Realistic and "beautiful" lures - ever make a difference

[mheichelbech]

I have seen on FB, a lot of hand poured soft baits and hand painted crankbaits, many of which are truly works of art to look at.  You also have the Savage Gear and Live Target baits...has anyone seen a difference in the fish they catch, either bigger or more, by using lures like this?  I know some hand poured or painted baits may match the hatch better in a specific lake during a specific time of the year and things like that but otherwise, have you seen it make a difference when you go out?  Does it make more of a difference in clear water?  

 

I know some hand crafted baits may perform better, for example, the craw pincers may float better and things like that.

 

I've been tempted to buy one of the Live Target jerk baits that looks like a small school of fish but I keep thing, the water I fish, the bait is just not that visible most of the time and I feel like the action of the bait is more important than the appearance as long as you are using the generally correct color for the conditions.

 

[CrankFate]

If you ask me, the more real it looks and moves the more it will catch. 

[Smells like fish]

Fred Sanford said it best in regards to praying "it don't hurt none" 

 

I am in agreement to that for highly detailed paint jobs ?

[jimmyjoe]

   I've used some of those cranks and spoons with the "ultra-realistic" paint jobs, and it makes a difference.

 

   I catch fewer fish.     ☹️        jj

[Black Hawk Basser]

I've never noticed a difference in catch rate or size.

[DitchPanda]

One of the best big fish catchers of all times is a jig with a chunk trailer be it pork or zoom style plastic chunk...not much realism there

I would never say realistic doesn't ever make a difference but I think size, profile and to a lesser extent color are more important. And of course location is the thing that really matters.

[Hammer 4]

I have a couple of these fancy types of baits, some catch fish, some don't. I'd much rather have good action, and quality parts, than realism..

[newriverfisherman1953]

They probably work very well at times. I have 2 crank baits that I spray painted solid black. I’ve caught a bunch of fish off of them. 

[Big Swimbait]

I think it is less important for fast moving, reaction strike baits. A great example is the Whopper Plopper. My most productive colors are Bone, Powder & Loon (black). Now on my slow moving glide baits where they may track it awhile before committing, I think it makes a difference. Then again, a couple of big treble hooks hanging from the bottom is the farthest thing from "natural". As has been said, action, presentation & location may trump color.

[camman]

IMO they are designed to catch a lot of fisherman.  For reaction type baits, I don't believe the fish has enough time to look at the bait that closely.  They are going after the silhouette.  On slower baits it may make a difference, but again IMO it doesnt make a difference.  One of my best swimbaits is a Triple Trout and they aren't that realistic in paint jobs. 

 

 

[Wildbillb]

I don't think it makes a bit of difference most of the time.  Just like anything else if your in the right spot at the right time using the right bait it all comes together.

[OnthePotomac]

I have read countless articles wherein pros have discussed this and they seem to come down to the action of the bait is what counts and maybe color.

[mheichelbech]

Thanks all.  This is pretty much what I thought.  I suppose if realism mattered so much those Mad Man Craws would have really taken off.

[Scott F]

I have tried over the years and have always done better with lures that are NOT realistic looking. Everyone has a lure that always seems to get bit even though all the paint has worn away. Something else to consider. In nature, albino animals never survive long. Their lack of ability to blend in to their surroundings makes them vulnerable to being eaten. Most fishes coloration allows them to blend in to the environment. I want my bait to be easily located by a predator, not blend in or hide from them. With smallmouth, bright, loud, colors like clown patterns or chartreuse do very well and are not often seen in natural baits.

[Ogandrews]

It depends on the situation. I can see realism making a difference if you are fishing a swimbait ultra slow on the bottom trying to imitate something like trout. But in the majority of situations I just don’t feel that it has a positive impact. I believe in matching the hatch, but I think profile and action is waaaaay more important than the lure being perfectly realistic

[HenryPF]

My best rattle bait (it's the time of year for em) looks like it's been dragged miles over a road and has 1 eye (that fell off years ago). It outperforms the exact same bait that is brand new even though I have no scientific proof of this.

 

So I would say, it can't hurt but pretty paint jobs are designed to catch fisherman and not fish.

 

E.G. what is the red and white dardevle spoon supposed to look like? It's a proven bait and don't see too much realistic versions of that thing around.

[Black Hawk Basser]

I have used some of the gaudiest, most unrealistic little creations for ice fishing and have caught many fish on them.  And that is often after a fish hovers there and stares at it for 5 seconds or more before committing.  That is an example of where fish would have the best opportunity to inspect a bait for a long period of time and still eat it.  Bass are often the easiest to get to hit these goofy ice lures too.

[jimmyjoe]

1 hour ago, HenryPF said:

what is the red and white dardevle spoon supposed to look like? It's a proven bait

   I sure don't know what it's supposed to look like, but you're right - it's a fish-getter.    jj

[MIbassyaker]

Even if realism matters, the features we think make something "realistic" may not be what bass find realistic.  Why should a realistic pattern of colors matter more than a realistic size, profile, motion, or location?

