If You Could Only Use 1 Lure…What Would It Be?
November 19, 2005
Okay, so aliens come down to earth one day and impose a strict new fishing law that says each angler can only fish with one style of lure for the rest of his or her life - which one would you choose? Never mind the fact that thinking about tackle would probably be a low priority if we had a bunch of extraterrestrial beings running around telling us how to fish. But just play along here folks, okay? So, what’s it going to be? What’s the one lure you’d put in your box?
You could make a strong case for swimbaits. Think about it - fish of just about every persuasion make a big habit of dining on smaller fish. Species such as striped bass, lingcod, halibut and salmon are almost exclusively fish eaters and trout, bass, panfish and even catfish frequently mix in a few minnows at mealtime. And what do swimbaits imitate? Yep, you guessed it…baitfish.
One of the greatest attributes that these lures feature is a soft rubber body. The supple paddle tail of a swimbait beats side-to-side in an extremely attractive fashion as it is retrieved so it looks more fluid in movement than a lure made from a harder material. The soft body must also feel natural to predatory fish after they bite down because they rarely reject a swimbait after the initial attack. In fact, I’ve had countless fish grab the tail of a swimbait, miss the hook and then come back and absolutely inhale the lure.
Swimbaits come in a stunning array of colors that enable you to very closely match the baitfish that your target species feeds on. As with fly fishing, “matching the hatch” can make all the difference when using mock minnows, but you don’t have to get crazy and buy one of every color. A few simple patterns will usually cover most situations in your home waters.
Versatility is another attractive characteristic of these lures. Swimbaits can be cast and retrieved, slow trolled or even jigged, depending on what variety of fish you’re after . Swimbaits may not be the world’s most perfect lure, but they’re close.
And they’re probably what I’ll pick if the aliens come
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