Thread: Lure Strike Triggers - or whatever floats your boat

I've come up with a term: strike-triggers. that pertain to what it is about a lure that provokes fish to strike.
Example: you caught fish on a particular lure. You worked it just right to bring out the lure's trigger via the lure's action that got fish to strike. If you retrieved the lure wrong, no strike; wrong depth - no strike.. So what was it you did to make that lure p.o. fish?!!

I'd like to see examples of the above.

Here's one of mine. I was fishing post spawn and the action was hit or miss in this one lake. Downsizing and slowing the presentation was the only thing that got fish to strike including this 3.54 lb pickerel and 2 dozen panfish:

Note what got JAWS as well as a majority of fish to strike: a pink & chartreuse Crappie Magnet!
Now, don't get me wrong. The lure and lures like it - small soft plastic lures rigged on a light jighead - don't tell the whole story. The name of a lure is just that - a label no different than crankbait, Mepps spinner, Chatterbait, curl tail grub, etc. Someone asks me what I caught that fish on, I lie. Just kidding. The label given is Crappie Magnet but the details of its strike-trigger(s) are omitted. A name is just a name and too general to paint the entire picture of the possible strike-trigger combinations that made fish attack. Keeping those in the back of your mind in the future is just one key that fits the lock.
When it comes to details (the whole picture), I must believe all of the following details contributed to the lure's strike-trigger that got sedentary fish to strike like no tomorrow:
1. the lure's size AND shape were just right for the action induced by me that caused:
2. the tiny legs to quiver because of a:
3. very slow retrieve that used slight reel handle turns to take in line from rod tip twitches
4. in the lake's murky water from recent downpours, the bright colors may have been a bit too flashy for fish to ignore. Kinda like a flasher running down the street, the fish thinking what the *$%&*! (Just kidding, fish don't and can't think.)
5. the 1/24 oz jig allowed a nice slow mid-depth retrieve in 4' or less.

Details always matter when it comes to lures. You know the choices you must make when picking a lure such as proper hook size, weight, lure action, maybe color, presentation, etc. You pair those lures with particular presentations that impart just the right lure action and speed. All of this is part of the big picture that has the best strike-trigger potential. There are no sure things in fishing, just surer things that up the odds of catching fish.

Talk about labels that don't describe jack sh** why a lure becomes is a classic in my book. They don't describe a lure's action-by-design is the most important strike-trigger allowed by 1-5. All of te above details paint a complete picture of the almighty STRIKE-TRIGGER the lure possessed, making it one of the best in my tackle box and one of the best on a slow day on the water. IOW, each good lure you value has a unique set of requisites that make it special. There are a zillion such unique strike-trigger/ lure options to chose from, but like the combination of a lock, only certain ones will unlock the locked mouth of a fish on any given day.

May as well give one more example:
A Mini-Chatterbait's action blew me away the first time I attached a 6" Kut Tail Worm to it. I never used the Chatterbait before and only tried it after finding it lying on the ground.


It caught bass that smashed it in 4' over a shallow flat!
Strike-trigger:
1. side-to-side motion of the flat blade angled downward that
2. imparted action to the worm that pulsated like crazy!
3. but slow enough in the strike-zone.
Note: I shortened the skirt that came with it because it didn't have a good skirt pulsation action caused my the blade. After reattaching the shortened skirt, it became a good pulsating trailer that caught bass in pad gaps in 4'.
The above fish weighed 3.15 lbs on the digital scale.

Here's another example:
A Mini-Chatterbait's action blew me away the first time I attached a 6" Kut Tail Worm to it. I never used the Chatterbait before and only tried it after finding it lying on the ground.

It caught bass that smashed it in 4' over a shallow flat!
Strike-trigger:
1. side-to-side motion of the flat blade angled downward that
2. imparted action to the worm that pulsated like crazy!
3. but slow enough in the strike-zone.