Hype / Marketing or real?

[Blue76]

It seems crazy sometimes looking at all the different lures, lines and other items sold to us...

For instance- line... we got mono, flouro, braid and a combination of each of these... I understand the handling characteristics of each and that has it own merit but all things being equal does the fish we are trying to catch pay any attention to one line more than another? I want to believe they do but when I see people throwing these A rigs with wires sticking out everywhere, snaps and swivels and using 50lb plus braid I wonder... do we give the fish more credit than we should? I can kind of see a slow presentation like a worm in clear water but for a crankbait, spinner bait or most other baits I just don't see it making a difference... am I wrong?

Same goes with lures... what makes one lipless crank bait better than another? One worm better than another? One jig better than another? Am most of all... that Livingston lure? WTH?? It has a circuit board in it? What powers it.. a battery? Sounds more like a marketing ploy... but hey... it won the classic right? Gotta go buy some of those.

Last weekend I was at Pickwick with my daughter... she was killing me. She was throwing a shaky head rigged worm in a dirty orange color.. one of those super finesse worms that float... ( I like those). She had 4 fish to my zero. I didn't want to copy her... I had to one up her... pride was on the line here. So just for kicks I tied on the same rig but with a bright bubble gum color... looked stupid but what the heck. First cast I got a 3lb CATFISH... first ever cat on a worm... must like bubble gum. Then with the same worm I caught 3 or 4 LM in the next hour or so... during that time my daughter gets cold so she sits down behind the console and wraps a jacket around her like a blanket.... she flips her worm over the side and just lets it drag... she landed two more doing that...

WTH... no technique... not even trying...

So my point is... do we spend too much on line and lures and not enough on simply finding the fish? Seems like finding the fish trumps all the other hype.

OK.. I must be bored.... I typed way too much stuff...

Greg

 

[rsimms]

You're posing the question(s) the wrong place. You need to be asking the fish. emoBigsmile

I constantly tell people that even with all the great advances in tackle and electronics, there is still a lot more we DON'T know about fish and fishing than what we do know, IMHO.

I saw an advertisement for a "hot new lure" on Facebook yesterday. It was basically a Jitterbug, except with plastic blades rather than metal. emoRolleyes

That said... other than the urge to make baby fish, I believe every action by every fish is driven by one thing ... food. Period. And just like you, sometimes they are absolutely ravenous and simply can't get enough to eat. At those times they'd probably bite food tied to the end of a well rope. But sometimes they're not hungry at all and they won't eat period... unless you dangle the equivalent of ice cream right in his face. Then he'll say, "What the hell," and eat it.

And then there a thousand variables in between...

The moral of the story however (again, in my humble opinion), is trust yourself, not some commercial an ad agency created.

 

[Gator]

I was offended when the Jerk Bait came out!

 

[EricM]

Gator - 4/8/2014 5:40 PM

I was offended when the Jerk Bait came out!

LOL Love it!!!

 

[cutthroat]

If you think line makes a difference remember this. Galen James uses only trilene big game .Chuck James only uses p-line mono. If you have fished tournaments on Chickamauga in the last number of years you will know what im trying to say.

 

[beetlespin]

Line makes a difference.

 

[MrWiskers]

Yep. Line makes a difference sometimes and for different species. Catfish don't care one bit, but try to catch a smallie on a tube with 20 lb line.

 

[VolsFan24]

As far as traps and cranks go, some run more true out of the box and some have a tighter wobble which is sometimes the difference between catching and not. Im no pro, but I have noticed a difference when I changed from braid to flouro. I almost exclusively use flouro unless flipping grass or using topwater, and my numbers have gone it. Maybe its that Ive had more practice, maybe it works, maybe its a confidence thing. I have no clue. But it works for me.

 

[Javelin33]

I usually use stren mono fluorescent in 10-14lb test and have no problems with it. I can understand using different line from fishing a shakey to a heavy crank, but I think alot of people waste money running so many different lines on similar baits. Also I can't remember the last fish I broke off. You don't need 20lb test if you know how to use drag.

 

[Blue76]

Don't get me wrong guys. I have it all. I use braid with flouro leaders, all flouro and all mono. I have all of those rigged up on the boat. I am just stirring the pot a little. Inwas looking at umbrella rigs and all that metal and thought it was strange how effective it is with all that going on.

 

[porthos33]

I'll tell you what I think. The last three weeks I went fishing everyday except for 3 days. I was pretty much able to stay on fish even if they moved. I threw different colored crankbaits rattle traps and different colored soft plastic. I caught fish on every color I threw. I don't think it matters to much about color myself especially with reaction baits b/c they are reacting to the bait running away. Now in saying that, I do prefer brighter baits in dingy water and a more natural look in clearer water. That's just what I've done forever and I have confidence in that.</p>

Now with slower presentation's, like jigs and plastics I do about the same thing. In the dingy muddy water I either like something with chartreuse or black and in clearer water something more natural like green pumpkin. Now on the other hand my buddy I fish with who has done a lot of tournaments and fished for a lot of years swears by his colors. So I guess it all boils down to if they are eating what you are throwing then you must be throwing the right color! =)</p>

</p>

HeyBlue76 just think about that rigand remember the last thing that fish sees isthe back of swimbaits running from it. So to that bassall it's thinking is that school of baitfish is getting away and BAM!</p>

 

[dragfish]

Don't let it get to you-fish love kids!