Rocketlures

.

Welcome to this short luring guide that will give you luring lessons on how to start off lure fishing. Hope that this tutorial is useful to you and please do drop me a comment if you will :). Enjoy.

.

What is lure fishing?
.
Lure fishing is simply a method of fishing by using a bait-fish look-alike at the end of a fishing line to fool fishes into attacking it. To do so, some movement has to be imparted into the plastic fishes to make it come alive and look as if it is a wounded fish trying to flee away to cover. On the body of the swimiing lure, there are single, double or treble hooks to do the catching of the attacking fish. Other than plastic lures, flies, spoon and soft plastic are also considered lures. Flies are of a special category, where the bait is fashioned to resemble an insect. They are designed to either float or sink. Since there is no smell for lures, aggressive fishes that attack by sight are attracted by this kind of fishing. Some are attracted by the color of the lure, some by the look, some by the flashes and some by the speed. Usually it is a combination of these few factors.
.
Luring is fairly popular fishing method lately. Lurers today are spoilt for many choices of lures, some pretty expensive if I may say. Some committed lure anglers think nothing of spurgling large amount of money to get lures to target their favourite catches. Once a lure can catch a fish, most anglers would stock up quite a few pieces of the same lure in case they lose it.
.
What are the advantages of luring?
.
Advantages of luring are many.
1. Obviously, it is clean. No need to mess with dirty baits.
2. It is also portable, easy to bring around.
3. It is challenging and a very active form of fishing, as opposed to waiting for that bite to happen.
4. And it is definitley very challenging to be catching a fish on lure.
.
Disadvantages of luring is that it is more expensive. Not to mention that one would lose lures every once a while due to snags, broken leader and toothy critters.
.
What kind of rod and reel setup do we need for luring?
.
To lure, lurers need to choose to use a light weight setup. Considering that the action of casting and retrieving (act of luring) is repeated many many times in a session, the gear cannot be too heavy. Luring also gives the fisherman a good workout. Sometimes when the going gets tough (no bites), it can be quite a tiring affair.
.
Some luring rods could be (suggested list only)
1. Berkley cherry wood
2. Ryobi Regno Plus
3. Shimano Bass one
4. Abu ultra cast
5. Shimano Scimitar
6. Shimano Bassrise
7. Shimano Bassterra
8. Shimano Bass one
9. Berkley lightning rod
.
Some reels for luring: (suggested list)
1. Abu Record
2. Abu 2500C
3. Abu Revo STX/SX
4. Shimano antares ar
5. Daiwa aplhas
6. Daiwa Freams Kix
7. Daiwa Caldia Kix
8. Abu garcia cardinal
9. Ryobi applause
10. Ryobi Zauber
11. Shimano Sienna
12. Calcutta
13. Daiwa Certate
.
Luring reels are typically of the following specs
1. capacity for 100m of line
2. Spinning size 1000-2000
3. Baitcasting size of 100-200
4. Line strength 6-10lbs
.
Luring rods are typically of the following specs
1. Fast-Extra fast action
2. 6-7 ft
3. 6-15lbs
4. Lure weight 7-25g.
.
Most lurers would go for a bait casting set, as these minimise the line twisting from all the casting. A spinning set is possible, but expect your lines to be abused after the fishing. Reels have to be small and lightweight, and the rod would need to be at around 6-7′ for good distance. Usually lurers would choose a fast action rod for quick setting when their lures are being attacked. Fishes would know very quickly that the “wounded” fish is fake hence quick action to set the hook is necessary.
.
What are the kinds of lures that I should get?
.
Lure comes in many types, to target fishes at different level of the water column. There are
1. Popper - jerk to create splashes on the water surface
2. Pencil - surface darting action
3. Shallow crank bait - fat floating lure to 1.5m.
4. Shallow minnow - long floating lure, diving to 1.5m
5. Suspending minnow - for crank and stop action.
6. Deep diver minnow - floating lure to 3m.
7. Deep diver crankbait - fat floating lure to 3m.
8. Sinking lures - can go any depth, give sufficient time to sink.
9. Jigs, spinners, spoons - spinners for freshwater
10. Rubber, Soft plastics
.
Do colors play an important part in luring?
.
For luring to work, visibility of the lure is an important consideration. Also, use as fine a leader as you possibly can. Too thick a leader, the lure action would not be good, and fishes can see. Lurers usually don’t use wire leaders.
.
Visibility in the water is affected by many factors
1. Water depth,
2. Suspension particles in the water
3. Strength of the sunlight
.
As a rule of thumb:
1. At night, use a dark color lure. In the night, fish sees by the silhouette of the fish from the bottom.
2. In water with lots of organic particles (like a lake), go for yellow-green lures.
3. Bright day, use red, orange, silver, yellow.
4. Heavily stained waters, use flourescent hues.
.
To improve the chances of catching the fish, some lurers add a dash of scent onto the lure. The difference of the fish holding on to it a sec more may make the differnce whether it would throw out the hooks quickly.
.
Does size of the lure plays an important part?
.
Yes. Like baiting, using a bigger lure only attracts bigger fish mostly. A smaller lure would be attacked more often by fishes that are bigger than it is. So, it is prudent to have an assortment of sizes for days when the big lures are not catching anything. Switching to a smaller lure may increase your chances.
.
How do I tie a luring rig?




.
Tying Bimini Twist

.
Tying Improved GT Knot (another version)
.
Tying Improved Clinch Knot
.
Tying Rapala Knot
.
How do I lure?
.
To lure, cast out the lure and reel it in. You got just simply wind the line in (the lure action would do the trick). Keep the rod tip as near to the water as you can, so as to lower the angle of the line to the water surface. This way, the lure will run better (more action). You could give it a little twitch every few cranks of the reel handle. Or you could do the reel and pause combo. Vary the speed. Sometimes, a slow speed would work, sometimes, a faster one is more effective. Depending on the water current, you need to find the speed to makes your lure runs the best.
.
Be careful of using too light a lure. In a windy condition, it is easy to get bird nest if the wind is blowing against you. For lures too light for your setup, add a bean weight or a splitshot.
.
To get extra distance, you can also use a running sinker into front of your swivel. But using a sinking setup (sinking lure, sinker), never stop your retrieval halfway and go do something else. If the terrain is rocky, this is a sure way to lose the lure.
.
If a fish strike at a lure, you must immediately pull back your rod to drive the trebles into the fish mouth. That is the reason why lurers prefer using braided lines and using a fast action rod. If the fish is firmly connected, you will be able to feel an extra load pulling the opposite way. If it is a big fish, your line may even spool out of the reel. Keep the line taut in case the fish decides to go aerobatic.
.
Do I have to practise catch and release only?
.
Catch and release (CNR) is a sensitive topic. And most lurers are proponents of CNR. Some anglers frown upon those that keep their catches or even those that uses bait for fishing. To me, it is all about the eco balance in nature. If the specie of fish is endangered or fast depeleting, it is good to release those catches back into the water. However, if the catch is considered a pest in the local waters, it may even be against the law to release it. Some times, keeping your catches is helping the enviroment instead. eg. alien introduced species like snake heads etc. These fishes are a threat to the eco-system as they can wipe out the local fish stock due to their aggressive and adaptable nature.
.