01-31-2008, 12:26 PM
[cool][#0000ff]By now, you know that I seldom spend more than a few cents on any lure I use. I make just about every thing I use. And, I always catch lots of fish. I see no need to blow big bucks on the purty stuff in the fancy catalogs and online stores.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One philosophy I have developed over the years is that a good fisherman can catch fish on the "WRONG" lures...while a poor fisherman often can catch nothing on the "RIGHT" lures. There is so much more to fishing than just lure selection. But, since we of the angler persuasion are eternally optimistic, we are always looking for the MAGIC LURE that will catch fish on every trip.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That is not to say that the higher quality (pricier) lures might not catch MORE fish for an angler skilled enough to appreciate the differences and to work them to the full extent of their improved performance level. I have both fished and witnessed other anglers fishing some of the Lucky Craft lures (at $15 a pop). There is no denying the special floating, diving and action properties engineered into these lures. But, to an "average" angler, who just "chuck and chance it" fishes, the refinements are largely a waste of money.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As an example, I have used "plain vanilla" diving crankbaits as surface lures...allowing them to float on top and then twitching them once in awhile. If they are the right size, shape and color to elicit a strike, fish will hit them...even if they are not retrieved at mid depth as they are designed to be fished.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are almost an unlimited number of variables to consider when choosing a lure to tie on...species, mode (active, neutral or negative), water temp and clarity, primary forage, time of year (spawning, summer doldrums, etc.) and the various characteristics of the lure (size, color, pattern, action, etc.). Most of us spend a lifetime adding to our mental database of information that will help us make more and more right decisions. Some of us just keep making the same mistakes over and over again without ever taking the time and investing the study to determine what we could be doing better.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One of the little mental games I play, whenever my sonar tells me there are fish in the water, but I am not connecting, is to run through my list of "triggers". In the attached PDF file, I list some of the things on lures that can help increase strikes. I have left out some of the obvious things, like scent, size and other BIG factors. But, it does address your question...directly or indirectly.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, you CAN catch fish on almost ANY lure at one time or another. And, some lures will catch fish a high percentage of the time...under right conditions. But, there is no lure...no matter how flashy and pricey...that will catch all of the fish all of the time. And I am glad for that. Once fishing becomes reduced to harvesting, it kinda kills the thrill for me.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I think that one of the things that comes into play, for me and many other anglers, is that whatever you put on your line, you have to fish it WITH CONFIDENCE. On every cast you must remain poised and alert, in expectation of a bite that can come at any time. And, if you are fishing a lure that has provided a lot of success in the past, and fishing a lake that you know, for species you know well, it IS much easier to fish with confidence. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Most of us have our "GO TO" baits or lures. We always get the "warm fuzzies" when we give up on the other stuff and finally tie on that lure in which we have the ultimate confidence. And, because we subtly and psychologically fish in differently, it often pays off for us when nothing else is producing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yeah, I am like all fishermen. I still look at all the purty pictures and try to visualize how a new lure might work better. But when I do, I am reminded of one of my favorite "old folks jokes":[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]CHILD: "Grandpa, why do you read Playboy Magazine?"[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]GRANDPA: "Probably for the same reason I read National Geographic. They are both full of purty pictures of places I ain't never goin' to visit."[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One philosophy I have developed over the years is that a good fisherman can catch fish on the "WRONG" lures...while a poor fisherman often can catch nothing on the "RIGHT" lures. There is so much more to fishing than just lure selection. But, since we of the angler persuasion are eternally optimistic, we are always looking for the MAGIC LURE that will catch fish on every trip.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That is not to say that the higher quality (pricier) lures might not catch MORE fish for an angler skilled enough to appreciate the differences and to work them to the full extent of their improved performance level. I have both fished and witnessed other anglers fishing some of the Lucky Craft lures (at $15 a pop). There is no denying the special floating, diving and action properties engineered into these lures. But, to an "average" angler, who just "chuck and chance it" fishes, the refinements are largely a waste of money.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As an example, I have used "plain vanilla" diving crankbaits as surface lures...allowing them to float on top and then twitching them once in awhile. If they are the right size, shape and color to elicit a strike, fish will hit them...even if they are not retrieved at mid depth as they are designed to be fished.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are almost an unlimited number of variables to consider when choosing a lure to tie on...species, mode (active, neutral or negative), water temp and clarity, primary forage, time of year (spawning, summer doldrums, etc.) and the various characteristics of the lure (size, color, pattern, action, etc.). Most of us spend a lifetime adding to our mental database of information that will help us make more and more right decisions. Some of us just keep making the same mistakes over and over again without ever taking the time and investing the study to determine what we could be doing better.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One of the little mental games I play, whenever my sonar tells me there are fish in the water, but I am not connecting, is to run through my list of "triggers". In the attached PDF file, I list some of the things on lures that can help increase strikes. I have left out some of the obvious things, like scent, size and other BIG factors. But, it does address your question...directly or indirectly.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, you CAN catch fish on almost ANY lure at one time or another. And, some lures will catch fish a high percentage of the time...under right conditions. But, there is no lure...no matter how flashy and pricey...that will catch all of the fish all of the time. And I am glad for that. Once fishing becomes reduced to harvesting, it kinda kills the thrill for me.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I think that one of the things that comes into play, for me and many other anglers, is that whatever you put on your line, you have to fish it WITH CONFIDENCE. On every cast you must remain poised and alert, in expectation of a bite that can come at any time. And, if you are fishing a lure that has provided a lot of success in the past, and fishing a lake that you know, for species you know well, it IS much easier to fish with confidence. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Most of us have our "GO TO" baits or lures. We always get the "warm fuzzies" when we give up on the other stuff and finally tie on that lure in which we have the ultimate confidence. And, because we subtly and psychologically fish in differently, it often pays off for us when nothing else is producing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yeah, I am like all fishermen. I still look at all the purty pictures and try to visualize how a new lure might work better. But when I do, I am reminded of one of my favorite "old folks jokes":[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]CHILD: "Grandpa, why do you read Playboy Magazine?"[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]GRANDPA: "Probably for the same reason I read National Geographic. They are both full of purty pictures of places I ain't never goin' to visit."[/#0000ff]
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