Originally Posted by
Spoonminnow
Except most lures move too fast for smell to be detected. I've caught many pan fish under the ice and none of the soft plastic worked slowly in place were scented or tasted like anything. A friend of mine uses Berkley Minnows from a jar on a light jig under a float; I use the same size minnow I pour, swimming the jig along bottom. I cover more water and catch more fish. He does okay when a school is present, but who doesn't? In both are cases, presentation and minimal lure movement are key. In my case, the slight flutter of the tail is also a big plus.
The point I was trying to make clear is that anglers prefer certain lures within a lure type and for reasons that have to do with some unique quality of that lure.
For example:
Not all shad lures do well (Mr Twister Sassy Shad is still one of the best);
Senkos have specific amounts of salt and softener to make them fall at the right speed, causing tip rotation;
crankbaits such as Lucky Craft are preferred by some over Rebels or Arbogast because of better design;
certain spinnerbaits may be chosen because anglers know when a single blade works better than tandem blades or when a large willow leaf blade is preferable to a large Colorado blade;
I prefer my thin straight-tail minnow to Mr Twister curl tail grubs because of its greater versatility and finesse action;
we chose jig weight depending on speed of retrieve in certain depths
All of the above may not be accurate reasons certain lures work better than others by consensus, but enough anglers realize there are differences in action and quality, making certain lures preferable - nothing having to do with a prey species except maybe as a side note or rationalization.