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.