Catching Fish After Using "Wrong" Lure?

[piranha]

Have you found that using a lure that isn't getting strikes causes the fish to not hit the right lure?

Here is an example...Say you are throwing a jig and pig and you make 30 casts to the same general area with no detectable strikes. Do you now have a decreased chance of catching fish in that area if you immediately switch to something that would have produced in the beginning, say with a spinnerbait?

I am thinking that the bass feel pressured or spooked or simply know that something is up and then will be less likely to hit should you change up. Or have you found that you can throw a hundred times to a spot without a hit and then throw something different, or maybe just a significantly different color to the spot and then start catching?

[senko_77]

i dont agree with this, because what i do is throw a buzzbait many times, and then cover the same water with a senko or t-rigged worm.  and a buzzbait makes alot of noise.  that combo can be the most productive apporaches to new water.   i did this today in a neighborrhood pond.  i threw my buzzbait in a corner and caught 3 fishi over 2lbs. in 4 casts.  i casted same spot for about 10-15 mins.  then i rigged up a edge worm (my favorite brand of senko imitators) and worked the enitre area, catchin 5 fish.  i caught a total of 8 fish in a water space 20ftx20ft. in 20 mins.  but after 10 mins without succcess, i knew the fish werent spooked, they just heard the buzzer over and over agian.  also, the bite can turn off in an area because when fish are stressed or alerted the realeases ammonia which alerts the other fish and can suppress the bite.

hope this helps

[goldenmonkey]

I dont think fishing a spot spooks the fish that much but I never spend too much time fishing in one spot if Im not catching anything there.

[albiechaser]

no they dont have much of a memory, if you get the color,size, and speed right, they will nail it.

have a great day

[Shad_Master]

I had this dicussion with some guys last year.  There was either an article in a magazine or a T.V. show where, I beileve it was, Rick Clunn was discussing that fish emit an enzyme in the water when they become stressed and this transmits to the other fish in that area causing them to turn off.  The example that was noted was that he, Rick?, was catching fish on a brush pile and releasing them at the back of the boat to keep them from signaling the other fish on the brush pile.  I have also heard of people putting fish in their livewell while the bite was going on and only releasing them after it shut down.  Don't know if this adds to the dicussion, but I was reminded of this by the question.

[piranha]

Okay, so far most think it doesn't affect them. Explain to me then, what is fishing pressure? Is it simply the noise of boats that cause the fish to turn off? I thought it was the sight of bait after bait after bait. What do you think?

As for the Rick Clunn thing, I read something similar on this board this year so I have made a habit of releasing the fish in a different spot, even if it is a few feet down. I don't know that it matters, but I feel more confident that I will get bit again so I do it.

[Shad_Master]

"what is fishing pressure?" -- that's a good question.  For me it would be having lots of lures presented to th fish where they are either caught or bite and have the lure pulled away or come ubottoned.  This would seem to cause them to be more reluctant to bite a something that they are not certain is food.  It will be interesting to see what others have to say about this.

[roadwarrior]

I have pretty consistant success with soft plastics on all the ponds I fish, but certain lures are significantly more productive on any given day. As an example, I'll generally start off with a Fat Ika. If I don't catch three or four bass in the first forty-five minutes or by the time I'm half way around the pond, I'll usually switch to a 6" Senko. After another fourty-five minutes or so it's either a Gitzit or Kreature, T-rigged and weighted. Although all four lures are very effective on a given day, for whatever reason, some days the profile or action of one lure will be preferred to the others. I can't explain it.

In terms of quality fish, at least at these ponds, size is random. I catch big fish on all four baits and that happens just as often on the second loop as the first. So, after using the "wrong" lure at exactly the same spot, close to the same time of day, the "right" lure scores. Unfortunately, there is never any way of knowing what the "right" lure is without getting a few wet.

Regarding "pressure", I agree with Shad_Master but would add general activity. I know on some of the public ponds that I fish, the fishing is always better in the morning. I believe that even though the general public catch no fish, they bother the fish that are there. The general activity significantly and negatively impacts the fishing in the evening.