Recently, I have changed the way I shop for fishing lures. In the old days I would go into a Tackleworld store and go: right, today I want to buy a barramundi lure; I want to buy a wahoo lure; or a yellowfin lure; and then I would look through the range of lures that were designed for that species and pick the one I liked best.
This, however, got me thinking: how do we know what the fish actually like? Just look at the beautiful Swedish rainbow trout (pictured) that fell to my Yo-Zuri 70mm 3D minnow, even though it is far from a traditional trout lure.
I now go into a Tackleworld store and look at all lures with an open mind and think about all the species of fish an actual lure could potentially catch.
In using this simple technique of mind-shift thinking, it is amazing how many wonderful barramundi lures turn into very good mackerel lures and how many great wahoo lures will work fantastically well on barramundi.
Don’t be afraid to back your judgement and give it a go. Often a certain lure works well because everyone is using it -- hence more fish will be caught using that lure. By trying different combinations of suitable lures for different fish species, you may actually unearth a combination that may be the next best thing.
It’s well documented that I have caught big snapper using an 8mm ring spanner with a front attached hook. I’m not saying that this is the ideal, but it was an idea I tried and it worked -- a great illustration of being open minded to achieve great results!
So remain open minded, go in and pick a lure you like. Think about how it swims, how it sinks, just how tough it is, the colour, and so on, and then think: what species is going to fall in love with this. Simply experiment to achieve results and it won't be long until you start blowing you and your friends away.
Yours in Fishing,
Paul Worsteling