Lures (Need Help Choosing)

[Scott]

I am havin trouble picking my lure brands, colors and sizes. If anybody has any suggestions or comments please reply!! ???

[Bassin_Dude]

well..........if the water u fish is clear go with light colors like whites pinks in some cases black is ok annd colors like that. if the water is muddy or stained go with dark colors like black reds green pumkin( can also work in clear) and colors like that. remember bigger lures attract bigger fish and smaller lures attract smaller fish in most cases there are always exceptions to this. my favorite brand of worms is zoom and yum. and i like alot of types of crankbaits and i like strike king and booyah spinner baits.

[macgyver]

[quote author=rrw4258 link=board=news;num=1109111319;start=0#0 date=02/22/05 at 17:28:39]I am havin trouble picking my lure brands, colors and sizes. If anybody has any suggestions or comments please reply!! ???[/quote]


That is a large order. Could we start off with what types of lures/baits you are familiar with, and use, and then move on to what you would like to try? I mean there are thousands of colors and brands. I know you fish in OHIO, I'm your neighbor in Indiana, so perhaps I can help, but we need to break it down a little more.

Lizards

[Scott]

well for one i am mainly looking for mid depth divning lures for a pond that is about 15 ft. deep. it is mainly sand/rock bottom, with little vegetation. i am looking for good spinnerbaits or crankbaits. Please Reply soon.

[Bassin_Dude]

what is the water clearity?

[mike0062466]

[quote author=rrw4258 link=board=news;num=1109111319;start=0#0 date=02/22/05 at 17:28:39]I am havin trouble picking my lure brands, colors and sizes. If anybody has any suggestions or comments please reply!! ???[/quote]

As was already mentioned, it would help if you were a little more specific. But there are dozens of companies that make productive lures and it can be difficult to choose.

If you're just getting started, don't overdo it. Start with a few from well-known companies. Just an example, for hard baits, would be Rapala. Colors like shad, crawfish, chrome, firetiger will get the job done.

For soft plastics, two companies might be Zoom or Power Baits. You can't go wrong with natural colors, such as blacks, greens, browns, etc.

Good luck.

[Scott]

water clarity is kinda muddy/murky

[Bassin_Dude]

then go with mud perch and firetiger and crawdad color suspending cranks. rapala makes good cranks

[Infisherman1]

As far as spinnerbaits go, I'd go with a double colorado or a double indiana blade spinnerbait, with the big blade gold. I'd probably go with a white/chartreuse skirt if its sunny out, and a black one if it is cloudy.

[Rich]

If you're just getting started, don't overdo it.

Good advice. Not one of us follows it, but good advice none the less ;D I walked into a WalMart today to get a road map and left without the map but with 10 crankbaits they were clearing out. Dang bait monkey

rrw, as Lizards said, that is a large order. If I was just starting out I would get a few medium running baits like a Bomber, Bandit, or Strike King. For colors crawfish, shad, and firetiger are good choices to begin with.

I would also recommend a few lipless crankbaits like a Rat-L-Trap is the same colors.

[macgyver]

[quote author=rrw4258 link=board=news;num=1109111319;start=0#3 date=02/22/05 at 19:45:15]well for one i am mainly looking for mid depth divning lures for a pond that is about 15 ft. deep. it is mainly sand/rock bottom, with little vegetation. i am looking for good spinnerbaits or crankbaits. Please Reply soon.
[/quote]


Well most spinnerbaits will work, the heavier the deeper, but the lighter ones can be modified to run deeper. White/Chartreuse is hard to beat for a overall color in spinnerbaits, I also like silver. As for cranks, any will do that run 5'-8' I would also consider a deep diver to dig into the bottom to resemble a crawdad. As for colors of cranks, well any baitfish you have in the pond(bluegill/shad/perch/trout/etc..) try to match the colors of those fish. Bluegill and shad colors are usually best for me. Any crawdad colors will also work, red/browns are usually good colors, but again if you know what color they are around you, then match the colors to the crawdad's. Go to your local sporting goods place any pick up some. If you buy the top of the line on crankbaits, they could run you as much as $20 a piece, or you can get some less exspensive ones, perhaps even in some bargain bins this time of year. Also another very good crank/jerk bait is a suspending rogue. Tons of companies make a version of it.

