Some baits are far better than others most times of year

[Spoonminnow]

A friend came over to my house to see how I make my soft plastic lures and stated, "fish remember certain lures and won't bite them after getting caught". That's like saying fish store information in memory for future reference and that they can also avoid hitting certain baits based on a negative experience either they had or a nearby fish had.

The last statement is easy to disprove. Ever caught fish after fish in a school? I'll let you draw your own conclusion.

When fish don't seem to be biting a certain lure design, IMO it's for reasons other than "having been caught". The most important one is a lure's actual design. Not all grubs sold are equal in catching fish all of the time, which is applicable to any lure design, the reasons being:

1. fish can be picky when it comes to a lure's retrieve speed. Some lures must be retrieved at a certain speed to get the most action out of them. Two obvious examples are the Beetle Spin and the curl tail grub. Too slow and nothing happens except an unwanted drop into deeper water; too fast and fish may not respond.

(Note: this is my personal theory why fish bite lures).
2. Fish strike lures for one reason IMO: IRRITATION. Here's an analogy:
A flying insect is buzzing around your face at night, species of bug unknown. The more the bug touches your skin, the more angry you get and pretty soon you're slapping yourself silly trying to kill it.

A fish doesn't know what that lure represents but it feels and/or sees it very clearly. The lure entered its personal space, stayed in it for a brief moment and then left. How long that moment is the key in catching that fish. Granted, certain times of year pretty much many lure types in different sizes can a catch fish of any species, but after the spawn of all fish is over, fish are no longer as active on a daily basis - they suspend anywhere in the water column.

You may say that the reason a fish struck your lure was because it was actively feeding like in the case when surface activity is seen. Unless I have a scuba diver observing fish in an area that I caught fish in, I won't ever assume fish are active.

So when it comes to fish in a neutral state - meaning that unless something irritates it into striking (real or artificial), it just hangs out until it does become active. This is where lure design is important: assuming fish are inactive, the slowest retrieve is many times the best retrieve. The reason the word finesse is applied to many baits is because of a lure's subtle action at the slowest possible retrieve even at dead stop. The longer a lure is in the zone, the more irritated the fish becomes and begins the attack sequence: follow, tracks, attacks and what's more - strikes again more violently on the second cast if a hook up was missed. It happens far more than anyone realizes!

What lures fall into the category of finesse action at the slowest speed? Hair, feather or Mylar fiber jigs, straight tail grubs, grub bodies minus the action tail, small straight and thin soft plastics (mini sticks), straight thin double tails. Any of these always have some kind of action whether retrieved on under a float bobbing on a rippled surface or jigged in place. More important, they stay put long enough to provoke fish aggression (same as that insect provokes you flying too close, repeatedly).

Some finesse lure designs are better than others for fish that need the most subtle action possible at the slowest possible presentation. I found this out in cold water a few days after Xmas last year when the surface temp on my sonar read 40 degrees. Was the strike less detectable? No - it was as detectable as in 70 degree water. Was a slow retrieve speed to the same spots important ? Most definitely! (At first you don't succeed, try, try again.)

Along with lure design is overall lure weight and size. In the above example, 1/16 oz ball head jig weight was a bit to heavy to maintain the same depth at the slowest practical retrieve, so I switched to a 1/32 and got more strikes and more hook sets. Most times, 1/16 does fine and allows longer casts to cover more water or to reach that surface ring made my a fish. I always have two rods rigged with those two jig weights. Lure length was downsized from 2" to 1 1/2". I've found that fishing in water above 60 degrees never needs downsizing.

Retrieve technique is a big part of presentation - pauses mixed with fast, 1/4 turns of the reel handle and rod motions that slowly pull the lure towards you.

Right lure speed, right lure action, right presentation = fish caught.

Concept fishing means abiding by certain rules that over time results in more fish caught. Live bait is nice, but less water is covered; lures that cover more water the right way gets seen by far more fish that may respond to an object that, simply stated, irritates then into striking.

Location, location, location.

[glasseyes]

your saying a fish bites for one reason only, irritation. Sorry I don't go along with that at all.

[slackline]

I will say that I think fish bite for multiple reasons. I have a 3 acre pond at my house and can usually catch the same fish, bass, several times a year on the same bait. I know it's the same fish because I put her in as brood stock and she is the only one that big.

[smashdn]

Either the fish is hungry or it is a reaction bite.

Shad don't eat minnows, they eat plankton and stuff right, but I can get them to hit a rooster tail if I rip it through there at a pretty good clip. It is just a reaction to hit it.

[Ketchn]

some fish actually have memories for sure ,Tom Mann did studies on that before most people ever thought it was so ....
the bass I tested seem to have about a 1 month memory .....if you fish a very controlled environment you will notice the same thing ...
in his article he states that carp have the best memory at about one year ....
and it went on to say some fish were smarter than others and some were dumber than others within the species ....
that I didn't study , but the memory thing exists

[Spoonminnow]

Either the fish is hungry or it is a reaction bite.

