Lure motion characteristics as part of a bite pattern

[SENKOSAM]

After watching an underwater video this weekend, I noticed that there are lure motion patterns directly induced by lure characteristics and presentation. You all are familiar with the X motion of a crankbait as it travels through the water. Speed of retrieve or fast jerks, bill design, body shape, body substance (wood or plastic) and line diameter account for this action. For example, Chatterbaits and the FlatFish are extreme X motion baits as seen from the top or from below. From the side, they appear to be moving in a straight line.

When fish are in the mood for Xtreme horizontal action, I chose neutral buoyancy lures that produce it.

Buoyant crankbaits produce two types of lure motion bite-patterns - X and Z. A Z path is produced when viewed from the side as a buoyant crankbait (or buoyant soft plastic bait) rises after a pause, heads sharply towards the bottom when retrieved a few feet and then starts to rise again. (I'm curious as to how many anglers still value a crankbait's rise and fall Z motion.)

CyberFlexxx soft plastics with little or no salt are best used with a Carolina rig to get the side-view Z motion. Other less buoyant soft plastics, especially salt impregnated lizards, tubes and Senkos, have two possible actions: a hoping action when worked on the bottom or a glide /wave action when C-rigged or center weighted. The wave action is typical of C-rigged non-buoyant plastics that stay near the bottom when the sinker is dragged forward.

The most famous Z motion/ X motion combo horizonatl surface motion is produced by the Zara Spook and similar jerkbaits, whereas unweighted soft plastic jerk worms produce an S path action as viewed from below (similar to a snake).

I like topwaters because of the wakes and bubbles they leave, which brings me to wire baits - spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. The lure motion of both blade types causes a rhythmic flare and jiggle of the skirt. Both blades leave surface wakes (obviously when the spinnerbait blade is near surface).

Plastic tail designs produce flutter, S motions, whip and wags - all of which produce some type of body actions. The last one - wag - is typical of large soft plastic swimbaits with its large paddle tail which entirely wags the bait's body.

The flutter, similar to a flag's motion in a stiff breeze, is typical of grubs with small curl tails. The whip is seen in Mann's Augertail and other U tail worms; the S action is typical of wide curl tail worms and grubs.

Flutter (or quiver if you like) is the key finesse action of drop shot, thin bodied soft plastics and hair jigs, which makes them so effective.

Fish activity and seasonal patterns may dictate the lure actions you want to use and that match certain presentations. Lure vibrations and water displacement hydrodynamics are a big part of lure motion characteristics but the stuff of another topic.

In any case, some winter reading to think about when you're playing with lures in you kid's aquarium or in filled bathtub. Better yet, do a search on YouTube to get a clear view of what all these actions look like and how fish attack the lures that produce them.

All I know is that the guys who designed weird lures like the spinnerbait, skirted jig and the BigO had to be freak'n geniuses!

Opinions welcome.

Frank

[WRB]

If your goal is to catch bass anglers, then you need whiz bang state of the art lure design elements. If all that builds confidence and you use the lure for longer periods, then perhaps state of the art design will improve your catch per hour rate.

Bass on the other hand relate to their own life experiences to survive. To catch bass consistently you must make the bass bite the lure and then recognize the strike in time to hook the bass.

There has never been an artificial lure that will fool a bass more often than the live bait they are currently eating.

We bass anglers tend to target the aggressive bass that will react to artificial lures. The problem with that is bass are not active very often during any 24 hour period.

What I have learned about lures is; they must be easy to see and locate for the bass to commit to striking.

The lure should be able to get near the bass without alarming it.

My top big bass lures are; jigs, swimbaits and big soft plastic worms. These lures are at times eaten dead still, falling down through the water column and moving slowly and naturally within the water column.

Tom

[Deleted account]

After watching an underwater video this weekend, I noticed that there are lure motion patterns directly induced by lure characteristics and presentation. You all are familiar with the X motion of a crankbait as it travels through the water. Speed of retrieve or fast jerks, bill design, body shape, body substance (wood or plastic) and line diameter account for this action. For example, Chatterbaits and the FlatFish are extreme X motion baits as seen from the top or from below. From the side, they appear to be moving in a straight line.

