I originally posted this on WA Fishing. I'm no lure expert, but this is a catalog of my experiences on inshore and estuary lure fishing. I hope people get something positive out of it.

Regards,

Dave.

Thoughts on Successful Lure Fishing:

Version 1. 25th Feb 2012.

David Vitali.

Lure fishing is a fun, satisfying, exciting and productive way to fish. I hear so many people say “I never catch anything on lures!”. I also saw a young boy the other day with a lovely little spin outfit with a Rio Prawn rigged. The only issue was that the lure was far too big for the species in the area he was fishing. So I decided to write this mini-article. I’m no lure expert or guru at anything really but I do catch fish on lures. I hope that my experiences described in this thread might be of value to someone. Perhaps there’s another budding young fisherman or fisherlady out there wanting to get into the art of lure fishing but are not quite sure how. Hopefully there’s some ideas below for them. Note: I only cover esturine and inshore lure fishing, but some of the principles also apply to fishing pelagics offshore.

1. Rod and Reel:

A light spin outfit with a fine, whippy rod tip is needed to cast light lures any distance. I've found that a 2000 or 2500 series reel works best. I'm currently using a Daiwa Presio on a 6'6" Fishing Western Austalia Finess Spinning rod. The combination is well balanced, light and gives you good cast distance even with the lightest of lures. Line is also part of that equation and is discussed below.

2. Line, Rig and Lure Presentation:

Line should be light braid or mono roughly 2-4kg with an appropriate fluorocarbon leader. I use 6lb Nanofil with 10lb Daiwa fluorocarbon leader. As for the rig, I’ve found the simpler the better. I use a tiny black crane swivel between mainline and leader to eliminate any line twist. I use a leader length of 1m+ with a fairly generous loop at the bottom with a small, wire clip (travelling on the loop) to make it easy to switch lures on the fly. These clips are cheap and don’t seem to detract anything from the lure at all. The loop is there to allow the lures I’m using a full range of natural motion. Having said that, many people do not use a swivel at all - they tie their leader directly to their mainline with a double-uni or equivalent line-line knot. It’s worth trying this arrangement before adding a swivel because when lure fishing less is definitely more. You don’t want shiny swivels and other tackle spooking your fish - you want your lure presented in a way that appears natural to the fish you’re targeting. A good knowledge of knots is therefore essential.

3. Selecting and Buying Lures:

When selecting and purchasing your lures, always consider your target species, its environment and what it generally preys on. Lures need to look and behave similarly to your target fish's prey to achieve the deception needed to catch them. The lure should be the approximate size as the prey item and in general move through the water in a similar way and at around the same depth as the prey. Lure colour is a controversial topic but I've found it important for several reasons, one of which is the clarity of the water you're fishing - the target fish have to be able to see it. Same consideration for overcast days or at times when sunlight is at a premium. For example, lets consider targeting Bartailed Flathead in an estuarine emvionent such as the Swan. We know the FH is an ambush predator, sitting on the edge of dropoffs or around weedbanks when there is tidal movement making small baitfish and crustaceans (such as river prawns and crabs) available. We therefore know that the strike zone is around the bottom and for an environment such as the Swan, that our lure should resemble a small baitfish (mullet/hardyhead/whitebait) or prawn. Many lures fit the bill, but particularly the Strike Pro Shrimp in a river prawn colour and various small to medium divers and blades, such as Shimano Lure Project medium-deep runners, Atomic Hardz Shad 50 DDs, small Strike-Pro Cybervibe and TT 1/8oz blades for example. When I've selected my lure, I generally get two. I aim for the second to be roughly of the same type but in a different coloration (lighter or darker). Occasionally I'll choose one "fishy" looking lure and then a "prawny" looking lure of the same type. Quite often I've found myself getting no bites at all and upon changing to the second/alternate lure - bang, first cast. In terms of behaviour, lures can move on one or more axis when being retrieved: (a) sway (side to side); (b) pitch (up and down) and (c) roll. Pick lures that have the characteristics of your target species prey items and you will increase your chances of success. The way you work the lure through the water, over and above its standard behaviour, also contributes greatly to your success when fishing with lures (again, I’ll expand upon this shortly).

4. Having a Comprehensive Set of Lures:

To be really successful at lure fishing, I've found that you often need to rotate what you're using to something else when you’re not getting bites – often many times. I'll sometimes rotate through up to 10 lures when I'm wading and hitting a single area. I have two pocket boxes full of them to allow me plenty of options when I'm out there. These options include: surface poppers; surface walkers; sliders; suspending divers, medium/deep divers; deep divers (large and small); vibes; blades and a few metal slices of various sizes just in case some tailor or giant herring turn up. I don’t use all of these lures in a single session by any means. Generally when I’m fishing a specific area I’ll give a lure about four casts and if no bites then I’ll change. I’ve seen so many poor souls bashing away for hours with the same lure and getting no results, which must be very disheartening. I also work the entire water column (which I’ll expand on shortly). You can gradually build up your lure collection – you don’t need to go out and instantly spend $$$ to get started. But do spend your money wisely.

