SPOONMINNOW
Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2016
- Messages
- 245
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.
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!
![Frowning face :frowning2: ☹️](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/2639.png)
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.
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