When fish are in the mood for Xtreme horizontal action, I chose neutral buoyancy lures that produce it.

Floating cranks (especially those made of wood) produce two motion bite patterns - X and Z. A Z action is viewed from the side and is obviously produced as a buoyant crankbait or or super-buoyant, soft plastic lbait rises after a pause and then heads sharply towards the bottom when retrieved a few feet and then rises on the pause. (I'm curious as to how many anglers still value a crankbait's rise and fall Z motion.)

CyberFlexxx soft plastics with little or no salt are best used with a Carolina rig to get the side-view Z motion. Other less buoyant soft plastics, especially salt impregnated lizards, tubes and Senkos, have two possible actions: a hoping action, regardless of weight position or a glide /wave action when C-rigged or center weighted. The wave action is typical of C-rigged plastics that stay near the bottom when the sinker is moved (not one of my favorite C-rig lure actions).

The most famous Z motion/ X motion combo horizonatl surface motion is produced by the Zara Spook and similar jerkbaits, whereas unweighted soft plastic jerk worms produce an S body action as viewed from below.

I like topwaters because of the wakes and bubbles they leave which brings me to wire baits - spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. The lure motion of both blade types causes a rythmic flare and jiggle of the skirt. Both blades leave surface wakes (obviously when the spinnerbait blade is near surface). Spinnerbait blades also add the strobe flash effect.

Plastic tail designs produce flutter, S motions, whip and wags - all of which produce some type of body actions. The last one - wag - is typical of large soft plastic swimbaits with its large paddle tail which entirely wags the bait's body.

The flutter, similar to a flag's motion in a stiff breeze, is typical of grubs with small curl tails. The whip is seen in Mann's Augertail and other U tail worms; the S action is typical of wide curl tail worms and grubs.

Flutter (or quiver if you like) is the key finesse action of drop shot thin bodied soft plastics and hair jigs, which makes them so effective.

Fish activity and seasonal patterns may dictate the lure actions you want to use and that match presentations. Lure vibrations and water displacement hydrodynamics are a big part of lure motion characteristics but the stuff of another topic.

In any case, some winter reading to think about when you're playing with lures in you kid's aquarium or in filled bathtub. Better yet, do a search on YouTube to get a clear view of what all these actions look like and how fish attack the lures that produce them.

Opinions welcome.

Frank

If you make another post like this one, I'm charging you for the aspirin. >

[SENKOSAM]

If you make another post like this one, I'm charging you for the aspirin.

Send name and address! ;D

There has never been an artificial lure that will fool a bass more often than the live bait they are currently eating.

Maybe true, but then why use artificials which sometimes work better than the real thing because of a lure action that triggers aggression?

The other thing could could just be just plain irritating the fish to bite once you got its attention! You mentioned deadstick. Works for me at times! A bass has more than enough time to look at the lure, smell it taste it and mouth it yet starts to swallow it.

You did the first thing - made it notice your lure by proximity and most likely its action. (I doubt an inferior bait would have gotten any attention.) The bass went from inactive or semi-active to GULP.

Not a reflex strike obviously. Not match the hatch. Not any thought process such as, hmmm - what's this we have here?

Your example is good one to expand on. Thanks.

Opinions and beliefs vary, and you're right, if it works for you, great. But I think of the times when someone else's bait worked a whole lot better than mine in the same location and I wonder why. Anecdotal, sure, but I've had enough similar experiences to make me look closely at duplicating an action and presentation to get the same bite.

Example - I used a flat claw tailed trailer for my jig, my partner used a Rage Craw - he caught fish off bottom, I didn't. Same jig color and weight but different trailer and action. (Trailer color was also the same.) As soon as I used his trailer on my jig, I caught fish.

[J Francho]

There has never been an artificial lure that will fool a bass more often than the live bait they are currently eating.

