By Staff
waterhead.com
October 3, 2011

Fishing lures and flies are one of the most fun aspects of the fishing experience. Some anglers seem like they enjoy their lures and flies more than they enjoy actually catching the fish! Experienced fishermen will shop endlessly for the right lure, make their own, collect and trade with their fellow sportsman, and jealously hold onto their favorites, treasuring them all their lives. Lures and flies are passed down from generation to generation, father to son, as family heirlooms. Fishermen can be an odd and superstitious bunch of people sometimes, and they take their lures very, very seriously.

Once you learn a little bit about fishing lures and flies, it becomes obvious why fishermen find them so fascinating.

Fishing with a lure is different from fishing with bait. A piece of bait (a worm, a piece of liver, a smaller fish) is meant to attract fish by presenting them with food. Fish are able to detect when food is nearby and will instinctively pursue it. When fishing with bait, the best technique is to cast out to a good spot and wait, keeping the rod and line perfectly still until you get a bite. It's a very passive form of fishing, and success depends on patience, luck and a knack for casting to the right spot.

Lure fishing, on the other hand, is a more active form of the sport. A lure is an artificial object, nowadays usually made from aluminum or some other lightweight metal, or plastic. It doesn't smell like food. It doesn't attract fish who smell it through the water. A lure uses color, movement and vibration to trick a fish into seeing it as prey. Some lures are designed to closely resemble actual fish, while others are bizarre combinations of glittering metal and wildly colored feathers designed to entice a fish to give chase.

Unlike bait, a lure is not meant to be kept still. Fisherman cast their favorite lure into the water and immediately begin reeling back in, or sweeping their rod back and forth, or moving their boat forward, or taking some other kind of action that will give the lure movement in the water. Picking the right casting spot is still important, since in order to entice the fish to bite your lure you must first find them, but lure fishing requires the fisherman to become much more involved and active, if he wants to land that big one.

Some might say there are as many different types of fishing lures and flies as there are fishermen. But there are some basic types, categories which most lures fit into.

One of the most popular lures is the jig. A jig is a lure consisting of a lead weight attached to (or molded to, in many cases) a hook, with an artificial worm or small fish disguising it and making it appear more attractive. Jigs are designed to create vertical motion in the water. They tend to sink, and reeling in or pulling on the rod causes them to move up wards in a jerk-like motion. Fishing with a jig is known as jigging. Most fish that are caught by jigging are near the bottom of the water. Jigs are one of the most versatile lures, and can be used with success in saltwater or freshwater.

Another type very familiar among fishing lures and flies is the spinner, or spinnerbait. A spinner consists of one or more metal blades attached to a lead weight and a hook. When pulled through the water the blades act as a propeller, creating vibrations meant to mimic small fish and attract larger predators like bass, pike and perch. Unlike a jig, a spinner creates horizontal motion as it cuts through the water. Spinners are usually brightly painted and colorfully decorated to catch a fish's eye. Their propeller motion also creates sound waves that fish can hear through the water. But the most important way in which spinnerbait attracts fish is by stimulating the fish's lateral line system.

The lateral line system is a sense organ possessed by fish which has no equivalent in the human body. This organ allows fish the ability to touch objects that are some distance away by sensing vibrations and changes in water flow. When a fish sense a nearby spinner through its lateral line system, it instinctively pursues the lure as though it were prey.

Among the simplest of all artificial lures is the spoon lure. This lure consists of an oblong piece of shiny metal, shaped like a shell or spoon, with a hook attacked to one end. The cupped shape of the metal causes it to travel through the water with a random fluttering movement. That movement, along with the light reflected by its shiny surface, attracts curious fish and encourages them to strike.

Not all lures are designed to imitate other fish. Some surface lures are meant to fool fish into thinking they are about to bite down on some non-aquatic prey like a mouse or an insect, or some amphibious creature like a frog. Unlike a jig, which works best against fish that stay close to the bottom, surface lures target fish that feed much nearer the surface. They are much lighter than jigs or spinners, and move along the top of the water as they are reeled in.

Surface lures come in several types, defined by the way in which they move in the water. Fizzers have blades attached and make a fizzing noise as they are pulled through the water. Waddlers are much like spoon lures and are said to waddle across the water. Poppers have a cupped section in the front of the lure, causing them to jump or pop on the way as they are reeled in.

The most colorful type of fishing lures (other than flies, which we will discuss next) are those known as crankbait, or minnows. These are hardbodied lures with hooks on either end, lightweight, with a metal or plastic lip on the front to create a specific type of movement as they "swim" through the water. Minnows are so called because they are usually painted to resemble small fish or other natural food sources. They are available in a staggering variety, and are enjoyed by fishermen and collectors alike.

But the variety of minnows is nothing compared to that of the most colorful and idiosyncratic type of fishing lures and flies there is: the fly.

Artificial flies are not so much fishing lures as they are works of art. The most basic description possible of a fly is that it consists of material tied to a hook. That material could be thread, or feathers, fur, or patterned fabric. Flies are colorful, small and lightweight. They are cast out and snapped back, over and over again. Because of this action, many flies are designed to resemble insects. This, in fact, is where the name "fly fishing" comes from, as most early flies were meant to imitate aquatic insects such as mayflies or stoneflies.

Fly fishermen can be as devoted to tying their flies as to fishing with them. Fly tying is the meticulous and painstaking process of attaching the chosen material to the hook by winding thread tightly around the hook. Techniques and designs are passed down from one fisherman to another, just as are the fishing lures and flies themselves.

Others who read this article also read Planning a Great Florida Vacation, Best places in the world for diving and Para-Sailing is Exciting Family Fun.

Shop NGC Sports Today....The World Leader In Scientific Fishing Lures!