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Posts: 32957
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I see reference constantly to working lures the 'proper' way, and am usually surprised I don't actually do what is suggested. A Weagle is a prime example, I make that thing POP, blow water all over the place, ZING under like w Wabull, then do a drop and stop; repeat. Undertaker? Vertical, then horizontal, then a 'tap' at the boat and she goes straight down 5 or 6 feet, then a tiny up pop, and WHAM! Jigs? I guess I'm really different there. Spinnerbaits? Way shallower than most, and MUCH slower than most unless the fish are going. So IS there a 'right' and 'wrong' way to work a bait, or is it just correct when it's putting fish in the boat? What do you do that is out of the box with a carnk, glider, surface, or other style lure? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i try to fish slow and work angles making a mental picture in my mind of how a fish is going to physically make a move on the bait out of the structure i'm on ... then i try to make the pause happen at different intervals with varied "entry" speeds into the pause sections of the retreive and then different "exit" speeds ... using cadence counting. i have some favorites ... and they're like songs in my head. when i say this i'm speaking of glide bait presentations (although now i'm apllying them to cranks and bulldawgs too) ... the overwhelming majority of "strikes" for me come during the pause section of the retreive and i find if i fish too fast and don't focus on a variable "pause" pattern of presentations that all i get are follows .... this all makes sense in my mind (which is almost funny) ... and if any of you understand my jibberish, you might be as goofy as me i guess.
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Posts: 32957
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Believe me, I understand the cadence and song parts. I do the same thing, and some days it near makes me crazy. (er) |
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Posts: 127
Location: NW burbs of Chicago | Here's what I've always wondered about working a bait.... if I didn't have Andrew to tell me what to do with each bait, how do you know how to work a new bait? For people just starting out, is it just trial and error? Do you ask the baitmaker or salesperson where you bought the lure? They don't really come with instruction.
Crash McG |
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Posts: 273
| In spring time I hear a lot of guys talk about twitching baits. I like to rip cranks and get a real violent action out of my baits. I bust a lot of lips off of baits doing this over rocks, but it has been very productive over the years. Get shallow stick it in the fishes face and let her rip.
Jeff |
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Posts: 1294
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | I've had some good success working some structures backwards. When certain structures are being pounded from the conventional outside-in, I like to get right on the shore and work it slowly to the outside. Another 'wrong' way thing that has worked for me over the past few years; when following fish can't be triggered with direction changes or a speed up, I have had some success with a slow down or total kill of the retrieve. Had 2 last year that totally smashed dead stopped topwaters at boatside- go figure, guess they didn't read the book! |
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Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI | Nikki,
Pretty sensible question. We'll both ask Andrew. Better yet, you ask Andrew, and I'll ask you. He can be our bait boy.
Kevin
Andrew, Plan |
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Posts: 663
| Crash_McGolden - 3/11/2006 12:28 PM
Here's what I've always wondered about working a bait.... if I didn't have Andrew to tell me what to do with each bait, how do you know how to work a new bait? For people just starting out, is it just trial and error? Do you ask the baitmaker or salesperson where you bought the lure? They don't really come with instruction.
Crash McG
Sure, ask them. The baitmaker obviously has some intended action in mind and should be able to describe how to do that. Some salesmen are better than others but most of the guys who work the specialty shops have a pretty good idea of what to do with them. Steve brings up a good point about using baits in unconventional ways and some baits like the Undertaker he mentioned are a great example of a bait that will do a lot of different things. Nothing wrong with that. The fish will let you know if they like how you're working the bait. Lures are tools and part of the fun is trying to pick the right one for the situation. |
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Posts: 32957
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Pete is right on, and Crash, just experiment and see what the fish like after you get some basic information. As SVL, my favorite Muskie Only philosopher says, the only rule in Muskie fishing is...
There are no rules. |
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Posts: 5874
| There is no "right" way to work a bait. Conversely, the only "right" way to work a bait, is the way that works for you.
I have found that, for me, when I wanted to learn how to work a certain bait, is to get professional help. Well, not that kind of pro. Guys like Dave Dorazio, Jason Smith, Steve Cady, The Extreme One, all helped me a out alot with working certain baits. I'd work that bait all day while fishing with them. Dave gave me lots of help with the Reef Hawg, and the Suick. These are still some of my favorite baits to use. Jason helped me with the Undertaker, and Cady with a JackPot, back at the Bone Lake outing.
Attend pool demo's, and see how similar baits are worked differently. Try to take what you know from one bait, and apply it to another. But most of all, listen to the fish. They'll let you know the Right way to work a bait. |
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Posts: 1023
Location: Lafayette, IN | Crash (Mrs. Slamr),
When I pull out a new bait I usually have 1 of 3 things in my mind when trying to establish 'action'. Do I want it to look 'almost' dead (slow glides and pauses) just starting to die ( a steady, rhythmic cadence with a pretty wide glide path) or fleeing a predator (short and quick twitches with a pretty fast retrieval speed). Of course certain baits work better than others with any one of these three objectives. Some baits are versatile enough that as you become aquainted with how they work you can cross over from one style of retrieve to another. These are my favorite baits.
Hope this helps a little.
Steve |
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