That's if they are eating.  What about the fish you catch that aren't eating?

[CJ]

Lure action will make for better results for a pattern.

In the hot summer months I have found only a few big worms I prefer for a very slow dragging presentation on deeper structure. The Rage Tail Thumper, BPS Squirmin' Worm, and the Mister Twister Phenom. What these three lures have in common are the amount of water displacement or action while the lure is being drug so slow. Take most ribbontail worms and see how fast they have to move to make the tail go into it's action. Do the same with the smaller C-tail type lures and you can see the results.

Action is a big deal cause it is what causes vibration. Vibration is the most important feature for a lure other than running depth and profile or size. Often vibration is the first thing that makes a bass aware that prey is near.

[RoLo]

Action is a big deal cause it is what causes vibration.

Makes sense to me.

If you can still find them Chris, Deps 6" Deathadder grub

and Manns 9" hardnose worm both stay active till near standstill.

Roger

[Catt]

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a BASS CANNOT REMEMBER!

WHY

Because of its basic resemblance to a wide array of living forage, this lure presents very few negative cues, and is hard for big bass to learn not to hit. Doug Hannon

Today we have such a wide variety of shapes one should exchange plastic worm with any of a number of lures. Creatures, craws, lizards, stick baits, frogs (yes Texas rigged), jerk baits, tubes, grubs are all extremely deadly.

Lure motion characteristics is the #1 reason I throw plastics a majority of the time

[SENKOSAM]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you everyone!!

I had forgotten that theory about negative cues and totally agree.

I used to think visual cues were most important because those of us with good vision use our eyes to pick and chose food and judge proximity, along with taste and smell.

Here are a few observations and thoughts combined with some of the research done by marine biologists over the years:

Bass live in a fluid environment, vision not being the first thing it counts on to find edible life, but its lateral line and inner ear are incredible at detecting vibration, spatial orientation and object size, motions and speed. It doesn't have stereoscopic view because of mostly side-vision eye orientation. Its view of the world is primarily through colored filters (stain), cloud (muddy water) or in total darkness (night).

It seems to me that it tracks prey similar to a bat - its sonar's primary use - but ignores other predators at times (heron legs and cormorants) that are easily detectable.

We can distinguish barbecued pork from steak because of our senses and memory help us separate the two. But simplifying a fish's eating habits :  fish sense fish nearby, it eats fish; it senses flies on the surface - it eats bugs; it senses creatures crawling on the bottom or swimming overhead - it eats them. In other words, fish eat generic life forms of life just like we take generic prescription drugs.

Maybe what we all do as artificial life casting anglers is simply pique their interest and let bass nature (and senses) do the rest! Creepy and weird can be what turns a bass into an aggressor.

[CJ]

If you can still find them Chris, Deps 6" Deathadder grub

and Manns 9" hardnose worm both stay active till near standstill.

Roger

Thanks Roger! I've always been a big fan of Mann's. I'm still saving my last 100 or so of the FLW finesse worm they discontinued. The plastic Mann's used in these worms, which is the same as the jelly worm I think, is just deadly.

Another point on vibration is that it's not all in the lures action when it comes to plastics and jigs. Sometimes just a 1/16 of an ounce, more or less, to your weight can make for better results. Also, the shape of a jighead can make a difference. My dad really schooled me one day by using a 1/2 oz. weight with his t-rig while we were fishing fairly shallow. The vibration the heavier weight produced when hitting the bottom and wood cover seemed to be key. Another example was when my friend found football head jigs were catching fish much better around wood cover in the winter. Where the bullet shaped heads were clearing the wood cleaner, the football heads were broadsiding the timber causing more vibration. Both of these examples the water was stained. 

[WRB]

There has never been an artificial lure that will fool a bass more often than the live bait they are currently eating.

That's if they are eating. What about the fish you catch that aren't eating?

