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Pro Staff Question - How Do I Know Which Bait All The Different Lures Represent
Charles "The Bass Doctor" Stuart's Answer
Hi Jeremy!
A very good question!
Fact is, most people who fish for bass get asked this from time to time and my basic answer is "if it moves, a bass will certainly try and eat it" !!
Plastic worms are exactly that, the good old garden variety worms.
The large plastic worms could certainly be seen as a small snake which are a delicacy for large bass.
Colors leave a lot to be desired but the bass is so agressive by nature, that they will hit at anything that remotely looks like food or if it gets in the way!
Your skill at presentation is ALWAYS the key to success.
Grubs and tubes are certainly crawfish imitations.
Tight Lines!
Charles "The Bass Doctor" Stuart
BassonHook Pro Staff
Dennis "The Fishin Professor" Bryant's Answer
Jeremy,
You've posed a question that I'm sure millions of other anglers would also enjoy seeing an answer to.
I'll try to give you the same answer that I was given when I first started fishing artifical baits.
Artificial baits are intended to appeal to one of the senses of the fish that you're pursuing.
The intent of the fishing lure is primarily to trigger a 'reflex strike' on the lure!
Ideally, the more of the fishes' senses are brought to play, the easier the desired response is to obtain!
A Bass's Range Of Senses And The Lures That Trigger Them
Vision
~ realistically appearing at short range, in clear water (natural looking lures).
Scent
~ an appealing scent (other than human phermones) or natural forage (salt & scent-added lures).
Sound
~ vibrations that can be felt by the fishes' lateral line (spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, rattles).
Feel
~ lifelike texture of natural forage (jigs, worms, etc.).
Motion
~ trick the fish into attacking something it can see, though it doesn't necessarily resemble it's natural forage (self explanatory).
I know this doesn't answer all your questions but, it's about the best generalized answer I've ever found!
I'm afraid that you'll have to take over from there!
Good Fishin'!
Dennis Bryant
The Fishin' Professor!
Leo Watson's Answer
Good morning Jeremy and thank you for writing in.
My Take On Which Baits Certain Lures Represent
To start with yes, plastic worms do imitate night crawlers.
In certain parts of the country they can represent snakes.
This is most prevalent in the southern areas.
I might add though while fishing 2 miles from the Canadian boundary on Lake Erie where I thought I would never see a snake during my 8 days on the water, I must have seen over 150 of them.
The grub does have a shape when fished on a steady retrieve of a shad or bait fish.
The tube can be fished to imitate both a baitfish or crawfish depending on how its is rigged.
The fall of the tube mimics the fall of a dying or injured baitfish.
When fished with a stand up jig while resting on the bottom the tentacles will take on the shape of a crawfish in the defensive position.
A spinner bait will appear as more than one baitfish when fishing a tandem blade combination.
One quick note:
I choose my blade size with the spinnerbait to match the size of the primary forage for each body of water.
Be assured that you came to the right web site (Bass on Hook) for information.
I hope this has helped answer your question.
As always if you have any more questions just forward them through this fine web site.
Thank you,
Leo Watson
