The Fine Art of Fishing with Lures

It took me a long time to understand how to use lures to catch different kinds of fish. Each lure has it's own unique action and attraction to the type of fish it is enticing. I offer this brief yet I hope helpful outline of the fascinating world of fishing lures.

Spoons

Spoons are an excellent lure for beginning anglers as they are easy to use and very inexpensive. This lure has the name spoon because the shape of its head looks like a spoon. The actions of the spoon lure mimics that of bait fish by doing a flickering and wobbling movement.

Spinners

The spinner has a revolving blade that spins around a spindle as the lure is being reeled in. This blade flashes as light reflects off of it as it rotates. The flashes of light mimic bait fish scales and movements. This lure is flexible in that you can adjust the retrieval depth by how long you allow it to sink before starting to reel it in. You can also adjust the speed of the revolving blade around the spindle by changing your retrieval speed. I would recommend a smaller size spinner for Trout or Mullet, while using a larger one for Pike.

Surface lures

This lure as the name suggests is used on the water surface. The surface lure is one of the more exciting of the lures because you can actually see the fish taking the lure. It is a fun experience to watch with anticipation and expectation for a fish to take your lure. The fish can actually be seen jumping out of the water as they take the surface lure. The surface lure is retrieved on the surface of the water making them a good choice in areas that have a lot of weeds.

Suspending plugs

The suspending plug has a neutral buoyancy and resistance. After the plug has dived or dropped to a certain depth and left alone, it will stay suspended at that depth. This characteristic makes the suspending plug ideal for fishing near weed beds, rocky areas or banks. By pulling or yanking on the line you cause the plug to imitate life. Many a hungry fish have come crashing from its hiding place to attack a suspending plug.

Floating drivers

The floating diver lure should be in every anglers tackle box. This lure will float on the top of the water when not being reeled in but will dive as it is being reeled in. This lure covers a wide range of diving depths. Some dive just beneath the surface while others will dive up to fifteen feet or more. The lure has a vane or fin on its body that establishes its diving depth. The lesser the angle to the body of the lure the deeper it can dive. The shape as well as the size of the vane and the lure body contributes to the movement of the plug in the water.

Sinking plugs

This is the lure you would use in deep water fishing. You start your retrieval after you allow the lure to reach the preferred depth. The trick to using this type of lure is to count down the moment the lure hits the service of the water after the cast until just before you start reeling it in. In this way when you get a strike or catch a fish you know how deep or how far down the fish are and continue to cast in the same way each time. They call this the sink rate of the lure.

Soft baits

Soft baits are rubber baits that have various shapes and forms, with matching sizes and colors. You can use these kinds of lures for salt water or fresh water fishing. Typically this type of lure will be used with a weighted jig head and manipulated in the same manner as the jerk bait.

Jerk baits

The angler gives life to this lure by jiggling, shaking or jerking the fishing line. In this way the lure will appear to be an injured or wounded fish. When done correctly the prey fish will be compelled to thrust or lunge at the bait.

Now there you have it, a nice concise index of common fishing lures and how to use them. It is my hope that you find this information useful. And the next time your out on the water with pole and tackle in hand you are able to fill your ice chest with your limit. Happy fishing!