1st Cast Fishing Lures

When going fishing, depending on the location and what kinds of fish you want to catch you will want to use different lures.  For moving river and stream fishing, a spinning lure tends to be the best as it will attract fish like trout and salmon, fly fishing is also an option.  When lake fishing, using a bobber and a piece of live bait like a worm or shrimp will attract fish like perch, trout, bass, and sunfish.  For sea or ocean fishing, trolling tends to be a good choice if you can reach the depth. 

When visiting new locations, it is also wise to stop by the local bait shop and ask for tips about what fishing bait to use at local fishing spots.

When you’re out on a hot day, casting your line over and over again only to tear up a chunk of grass or moss and see the fish scatter away, a relaxing fishing trip can quickly turn into a frustrating experience. But with frog lures, the bass will won’t be tipped off by the sudden, jarring appearance of a hook in the water.

The frog lure is a soft, hollow lure meant to be used in areas where a normal hook would tear the vegetation away – this means large, grassy areas with moss and lily pads on top, at the backs of coves or under overhanging trees. It’s shaped like a frog bobbing through the water, and can easily entice the appetite of a hungry bass.

One of my favorite type of fishing lures is a soft plastic bait known as Creature baits.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  A 5 inch Brush Bug is one of the Creature baits that I like to use.  You can rig it Texas Rig for flipping and pitching into the spots that are surrounded by structure and slowly work your way out.  These baits can produce a lot of action when worked the right way.  Another way to rig these particular baits is to use them on a Carolina Rig.  The conventional bait on a Carolina Rig is a Lizard.  But you can accomplish the same thing with a Brush Bug plus give the bass a bulkier profile to see.

One of the things that I find helpful, especially in stained or even muddy water is to dip the tail in a Chartreuse dip.  If yours comes with garlic then all the better.  Some Brush Bugscome with chartreuse coloring on the tail already.  They are also available in a 6 inch Big Boy Brush Bug when you are going after the Hawgs!

The next time your on the water looking for a bite, give these a try.  They are very economical and work great.  Check them out at www.1stcastfishinglures.com.

Ben Hobbins, a Wisconsin entrepreneur, environmentalist and ice fisherman, worked with polymer experts and graduate students in business and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to create a strong, sustainable fishing lure that may prevent toxic plastics from polluting waters nationwide at the rate of over 12,000 tons annually.  The lure was launched in February, 2008.

Hobbins was responding to the soft fishing lures most sporting goods stores have carried for years, which could be easy to tear while fishing on a chilly morning.  The soft, flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic material has long been extremely effective at luring and catching fish, but is detrimental to the environment due to its phthalate component, the very thing that makes it flexible.  The chemical compounds in phthalates have been linked to many negative health issues, and their presence has been banned in children’s toys in the State of California, beginning in 2009.  The key to the improved fishing lure Hobbins patented includes tiny microfibers embedded in the soft plastic material, keeping the lure flexible and stretchy without ripping.  The researchers have continued to study the technology behind the new lures, and have concluded that even if PVC containing phthalates is used to make lures, it will not end up in the bottom of lakes and rivers as it once did if their prototype is used.  Due to the original team’s commitment to sustainability, they are still investigating more earth-friendly materials and expanding their scope to include other products that may benefit from similar advancements.

In the world of fishing, there are so many baits/lures to choose from.  The question is, which one to choose and when do you use it?  If you have put any time at all on the water chasing your favorite prey, you know what I am talking about.  I have said before that I have at least 3 favorite techniques that I use, Cranking, Jigs, Texas rigged soft plastics.

I have my opinion about what the perfect bait is, but I would be really interested in hearing what you think.  I like a bait that can be used in more than one technique or situation.  I am not necessarily talking about color here.  I am talking about taking a soft plastic like a Beaver Craw and using it as a Jig trailer or Texas rigging it.  Of using a Trick Stick weightless Texas rigged and then Wacky rigging it with a jig head, either fishing shallow or deep.  Take a Brush Bug and Texas rig it with a 3/8 oz weight then turn around and through it on a Carolina rig.

Just click on the pictures above for a better view.

