Artificial bait or fishing lures have been used to catch fish for thousands of years. Made from a wide variety of materials, colors, sizes, and styles, lures are used to attract fish and convince them to bite into the attached hook. If you want to fish with lures, you need to know the most common lure techniques and how you can use them to catch a fish.
The primary purpose of fishing with a lure is to imitate as best as possible the movements of a fish’s natural prey. Consequently, there is a huge selection of materials, colors, and shapes of fishing lures, each suited for a particular scenario or fish. There’s no such thing as “the best” lure and colour combination to use, so it’s good to get a variety and see what works best for you and the fish you’re trying to catch.
The type and size of lure is generally determined by the fish species that you’re targeting. Although there is no strictly defined role for the various lures, the idea is to match a lure as well as possible with a fish’s natural prey.
Small spoons, spinners, and jigs are excellent lures for locating fish. Once located, you can then work with different size, color and type of bait to entice the larger fish to take your offering. Always make sure to adjust your rod, reel, and line size to match the size lure and fish you are trying to catch. You should also vary your speed of retrieve and depth at which you are fishing when trying to locate your fish.
As a general rule, you should use brighter baits on sunny days, and darker baits when the sky is cloudy or overcast. Water clarity and depth are also determining factors in your choice of lures. When fishing in clear deep lakes light penetrates much deeper and all colors are more visible than in stained or muddy water. Red shades are the first to become invisible to fish, with blues and greens showing up much better as water depth increases. A notable exception to this rule is the use of 2-toned soft plastic lures that feature a darker head color and a fluorescent white, pink or yellow tail color. Many anglers use soft plastic lures colored like this when fishing in cloudy weather.
Talking about metallic lures, if the weather is going to be sunny and the water conditions are fairly clear, than a silver fishing lure is a good idea. The goal is to choose a fishing lure that stands out and attracts attention. The combination of reflection from the sun and clear water allows silver lures to flash in the water, making them visible from quite a distance. However, if the day is overcast or mostly cloudy, or if the water is darker and cloudy, then a gold fishing lure is the best bet. Gold has superior reflective abilities and can still be quite visible even in darker conditions.
Keep in mind that what works at one depth may not be nearly as effective at other water depths. So as you cast around and go from deeper pockets to shallower pools of water, don’t hesitate to change your fishing lure to see what is working best with the fish on that day, in that place.