What is 'lurology' (if there ever was such a term) and why does it matter?
For all of you starting out using lures (unnatural-looking and -moving manmade objects) for the first time, details ALWAYS matter when it comes to a lure's design. The first lures made hundreds of years ago were handmade by lure crafters that found out the best combination of materials to attached to a hook (or even no-hook used to get fish into a net). Lures have been made from many materials and which materials used should matter to the angler as well as a bunch of other things.
For example: balsa crankbaits differ from plastic crankbaits. Buoyancy and action are different. Does it make a difference? Probably not when used the same way. But, plastic moves differently than balsa and maybe one is superior at times depending on how the lure is worked and where - whether under the water or on the surface.
Example 2: metal spoon size and shape matter when it comes to how a spoon moves and whether used vertically or horizontally. One size/shape does not fit all and that's what lureology addresses.
A newbie checking out lures in a tackle store must wonder which lures to buy never having caught fish on lures. Seeing anglers catch fish on certain lures on TV is not instructive nor informative because details about the lure used is lacking. Saying something like: the lure mimicked this or that animal or that fishwere fooled into biting a particular lure is pure fiction. In fact, fly fisherman for over a century have sworn that various fly patterns duplicate the hatch - a particular bug species. Problem is, the same color(s) and tied material can be used on a jighead and catch just as many, if not more fish. One is a surface lure, the other subsurface and way more versatile.
Lure action matters because it disrupts the water it moves in, which is instantly noticed by fish. I guess you could say it piques their interest via senses fine-tuned to motion no matter how slight. Does curiosity kill the fish? In a sense it does and it has nothing to do with survival as far as lures go. To eat or not to eat - that is not the question. p.o.ing a fish via its senses IS! You could say that one reason a fish attacks a lure as - practice makes perfect (not that a fish needs to practice). Fish are seek & destroy machines that tell lures and small animals who's boss! To swallow or spit out - THAT is the question!
Back to the study of lures - lurology. If you ever get into lure craft, you'll be amazed at the assortment of lure craft options when it comes to colors and body materials of which all lures consist of.
Take bass jigs for example. Skirted, weedless bass jigs have caught bass for decades - including by yours truly. I decided to tie my own using a skirt material call living rubber. It did fine except it melts if it touches soft plastic lures for too long. L.R only came in solid colors and once silicone skirt material came on the market, I and found silicone skirts had the advantages of 1. did not melt or deform, 2. silicone came in textured-color bands plus glitter as well as solid colors. 3. Skirt action is actually better - meaning - it flairs better when hoped on bottom.
The next requirement that enhances a skirted jigs action are trailers - usually soft plastic shapes and actions that hang of the hook. Trailers add to a skirted jig's p.o. potential BIG TIME and NOT because fish are fooled into thinking the lure is a crawfish. (There's those words again - fooled and thinking; words not relevant to why fish strike.)
One thing discovered by making my own jigs and trailers (via molds) it that 1. color (even textured color with flakes) doesn't matter; 2. paint on a jig head matters not at all; 3. various trailer shapes provide various actions - that's it. Which to use is optional. (I close my eyes and pick one.)
4. Jig weight, like for all jigs, is very important such that light skirted jigs & trailers can be retrieved like a spinnerbait minus the metal blade.
A change to any of the above may or may not matter as far as how many fish caught. Most of the time I found it didn't, which lure craft/ lurology teaches you. Most important whether you make or modify your own lures is keeping track of what caught fish consistently and notice the lure's action in the water. How & where a lure is used is equally important.
Lure-action speaks louder than words - BIG TIME!
Note: This opinion may be of help, take it or leave it.