Lizards

[bassbum]

Crankbaits are good for rocks, i would get a few different colors and sizes.

Sandra

[Slayem9]

This may blow your mind, but the links are to my blog pages showing soft plastic lures I make from other lures or that I pour, using molds. I tie jigs, spinnerbaits and in-line trailers.
http://senkosam.blogspot.com/
http://senkosamsothercreations.blogspot.com/

As you can see from my private collection, the choices are infinite and many of the lures shown have caught fish - Â*5-6 species in fact!

The colors and forms are personal preferences based on confidence colors, ideas concerning lure action and forage, sizes based on fish activity and because it's fun to think up this stuff when there's 10" of ice on my favorite fishing spots! Â* :'(

A few on this and other sites have offered to be field testers of some of these lures and I've mailed them a few with the stipulation that they report how they did.
I have enough testers, thank you, but the whole idea of this reply is to demonstrate :
1. there is no magic lure that reduces the need for all other lure types

2. the choices are infinite because fish are dumb! (which is the reason so many lure companies continue to get rich!)

3. fish have superb senses that cue in on the tiny details of action, color and speed. Do they see a crawfish lures as a crawfish, or some creature that might be edible? Don't know, don't care, as long as it gets noticed and then gets bit! Â*(the two most important considerations when chosing an artificial that goes through the zone.)

4. and not to believe anyone when they say they've got the hottest bait ever made. All baits are hot at one time or other and many baits have stood the test of time or were simply in the right place at the right time.

Everyone has mentioned their personal favorites and I've shown mine. As usual, the choice is the responsibilty of each angler (unless you're a little slow) and therefore so is the success or failure on any given day. Think outside the box because the fish prefer you do and you never know unless you try!

Learning the various ways to fish specific lures and lure types, is as important as the lures themselves. This is the place to share that info, plus 10 other good sites, where anglers of all experience levels will take the time to give their opinions.

Sam

[PackerBasser]

senkosam.very,very,sweeeeet baits!!

[Rich]

Dang, Sam-that's quite a collection! Good looking baits.

[fredhatch]

Wont add much. Go to the local bait/tackle store and ask whats being used the most. This will at least get you started in the right direction. Yes, that is an impressive collection. I dont pour my own, but Im hell with a lighter and paperclip. Yes, I have copied a few creations that I have seen here. 8)

[BassNva]

get whatever the bait monkey wants.

Bubblegum Zoom Trick Worm....actually any bubblegum worm will do..Yum makes good ones also,and I just got some handpours from Bearpaw I can't wait to try out!!
Mertholiate,yellow and white are good colors too...

[bassbum]

Hi,

Senkosam, i really like them! Especially the spiral vein, that is pretty cool!

Sandra

[basstard]

sam did u make those i shuld be using them on my pond i bet id cacth tons ...maybey tons but u get the it

[Slayem9]

Thanks all. I've recently started pouring jerk sticks from metal mold, lazer cut in Arizona. Perfect baits every time!
(The Swirl worm was made in one.)

This year I began to look closely at all the crap I have stored in the last 15 years and stopped using just to see if there was potential in any of it. Bear Paw turned me on to the idea of fusing baits bait back together because he was going through 5 bags of Senkos a day!

I took it a step further and instead of using Pro Soft Glue at 10 bucks a 1/2 oz., I lit a candle and plugged in a Radio Shack soldering iron to fuse bait parts together.

Confidence is the overriding factor, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder- fish or man. In the last 5 years, I've wondered what lure factors attract fish and make them bite once attracted.

First, I discovered the Fat Head Concept after I cut the skirt off a small tube and shoved a grub into it. When in motion, the lure still looks streamline, but the new head offered a larger, meatier target. By comparing the catch rates between uncut tubes, regular grubs and fat-head grubs, I discovered that fat heads got bit far more often and since the bait was heavier, smaller jigheads could be used. (Less-weight-is-usually-better concept.) The target isn't longer, only meatier or more textured.

