Bass Lures: Optimum Size and Shape Notes

Bass Lures – Is there an optimum size and shape?

  • Early August guiding experiences:

    • Mixed satisfaction due to lost bass, despite the efforts and techniques employed.

    • Youngster (11-year-old Will) lost a bass on the surface, highlighting the challenges of topwater fishing.

    • Nick had a "reel screamer" come off, indicating a strong initial hookup that failed.

    • Dave lost a decent one at the net after catching his first bass, emphasizing the importance of secure landings.

Bass on the brain!

  • Pondering the effectiveness of smaller lures compared to larger ones, considering various factors like retrieve speed and water clarity.

  • Considering how to improve hookups and landings, especially as autumn approaches and bass behavior changes.

  • Confidence in lure fishing is critical, and placing the odds in one's favor is essential by understanding lure characteristics and bass behavior.

Small but perfectly formed

  • Success with a small (95mm), shallow diving minnow lure called a Maria Squash F95 10g, proving effective in specific conditions.

  • Consistent bass catcher was the 90mm Illex Nitro Sprat Shad during autumn and winter, showcasing seasonal lure preferences.

  • Best session last year involved catching nine bass, with two around the 5lb mark, mostly on the 100mm Xorus Patchinko 100, indicating productive lure choices.

  • Questioning if the 'standard' 120mm lure should be the most common size in lure boxes, challenging conventional lure selection.

Advantages

  • Bass are ferocious predators with cavernous mouths, yet smaller lures can offer unique advantages in certain scenarios.

  • Theories on advantages of 80 – 105mm lures over 120 – 150mm patterns:

    • Stun or Slam it!:

      • Bass use gill plates to stun prey, but might directly engulf a smaller, solitary lure, suggesting a different feeding strategy.

    • Wind Resistance:

      • Smaller profile equals less wind resistance, aiding casting distance, especially in challenging conditions.

      • Examples: Savage Gear Manic Prey 90 and Maria FLA PEN 85mm perform well in headwinds, showcasing specific lure performance.

    • Shallower Diving:

      • Smaller minnows dive shallower, offering versatility in various situations such as fishing over shallow structures.

    • Cost:

      • Smaller lures are often less expensive than larger counterparts, making them an economical choice.

      • Example: Daiwa Shoreline Shiner Z97F vs. Z120F.

      • Example: IMA Hound Sonic Shallow 100F vs. Hound Glide 125F.

      • Distance differences between sizes are often negligible, suggesting a trade-off between size and casting distance.

Disadvantages

  • Inhalation:

    • Smaller lures may lead to deeply hooked bass, reducing survival chances, raising ethical concerns.

  • Schoolies:

    • The size of fish may not always correlate with the size of the lure, requiring anglers to adapt their approach.

    • Time and catches needed to determine patterns, highlighting the need for observation and experimentation.

  • Dirty/Rough Seas:

    • Larger targets may be better in murky water, improving visibility for bass.

    • Larger lures tend to be more stable in rough seas, maintaining consistent action.

    • Keeping lures in the "zone" (gutter) is ideal in crashing waves; smaller lures offer less wind resistance and outcast larger lures, emphasizing lure placement.

Shape

  • Deliberation on whether slim lures are more effective than shorter, rounder patterns, considering hydrodynamic profiles.

  • Clients caught bass on rigid 150mm Jim’s Lures Needlefish, often hooked on the middle treble or escaped vs softer senko often annihilated with no messing at all, contrasting lure hooking efficiency.

I’m also reading and hearing good reports

  • Good reports about the longer, slender Savage Gear Line Thru Sandeel with hooks only at the tail end, indicating effective design.

  • Client lost a 7lb+ specimen on the Line Thru, demonstrating the potential for larger catches.

  • Articulated paddletail lures are generally rounder with the hook set halfway back providing a more consistent hook hold, improving hooking rates.

  • Weedless senkos and shads with hooks buried in grooves are very effective unless small ‘tail nippers’ are about, addressing lure vulnerability.

Conclusions

  • Bass either take lures decisively or follow for further inspection, requiring anglers to understand approach behaviors.

  • Making lures "stick" after a bass has "nailed" it is important, focusing on hookset techniques.

  • If smaller lures increase the odds of landing a bass, it's worth using them more, advocating strategic lure selection.

HARD DIVING MINNOWS – MY APPROACH (PART 1 OF 3)

  • Past reliance (15 years ago) on hard diving minnows (70-90% of sessions), establishing historical context.

  • Change in approach and essential attributes, indicating evolution in lure fishing strategies.

  • Part 1: Why the change and essential characteristics, setting the scope for discussion.

  • Part 2: Continuing the theme, indicating a sequential exploration.

  • Part 3: Confidence and recent utilization, linking theory to practical application.

Followers

  • Teenage experiences of bass following lures to the rod tip but refusing them, highlighting behavioral patterns.

  • Mostly immature bass in calm, clear conditions, suggesting environmental factors influencing behavior.

  • Bass saw the lure, interrogated it and then decided it wasn't what they thought it might be (a sandeel, mullet, blennie, rockling, pollack, etc.), detailing potential reasons for refusal.