Outside of the spawning period, catching inactive bass that are not feeding is difficult. The cat & mouse theory that you can tease a bass into striking is questionable IMO. We think that 1 bass is in the area and by making several casts into 1 spot we teased that bass into striking. It's far more likely that several bass are in the area and the more active bass moved in and bit the lure. In the clear water where I fish, it's common to see inactive bass move off a spot or  another more active bass may move in and strike the lure. Spawners are definitely territorial.

Tom

[J Francho]

I think agitation is often overlooked, and hardly ever tried.  I realize that by definition an inactive fish is not feeding, but I do believe that the angler can flip a switch, so to speak.  yes, I'm opening a Pandora's Box here, and going against 50 years of conventional wisdom, but I simply cannot accept that a fish bit after the 50th cast because it was hungry and feeding. 

Call me crazy 

[WRB]

I think agitation is often overlooked, and hardly ever tried. I realize that by definition an inactive fish is not feeding, but I do believe that the angler can flip a switch, so to speak. yes, I'm opening a Pandora's Box here, and going against 50 years of conventional wisdom, but I simply cannot accept that a fish bit after the 50th cast because it was hungry and feeding.

Call me crazy

On the contrary most bass anglers believe they can tease bass into striking, you are in the majority. Put the lure in the basses face long enough or often enough and it will react is the conventional thinking.

Why bass can sit in one spot for hours in a trance, with bait around them, then suddenly turn on and start feeding is an interesting question for bass anglers to solve. All predators tend behave in a similar manner...they now when it's time to rest and eat.

[J Francho]

I didn't say tease, I said agitate - you're still on bed fish, they don't count. ;D

Walleye fisherman have long used drag chains to disturb the fishing area. Who hasn't cursed another boat that motored over the area, only to find the slow bite turned hot? What about the "school of something" theory use by trout trollers? Umbrella rigs for big game fish?

I know after I've quietly picked apart a small weed bed that I know should hold bass, to get no bites, I'll run a buzz frog over the top. Not to illicit a "frog bite," but to agitate the area. More often than not, I get bites on the same quiet bait (usually a t-rigged plastic) after just a few casts.

In deeper water, I have a couple 2 oz. muskie sized spinner baits or a big Mann's 30+ crank that I'll toss on a (relatively) deep ledge after no success with the jig. That has drummed up business more often than not.

Even something as subtle as a drop shot in deep water. I'll put a 3/4 oz. gumball on, not because I need that much weight, but because of the "poof" of detritus kicked up, and audible tick when repeatedly lift and dropping the bait.

It can't all be coincidence that the results were all fish that suddenly went from inactive to something that'll bite. Or can it?

Obviously, some of these are presenting new food to the area, or simulating new food in the area.  But its something that was controlled by the angler - something he did to change things.

[WRB]

Read Tom Manns  book "Think Like a Fish", you should enjoy it. Tom Mann would run his big engine through weed/grass beds to chop and mix the water, then go back and fish it, that should qualify as disturbed water. Just goes to prove that we don't know as much as we think we know.

We are now way off topic, have a good day.

Tom

[SENKOSAM]

Excellent JFranco! I have to agree about the switch-on/ switch off experiences.

I been lucky to hit bass schools in open water adjacent to or on humps. One minute fish after fish, 15 minutes late - no bites. Whatever had turned them on (not me) such as a large school of baitfish (the only thing that turns school bass on), still had to be present, but the bass mysteriously stopped feeding and went deeper. I know they went deeper because my sidefinder only showed panfish signatures rather than the mix of large and small.

Agitation is something I rely on for incredible prespawn, spawn and postspawn bass and pick fishing. The longer in an area my lure can make some noise (ie Spook) or swish (large soft jerk stick, large nose hooked tube or bug) or chop (large Frog with paddles), the greater the chances of getting a bass to leave its station and attack from several feet away. The strikes are explosive and viscious, an indication of how much my presentation racheted up their spring bully/territorial attitude! Quiet lures rarely seem to evoke that kind of strike that time of year.

Really getting tired of snow and ice - can't wait to agitate under a warm sun!