5. Working Lures:

I use about four basic techniques with lures: (a) yo-yo; (b) twitch; (c) stop/start; (d) speed up/slow down. Yo-yo: retrieving a lure such as a jig, blade or vibe, lifting the rod tip to make it flutter up then lowering your tip and continue the retrieve. When you lower your rod tip the lure will flutter down and resume its normal swimming pattern. This technique is particularly effective on flathead when using blades. Twitch: similar to the yo-yo but I use this more with divers and poppers. You give the rod a sharp twitch upwards to get the lure to hit the bottom and kick up a puff of sand, or in the case of a popper a little splash or zip, then resume your normal retrieve. Stop/start: literally pause your retrieve for a second or two, then resume. Many fish such as bream will take the lure on the pause. During the pause, you are allowing the fish to catch up and you can also make it more enticing based on the lure at hand. For example most vibes and blades will flutter down when paused. Floating divers slowly rise upwards. Speed up/slow down: literally give the lure a couple of fast turns intermittently on your retrieve, imitating a prey item attempting to escape and enticing the fish to bite.

6. Working the Water Column:

I’ve found that working the water column from top down is a great way to find and encourage fish to bite. I start off with a popper or walker, then down to a suspender or shallow runner, then a vibe or blade, then a diver with the target depth dictated by the lure. Even if you’re not getting any hits on a popper, as you work down the water column, you’ll often find that all the commotion on the surface has stimulated fish further down. When you get to that depth you’ll often get a strike I’ve found. This happened with a Flattie the other day. You could even get a big surprise, like I did when I caught my first monster Yellowfin Whiting on a popper.

7. Finding the Fish:

When wading or shore bashing movement is essential. I've often had strikes immediately after moving or changing angle, but I've also had many cases where a lure change has also resulted in a strike. My general principle is to hit one fairly large area with several lures, right through the water column if possible, before moving on to new ground. I'll generally give a lure about four casts in different spots around the area before rotating to something else (e.g. from a blade to a deep diver; from a surface lure to a suspender). I'll go through a few lure changes like this before moving onto another area (a new weedbank cluster, turbid water, drop-off, etc). When moving, I also cast along my line of approach to the new area in case something is around. I've seen too many big puffs of sand and darting fish. Nothing worse than disturbing a big Flattie and watch it screech out of sight and off into deeper water.

8. Keeping Your Lures in Optimum Working Order:

Salt destroys lures. Amongst other things hooks and split rings rust quickly. To prevent this I always rinse the lures I've used after every fishing session in fresh water and let them dry. Periodically, I also remove all my lures from their travel boxes and wash/dry the boxes and all the lures. Doing this helps your lures maintain optimum working order and they will also last for many years, which is a good thing because generally, they're not cheap. I've found that for the most part - but certainly not always - you get what you pay for.

9. "Every lure has its day":

Don't be discouraged when a lure that works one day, doesn't get touched the next. Rotate through the lures applicable to your fishing situation and if there are fish around, something will eventually bite. If not, move around – rotating through applicable lures - until you locate your target fish.

10. Berleying:

I sometimes use berley pellets to get fish - particularly the ones I see chasing the lure I'm using - to strike. I've found that you can get great results doing this if the fish are timid (e.g. in shallow water) or the fishing very slow. Carrying a couple of handfuls of pellets when you're wading or shore bashing can sometimes mean the difference between fish or no.

11. My Essentials:

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a shortlist of what I consider to be my top 10 (essential) lures, the ones that I couldn't do without.

Poppers and Surface Walkers:

Sebile Splasher 65 in dark green and gold fleck.
Berkley 3B Scum Dog in clear prawn.

Vibes and Blades:

River to Sea Baby Vibe 35 in dark brown with black spots.
Strike Pro 6.6gm Cybervibe in green and silver.
TT 1/8oz blade in burnt orange.

Suspenders:

Strike Pro Shrimp in river prawn.

Sliders:

Lil' Jack in mullet pattern.

Divers:

Cultiva SP Rainbow Trout.
Atomic Shad 50 DD in prawn colouration.

Slices:

Halco 10gm chrome.

12. A Note on Blade Lure Tuning:

Most blade lures have three anchor points for the small clip they come with. Out of the box, the clip is usually on the second (from front) anchor point. I have seen some blades experience problems with their standard clip arrangement, with hooks fouling on the leader. If you buy a blade give it a workout and if it fouls on the leader, move the clip forward by one anchor point (hole). By moving the clip, the attitude of the lure should change just enough to keep the hooks from fouling.

13. Miscellaneous:

Polarised sunnys are a must, especially when wading to find good ground to fish and even fish themselves. I also use camo to minimise spooking the fish. At the first sign of black, I've found they're off - rapidly. To a fish, a dark shape in the water probably = predator.