Have you ever wondered why lures work at times and are ignored other times? It’s all about who is the predator. Since Wal-Mart or your local grocery do not exist in the world of fish, they need to forage for their own food. Many insects are on the diet for fish such as Trout and Steelhead. But they also eat smaller fish and that green slimy stuff on the bottom of the river or lake. So there is always a predator vs. prey relationship at work.

Spinners tend to make sounds like a wounded fish or struggling insect in the water. Other lures make a swimming motion like a fish. These various actions look and sound like a nice snack for a hungry fish.

As the population of fish increases, so does the competition for food. That is why a lure is one of the best choices when fishing in a large school of fish. Reeling it quickly through the school will often be met with a strike.

A similar situation exists during spawning runs. The anatomy of Steelhead and Salmon will change as they re-enter freshwater. The throat of the Steelhead will close to just 20% of normal capacity, thus limiting what they can eat. Salmon stop feeding in freshwater. The males develop a hook like nose preventing the mouth from closing.

At this point you may be wondering how these fish are caught with a hook. Think of it like a fly buzzing around your head. You can tolerate it for a while, but sooner or later, you are going to swat at it. Salmon are the same, except they use their mouths. They may slap at the lure with their head or bite it, either way you could get a hook-up.

So make sure you have an ample supply in your tackle box.

See You At The Dock!

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

As a fishing guide, I am always faced with what will work today. The fishing lure, which was working well yesterday, may not work today. So I carry a variety of weapons in my fishing arsenal. All of which, have worked extremely well in the past. But what will work today?

There are thousands of different fishing lures on the market today. To the average person, many look the same, but they come in different weights, colors, blade configuration and sizes. So what should you buy? The manufactures want you to buy all of them. Some claim they catch so many fish “they should be outlawed”. While others catch more fishermen then fish with their sparkly designs and sharp hooks.

About those sharp hooks! It’s bad protocol to hook a fellow fisherman, while casting. Yes they put up quite a fight as you try to reel them in, but the screaming is disturbing to others on the lake. Barbed hooks are rather difficult and painful to remove when you only have a rusty pair of pliers and a knife.

Large tuna lures, which are the size of your foot, can be dangerous if they come loose. You see it was hooked to a supersonic missile called a tuna. It stretched your monofilament fish line like a budgie cord causing the lure to return at the speed of sound. You will be glad to realize the boat has an ice machine; once you awake from your temporary coma!

There are few things more sad, then the look on the face of a fishermen, who has just lost his favorite lure or that lure which cost $7.95, which is now embedded in a log the size of your truck. Yes these are sad days, but remember, there are more lures at the tackle shop. Maybe that is why the credit card company just raised your limit.

See You At The Dock!

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

It seems that fishermen like shinny things. The fishing lures need to be bright and sparkly. Bass Boats are the only boats on the water with a glitter finish.

Yes it is true that the refracted light from an underwater lure will attract more fish.

But the lure action when trolled too fast, wiggles more then my cousin Jimmy, when he snorted a line of table salt. Jimmy never was too smart. He wiggling and bounced all over the floor with his eyes bugged out.

I think if I were a fish, I would run from the yellow and red wiggling alien with eyes the size of dimes. But Mr. Super Bass jumps on that thing like an action hero. He will save the others by sacrificing himself. They must have a plaque underwater somewhere, where they place a star to represent those sacrificial heroes.

A swimming type fishing lure, should have a nice side-to-side action. It should go in a straight line rather then looking like defective fireworks on the 4th of July. It should not look like Aunt Bertha that time a bat got caught in her hair.

Spinners must move through the water with enough speed to cause the blade to spin around the body, but not so fast that it actually heats the water. It will produce a hypnotic sound, which will
cause Trout to follow and attack. It’s like your friend Mary’s brother, whom is drawn to the sound of a beer being opened. It won’t take long until he shows up.

It’s a good idea to keep your fishing lures away from you wife and kids. Otherwise you may find them dangling from their ears, nose or other scary parts of their body. My neighbor Henry lost half his tackle box to his teenage nephew Bobby. This boy had so many holes in his body, that it looked like he lost a fight with a sewing machine. My wife said he kinda sounds like a wind chime as he walks through the house. She likes it!

Remember to eat a night crawler a day. It will stiffen your rod.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC