Most effective lure actions you've noticed do better than others
I know we've discussed the reasons we think fish strike lures, but when it comes right down to it, lure design and size seem to matter most in the final analysis. By design I mean lure action unique to each. If some of you can put aside the idea that crappie and all other predator fish hit lures based on forage preference, consider this:
Fish sense the real thing because of an inherited set of senses coupled with some tiny place in its tiny brain that senses a living object as being real.
On the other hand, fish don't know what an artificial lure represents but hit it anyway because of certain lure features that annoy and provoke it to strike, some features being more effective than others.
Here are some examples:
Beetle Spins catch fish because of:
1. flash
2. blade-induced soft plastic vibration
3. curl tail flutter if the grub is a curl tail
My no-tail grub catches fish because of:
1. tail quiver
2. body wobble on slow retrieves and intermittent changes in lure speed
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...pserlij4xr.jpg
The above tapered tails do as well as any tail designs I've ever fished. If the plastic is soft, so much the better to impart the tail quiver with the rod tip.
Curl tail grubs catch fish because of:
1. a flapping/fluttering tail action and
2. slight body motion imparted due to that action
Note: some curl tails like Power Bait Ribbon Tail grubs, have more of a whipping tail action on slow retrieves.
Small crankbaits work because of:
1. body wobble imparted by the lip
2. sonic vibrations produced by internal rattles (ball bearings), hook vibrations caused by body wobble
Ned-rig plastics work because:
1. body quiver of the thin stick design imparted by the rod tip
2. darting action also imparted by the rod tip
The thin tail lures pictured below work because of:
1. tail quiver even when the lure is stationary
2. darting/dying action imparted by speed changes
3. profile and lure action combined that most resembles a prey fish
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...psmznyeaey.jpg
Mepps spinners work because of:
1. blade flash
2. vibrations produce by the blade
3. if a hair-tail hook is used, flutter imparted by the blade
Sassy Shad grubs work because of:
1. thumping tail
2. body shimmy due to the thumping tail
Soft plastic colors - even clear plastic work because of:
1. sunlight reflection producing tiny flashes off the shinny surface
2. refraction of light in clear or light tinted plastic that outline the lure
3. black flakes in translucent plastic produce an internal contrast easily detected by a fish's superb vision
4. extreme contrast to the bottom or sideways when the color is a solid fluorescent color, bright white or contains metal flakes that produce flash. The same though to a lesser degree for pearl colored hard or soft plastic baits - a glistening effect.
These are a few lure characteristics unique to each and most likely the reasons fish strike those lures. Have you noticed others?