Many of my presents under the tree during the holiday season were, believe it or not, fishing related. Most were new fishing lures that were pretty, and as Linda would explain, “If I were a fish, I’d eat it.”
Well, it doesn’t quite work that way — and here’s why. Before any artificial lure can work, an angler must have confidence in that new lure. Gaining confidence in a new lure is a key to having success when fishing with it. Whether it is new on the market or just new to you, without confidence, you might not tie it on or keep it on very long.
Many times I have tied on a new lure before a fishing trip anticipating instant success, to the point of saying to myself this is going to have them jumping in the boat only to be heartbroken when not a single fish showed the same enthusiasm. Other times, I would tie on a new lure when nothing else was working, expecting a miracle.
The fact is that fish might not have been caught during these two scenarios simply because the fish were not there or they were not feeding.
Many years ago, when I first began fishing saltwater, I bought a very popular top-water lure. All the anglers I fished with told me, you got to get it. That was all they revealed about it. After buying the special lure and tying it on, I couldn’t catch a single fish if my life depended on it.
Looking back, I now realize I never gave the lure a chance to catch a fish. I threw the lure into the bottom of my tackle box. It wasn’t till many years later that I realized what I was doing wrong.
I started watching how my fishing partner would work the new lure and what type of setup they would use for each lure. Rod and reel, type of line (test) all seem to make a difference.
An example is that a rod rigged with a twitch bait, also known as a top-water lure, walk-the-dog action in a small to medium (3- to 4-inch) size bait should be used on a fast-action class rod with matching reel loaded with 10- to 12-pound-test line. You can often find this information on or near the rod butt. For larger baits, a medium-action rod is best.
I have also found that when trying a new lure, make sure to give it a full and fair trial. I will fish it though different scenarios and conditions to see where it might stand out from the rest of my tackle. I try to keep plugging away and make them eat it. That's the way I now break in a new lure.
(Linda’s pretty color lures do catch fish, but I am not telling her that.)
Capt. Mike Vickers is a full-time charter captain offering offshore or inshore fishing and boat rentals. Contact him at 386-569-9674; captainmikesfishing@yahoo.com; or web site palmcoastfishingandboatrental.com or on Facebook at palm coast fishing and boat rental.