Until next time, Keep Fishing!

Cranking is one of my favorite techniques.  I wrote earlier that I have two or three favorites.  But Cranking can be so much fun and very productive.  Using a crankbait such as the Storm Big Bass Suspending Crankbait can be a great tool when the bass are in their summer pattern or even during those early months when the water is cool and the bass are pre staging / suspending and not real active.

Using a Crankbait will allow you to cover a great deal of water to find where the bass are hanging out.  During the summer months we all know that they tend to move off into deep water.  Deep is a term that can have a different definition on different lakes.  In your favorite lake deep may mean 20 or 30 ft.  At Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri it can mean 45 or 50 ft.  In that case you had better be prepared to drop shot a finesse worm in 40 feet of water in the tree tops.  But that is a topic for another day.  In other lakes around the country deep could be the next drop off from 10 to 12 feet.

Suspending crankbaits that dive to 10 feet or more give you the opportunity to crank the bait down to the desired level and have it stay there to entice those fish up from 12 or more feet.  Believe me, when they are hanging close to the bottom they always have a watchful eye looking up for an easy meal.  Do yourself a favor and give one of these deep diving suspending crankbaits a try.  Remember you will always do better if you are outfitted with the right kind of Bass Fishing Tackle.

This is a Shad colored Storm Big Bass Suspending Crankbait. It dives to 10ft. You know your lake better than anyone else.  What color works better for you?  They come in a wide range to fit your bass fishing needs.

Bass fishermen know that when it comes to bass, anything that moves is lunch if the fish is motivated enough.  Many bass fishing lures on the market are modeled after other fish and worms, but bait that resembles other food sources allows for catching more fish in different conditions. 

Frog lures are a great example of an effective bass lure possibility.  Frogs tend to take cover along the shoreline, camouflaging themselves in vegetation there.  Other species that bass stalk along the perimeter of the water can include snakes, birds, dragonflies, rodents, and baby ducks.
 

There are many different types of fishing lures, all designed to ultimately resemble prey for the fish and attract them to the hook.  Types of fishing lures include: jig (a weighted hook with a lead head opposite the sharp tip), surface lure (a lure that floats), spoon lure (thin and shiny, like the utensil), crankbaits or plugs (lures that move back and forth through the water at fast speeds), artificial flies (used in fly fishing with a fly rod and reel, designed as decoys for a number of different types of prey), bass worms (made of plastic or rubber, look like worms or lizards), and spinnerbait (pieces of wire bent to a 90-degree angle with a hook at one end and a flashy spinner at the other).

Whether you are seeking discount bass fishing lures or a more custom type of bait, there are fishing supplies out there to fit your

I don’t know about where you are right now, but in my part of the country pretty much every lake is high due to all of the rain we have had this year.  This presents it’s own set of issues when you are trying to find the bass.  One of the best bass fishing lures that I have found for this is the Spinner Bait.  The reason this works so well is that you are able to cover a lot of water quickly.  When the lake is so high that you are fishing in the state park or someones back yard bushes, you need to cover water quickly to find the fish and establish a pattern.  When you do locate them, slow down and use a Halo Jig or Brush Bug to cover the area very thoroughly.

Understand that there are 5 main types of bass fishing lures: crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastics, topwaters, and jigs. You need to get familiar with each, and their uses and advantages. crankbaits and spinner baits allow you to cover a lot of water, and work best in light vegetation and rocky bottoms. Jigs give you a very accurate feel on the line, and are one of the most effective lures when used with a pork trailer. Topwaters are best in very shallow water, or in areas that are covered in surface vegetation, such as lily pads. Plastics are the most versatile. They can be fished weighted or weightless. Floating plastics can be used just like a topwater, and any type of plastic can be fished weedless to allow fishing in extremely heavy vegetation.Here are some other things to consider:

Try to match your crankbaits to the colors of the baitfish in the water that you are fishing.

Remember that bass have very hard jaws and require some effort to set the hook effectively.

If you are not catching fish try changing retrieval speeds and patterns before switching lures or colors.

Try fishing parallel to drop-offs and along the outside edges of weed lines.