 

For instance, bass have good color vision, especially in the red and green range. But good perception of color detail depends on a bright environment, and bass tend more often to feed at less-well-lit times and places -- dawn, dusk, and under the shade of cover elements, possibly because lower levels of light give them a visual advantage over prey. However they have exceptional ability to detect movement. Their Critical Flicker Frequency -- how fast a flickering change can be before you see it as steady -- is about three times ours.  So why should they care more about the detailed color patterns of a lure than how it moves? 

[soflabasser]

There are times a realistic looking swimbait can convince a big bass to bite and other times you can get a big bass to bite on a lure that looks nothing like a fish. What is most important is knowing where to throw the lure you are fishing with and how to use it well.

[Hammer 4]

6 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

Even if realism matters, the features we think make something "realistic" may not be what bass find realistic.  Why should a realistic pattern of colors matter more than a realistic size, profile, motion, or location?

 

For instance, bass have good color vision, especially in the red and green range. But good perception of color detail depends on a bright environment, and bass tend more often to feed at less-well-lit times and places -- dawn, dusk, and under the shade of cover elements, probably because lower levels of light give them a visual advantage over prey. However they have exceptional ability to detect movement. Their Critical Flicker Frequency -- how fast a flickering change can be before you see it as steady -- is about three times ours.  So why should they care more about the detailed color patterns of a lure than how it moves? 

Agreed. I fished a small club tourny some years ago in the middle of July, was over 100*. This lake is well known for gin clear water, and if you ask 20 people what the best way to catch bass is, 19 will say a 4" worm drop shotting. Anyway, I decided from the get go, I'm doing something totally different. Set up 2 of my swimbait rigs, one with a Mattlures bluegill, slow sink, and the other with a 6" jointed all white swimbait a friend gave me that morning. 

 

I began throwing these in about 10' of water. BTW, I had No electronic's to guide me. Anyway, so about 10:30 am, I get a hit on my bluegill in about 4-5 feet of water, near a rock pile, went 3.8 lbs. Snap a pic of the fish and scale, let it go. Around 12:30, I went near the dam, all good sized rocks, some boulders. I throw the all white swimbait in about a foot of water, Blam..I nice 6.10 absolutely smashed it..

 

Fishing was very tough that day. I wound up winning the tourney by 6 1/2 pounds..Pocketed a cool $ 200.00 and got a nice tan to boot. So, baits that seem real, in this case didn't matter at all, for the most part, sans my bluegill bait.  

[MIbassyaker]

42 minutes ago, Hammer 4 said:

Agreed. I fished a small club tourny some years ago in the middle of July, was over 100*. This lake is well known for gin clear water, and if you ask 20 people what the best way to catch bass is, 19 will say a 4" worm drop shotting. Anyway, I decided from the get go, I'm doing something totally different. Set up 2 of my swimbait rigs, one with a Mattlures bluegill, slow sink, and the other with a 6" jointed all white swimbait a friend gave me that morning. 

 

I began throwing these in about 10' of water. BTW, I had No electronic's to guide me. Anyway, so about 10:30 am, I get a hit on my bluegill in about 4-5 feet of water, near a rock pile, went 3.8 lbs. Snap a pic of the fish and scale, let it go. Around 12:30, I went near the dam, all good sized rocks, some boulders. I throw the all white swimbait in about a foot of water, Blam..I nice 6.10 absolutely smashed it..

 

Fishing was very tough that day. I wound up winning the tourney by 6 1/2 pounds..Pocketed a cool $ 200.00 and got a nice tan to boot. So, baits that seem real, in this case didn't matter at all, for the most part, sans my bluegill bait.  

 

Maybe the swimbait was realistic, but in a way that mattered more -- profile, size, & movement, not to mention location -- 1 foot of water, when everybody else was drop-shotting deep water? Sometimes "conventional wisdom" is the enemy...clearly, not all bass in our waters are doing the same things at the same time!

[scaleface]

They work . I've caught fish on them . Cant say they work better or worse though .

[mheichelbech]

11 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

Maybe the swimbait was realistic, but in a way that mattered more -- profile, size, & movement, not to mention location -- 1 foot of water, when everybody else was drop-shotting deep water? Sometimes "conventional wisdom" is the enemy...clearly, not all bass in our waters are doing the same things at the same time!

I’ve done a similar thing.  A buddy and I caught roughly 48 pounds with 6 fish in December with 38 degree water temp in 3-5 foot of water.  Gotta follow the bait!

[FishTank]

Sometimes.... The realistic action of the bait is what brings them in.

 

Just as a juxtaposition.....  These two baits can catch a ton of fish, both are kind of pricey but look, to me, totally different.  One is sort of plain and uninviting and the other is a work of art.