Does it strike your lure because it believes it to be food? Anything is possible, but I know from observing fish in my pond that when I placed a lure near them and moved it slightly, eventually one bit it, was caught and more did also regardless of the fact that they just saw their buddy caught and released. I say I saw this because on that day the sun was bright, the water was semi-clear in 4' and the fish were just mulling around with nothing to do. Also, how many fish of different species that bit your lure had signs it was caught before?

The ol reaction bite we've heard repeated for decades. Reaction by definition means - a response to some stimulus among other definitions. When a fish chases a fast moving lure, it 1. knew it was coming and 2. was in a state of activity heightened by the stimulus of the lure's vibration. The reason fish react to lures and live bait is basic: both stimulate a fish to bite or better expressed - provoke a fish to strike regardless of physical state. Going one further, fish don't have to be hungry to hit prey especially when it's stomach is full and the same goes for lures. The expression reaction bite was made up by someone trying to sell something (book, merchandise, a name), knowing most anglers would not question the expertise of someone famous and further test the idea of a reaction bite which basically they define as a fish not being to help itself when a lure suddenly enters its strike zone. Some maybe, but the majority not so much.

Granted, fast moving lures have caught fish but usually only bigger species such as bass and pike willing to travel further to smash a fast moving object. But crappie and other panfish? Not likely. The speed of retrieve is generally slow most of the time which sets those fish apart when it comes to the top speed they will strike a lure. Even bass are usually not too keen on striking a fast moving lure much of the time, which is way slow presentations with finesse lures are now a big part of tournament fishing. Why? Read the initial post and plug in the reasons fish bite lures:

Right lure speed, right lure action, right presentation provoke fish to strike. Get any of those wrong and you may as well use live bait, tie your line directly to your big toe and take a snooze. Except, you have to be in the right area which the above factors will indicate after strictly observing them.

I don't need to argue the claims of Bill Dance or pro anglers I truly respect such as Denny Brauer and Kevin Van Dam because I have tested my theory over and over for all species and know that many came to the same conclusions long before I did. Even Doug Hannon touched on why fish bite and demonstrated his reasons with excellent underwater video. I still have a Homer Circle/ Glen Lau series why fish bite, with the same great underwater shots of fish striking various lures. Over and over the great majority of large fish took their time observing a lure - until their patience ran out. Test a fish's patience and see what happens. The rest is speculation that can not be proven and in fact may not improve one's catch while conceptually trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Believe it or not: one lure of the right size and action retrieved at the right speed can catch most fish species most times of year for the reasons stated in the first post and I've proven it to every angler I've ever fished with.

[INTIMIDATOR]

I fish swimbaits from 40 degrees in the Late Winter/Spring until 40 degrees in the Fall/Early Winter..I don't ice fish.
My freezer is already full of Walleye and I'm working on filling my other with Crappie...they are all gorging for the spawns...they are not irritated, just hungry! They hit a swimbait because they are trying to eat it.
The do react to a lure, bait, etc...they determine if it is an easy meal. They are wary, and will use the least amount of energy possible. Read about triggers, you are triggering the IMPULSE TO FEED!

[Spoonminnow]

No comment.

[Yaker]

All this is pretty interesting,but I'm not really convinced we can conclude much of what goes on in a fish brain.Lets talk trout for a moment ( they are a fish )so all this should apply.Anyone who has fished trout expecialy in mountain streams,has more than a few times threw everything but the kitchen sink,to no avail.I myself have watched an assortment of lures and baits literally bounce off the noses of wild trout over and over with nary a nibble.
If the irritating gnat therory were true,those trout would have had no choice but to bite,we sure irritated them.Our party of 8 couldn't force a bite despite our efforts,a few weeks later we went back to the same water and limited out,go figure? My conclusion,if they don't want to bite,they wont,if they do,they will,I enjoy it either way

[Spoonminnow]

Agree - sometimes the ability to ratchet up a fish's sensitivity is near impossible even using live bait. It could be that the fish that hit my lure was surrounded by those inactive fish in suspended animation. (pardon the pun). Stream fish may differ than lake fish in that a stream's velocity moves a bait at a speed that won't allow the super slow presentation I mentioned - one that is essential at times in cold water or after a front. Lake trout may be more susceptible to the technique, but not having caught any lake trout other than stockies, I wouldn't know but would like to find out.

But your post reminded me of something regarding lure choice and the reasons for casting them. When a white curly tail grub, Rapala (original floating) or swimbait catches fish, one would say, 'it must be because fish were feeding on shad or some other bait fish'. But if only one of those lures that supposedly simulates a fish works, than it comes down to the lure and the presentation unique to each as the only other variable to consider.

I've fished side by side with anglers that were casting grubs or other lures they had success with in the past and blew them away with my own creation. We switched rods and I did not do as well using their choice of lure, but they did much better using mine, along with the presentation that brought out the best fish-catching quality of the lure I showed them how to use. I think many of us have had that experience and it should make someone pause any wonder why. Unfortunately most don't.