The other theory concerned the tail-to-body ratio. Long ago I stopped using Mr. Twister 3" and 4" grubs because the bite was sparse using them for pannies. I couldn't figure why Kalin grubs worked 10x better any day of the week. The Kalin body is fatter and the tail, wider. What gives??

So, I cut off Mr Twister's tail and fused one on much thinner or smaller than the original. (ie. I used the body of a Kalin crappie grub and fused it to a 3" Mr. Twister grub.) Success! As you can see in the photos, tail can makes all the difference during a tough bite! Also, the tail doesn't have to be a curl. Remember the slider grub?? I attached Mr Twister's Sassy Shad club tail to many lures (Fin S Fish, Mr. Twister grubs and straight worms) and caught a zillion fish last year on them! The club makes the whole bait shimmy and drives fish CRAZY!

In other words, heads-and-tails above the competition. ;D (It's been a l-o-o-ng winter.) :-/

I finally have a use for most of the crap laying around collecting dust and know that the new designs will work and that Bass Pro is occassionally needed for bodies and tails I can use to make new designs.

Hair jigs are superb fish catchers and will do as well as any soft plastic, bar none!

Good fishing all - March is next week!

[macgyver]

[quote author=senkosam link=board=news;num=1109111319;start=0#20 date=02/25/05 at 07:52:26]Thanks all. I've recently started pouring jerk sticks from metal mold, lazer cut in Arizona. Perfect baits every time!
(The Swirl worm was made in one.)

This year I began to look closely at all the crap I have stored in the last 15 years and stopped using just to see if there was potential in any of it. Bear Paw turned me on to the idea of fusing baits bait back together because he was going through 5 bags of Senkos a day!

I took it a step further and instead of using Pro Soft Glue at 10 bucks a 1/2 oz., I lit a candle and plugged in a Radio Shack soldering iron to fuse bait parts together.

Confidence is the overriding factor, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder- fish or man. In the last 5 years, I've wondered what lure factors attract fish and make them bite once attracted.

First, I discovered the Fat Head Concept after I cut the skirt off a small tube and shoved a grub into it. When in motion, the lure still looks streamline, but the new head offered a larger, meatier target. By comparing the catch rates between uncut tubes, regular grubs and fat-head grubs, I discovered that fat heads got bit far more often and since the bait was heavier, smaller jigheads could be used. (Less-weight-is-usually-better concept.) The target isn't longer, only meatier or more textured.

The other theory concerned the tail-to-body ratio. Long ago I stopped using Mr. Twister 3" and 4" grubs because the bite was sparse using them for pannies. I couldn't figure why Kalin grubs worked 10x better any day of the week. The Kalin body is fatter and the tail, wider. What gives??

So, I cut off Mr Twister's tail and fused one on much thinner or smaller than the original. (ie. I used the body of a Kalin crappie grub and fused it to a 3" Mr. Twister grub.) Success! As you can see in the photos, tail can makes all the difference during a tough bite! Also, the tail doesn't have to be a curl. Remember the slider grub?? I attached Mr Twister's Sassy Shad club tail to many lures (Fin S Fish, Mr. Twister grubs and straight worms) and caught a zillion fish last year on them! The club makes the whole bait shimmy and drives fish CRAZY!

In other words, heads-and-tails above the competition. ;D (It's been a l-o-o-ng winter.) :-/

I finally have a use for most of the crap laying around collecting dust and know that the new designs will work and that Bass Pro is occassionally needed for bodies and tails I can use to make new designs.

Hair jigs are superb fish catchers and will do as well as any soft plastic, bar none!

Good fishing all - March is next week!
[/quote]


Always a wealth of knowledge Sam, great posts as usual Can't wait till the weather warms up.

Lizards

[Slayem9]

Thanks LR - more on the way in April.

Here's a few more:
http://morecabinfevercreations.blogspot.com/

Sam