that supports this is the small modifications I make to an original lure that make a big difference whether fish strike it or not. A quiver here, a flutter there, a bit of flash vs no flash, a body shimmy or body darting action, etc. - all examples of what matters in a fraction of second just before a fish hooks itself on something that has no taste nor smell and that may be as hard as steel. Yummy? - lures are not! It never crosses my mind: does the change make the object appear more food-like?

The most important question: do fish recognize lures as this or that live prey? If the answer is yes and it helps catch fish, by all means make lure choices based on it.

Important: no fish will strike a lure that has even the smallest bit of stinky algae hanging off it. Even I wouldn't eat that!

 

[hookup]

Important: no fish will strike a lure that has even the smallest bit of stinky algae hanging off it. Even I wouldn't eat that!

Not even vegan fish? ;-)

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

Hey, sunfish go crazy for little bits of bread thrown to them in my pond. May one can be called a 'flour child'.
: -)