General Information About Lures

Lures! Lures! Lures!

Novelty Lures

Bait is an essential part of fishing. Though we all know someone that knows someone who’s caught a fish without any bait at all (that fish must have been really hungry); that smarmy guy is definitely an exception to the rule. Bait is anything that you put on the end of your fishing hook, or inside the fish trap to attract, lure and catch fish. It ranges from artificial, to natural (not for the squeamish), to impractical and to the downright bizarre.

The History

Humankind has fished since it figured out that things lived in the water, and spearing them is sort of a waste of time. The Egyptians and Chinese were among the first to start using rods, hooks and lines around 2,000 BC. We know that their hooks were made from bone and bronze, and that fishing lures were generally made by individuals from feathers, bronze and lead. Because of this, there was a competitive edge to who could create the best lure, trying to come up with better and more effective ways of luring fish.

By the twentieth century, fishing lures had become mass produced and packaged in fishing sets, though they were still inspired by those used by individual craftsmen. Many fishermen continue to make their own lures despite the rise in manufactured ones. As fishing has become more and more technical – analysing the behaviour and psychology of fish, for instance – the baits and lures have also become more advanced.  

Mimicking Real Life

Many lures mimic the fish’s natural food, so the type of bait you use therefore depends on the type of fish that you want to catch. There are varying degrees of precision, while some baits just use the colours of their fishes’ prey, others mimic electronically the movement it makes in the water, while others still are almost an exact replica of the prey. This can vary from a fish, to a duckling bait that mimics a duckling panicking in the water, to an insect that mimics the vibration of their wings. Many anglers feel that these types of lures are the best at attracting fish.

Bizarre Lures

These are the ones that make you think “surely that will never work, can it?” and you’re tempted to try. Take Jake’s Spin-A-Lure, for instance, it looks like a domino with a curve at one end and a hook at the other, or a troll doll lure with hooks on the ends of its hands. Some handmade bait also border on the bizarre, with people making baits that resemble animals, but ones that fish are unlikely to eat, such as a chipmunk.

Helicopter Lures

The helicopter lure is a famous lure from Roland Martin that divided fishermen- some just thought they were ridiculous and never even gave them a go, but others have and managed to catch substantial fish using them in a particular way, for instance when fishing somewhere with lily pads.