  • Anglers might only witness a "follower" around one in the twenty or thirty times that it actually occurs, emphasizing observation challenges.

Behaviour

  • Bass eyesight is exceptional, influencing lure selection and presentation.

  • Less time a bass has to decide, the more positive they will be, advocating quick decision-making.

  • Young anglers catch their first bass in rough, cloudy seas with shimmering metal lures because the bass only has a split second to make up its mind, illustrating environmental impacts.

Attributes

  • List of characteristics and attributes associated with hard diving minnows:

    • Colour

    • Swim Depth

    • Movement

    • Size and shape

    • Casting capabilities

Colour

  • Colour is subjective; darker colours provide a greater silhouette, especially in deeper water, providing rationale behind color choices.

  • Lures with a flash or shimmer via a silvery configuration on their flanks form the backbone of lure collection, with variants of the same lure but encompassing a red or orange belly also prevalent, suggesting versatile options.

  • Attempt to replicate nature (shape, color, size, movement) to the best of ability, emphasizing mimicry.

HARD DIVING MINNOWS – MY APPROACH (PART 2 OF 3)

  • Part 2 discussion of hard diving minnow attributes:

    • Swim depth

    • Movement

    • Size and Shape

    • Casting capability

Swim Depth

  • Determined by vane/lip size, shape, angle, detailing factors influencing swim depth.

  • Small, vertically positioned lips dive to around 30-40cm, describing shallow diving lures.

  • Larger, more pronounced lips dive deeper, enabling deeper water fishing.

  • Deeper diving lures are for deeper water where long casts aren't needed, clarifying application scenarios.

  • Long casting shallow divers enable searching vast areas of shallow, snag-ridden territory, expanding operational range.

Movement

  • Difficult to determine lure action without seeing it live, emphasizing practical observation.

  • Some swim efficiently under quick, jerky retrieves, others under slower retrieves, necessitating varied techniques.

  • All lures possess a wobble or wriggle, but some have tighter action; thicker lures have wide 'snaking' action, describing action variations.

Size and Shape

  • Belief in using lures that look as close to the real thing as possible, emphasizing realism.

  • Clear sea means bass get a good look at the lure, heightening the need for accuracy.

  • Details like this could be the difference between a bass interrogating the lure and positively nailing it!, underscoring importance of detail.

Casting Capability

  • Slanting faces or small vanes aid casting, improving aerodynamics.

  • Most competent lures have efficient weight-transfer systems (ball-bearings), enhancing casting performance.

Great example

  • There will always be an optimum weight-to-size ratio when it comes to a lure’s design, balancing design factors.

  • As the 128 is what I would describe as a ‘fussy’ caster, whereas the 105 is a consistently great casting lure, providing a comparative assessment.

HARD DIVING MINNOWS – MY APPROACH (PART 3 OF 3)

  • Part 3 focuses on when to confidently use hard diving lures and how to utilize them recently, linking confidence to utilization.

  • A lure being retrieved horizontally through the water, at both a steady speed and trajectory gives these wily predators all the time they need to ‘check out’ the potential meal, illustrating predatory behavior.

Clarity

  • The further south or west you fish in the UK the higher the percentage of the time that the sea will be clear, indicating regional variations.

  • Impact on bass behavior and feeding habits, influencing fishing strategies.

  • In clear water bass ‘making hay’ as it were when sea clear for short period, adapting to changing conditions.

  • When the clear for 70%+ of time, the complete opposite can be said, challenging assumptions.

  • Using hard diving minnow when 10cm - 2m - confirmed via foil around rod tip and dipped in, establishing a measurement technique.

Light Levels

  • Low light levels and Complete darkness adds weights to decisive point of bass.

  • Night = decisive about nailing lures under the cover of night, especially in tranquil and shallows.

  • Subtle lure = senko or needlefish are more suitable overall as it doesn’t always translate well.

  • Depth is consideration due to clarity and how much light penetrates.

Sea State

  • Conjunction with clarity = open coast marks in relation to fundamental components.

  • If hunting for bass in daylight then confused, aerated, fizzed water = creeping night marks will prefer the complete opposite.

Although the sky is very bright

  • Turbulant and confused areas = breaking waves, turning or eddies = swirls or funnelled is where bass hang out around the edges.

  • Perfect place to position a lure.

Retrieve style

  • Universal style almost is a steady retrieve when the water is cloud or chaotic.

  • Clearer, calmer, and shallows = twitch retrieve to grab it in the moment as the small fish runs

SEA SPIN PRO Q 120

  • Surface bass lures are best at the end of the season for various reasons.

  • Bass metabolism is fast due to the warmer weather.

  • Bass are actively eating due to bait fish.

All lure of behaviour

  • Bass become naturally tuned into hitting items off the top.

  • Personal favourite to keep hidden away for such opportunities = Sea Spin Pro Q 120.

  • Robust and rather stocky surface ‘sliders’ where actually introduced to me by a client (Trevor) in early August 18= warmer months.

    • Well portioned = great value for money.

    • Attachment rings with nose up.

So what’s wrong for its attributes

  • They are cheap = 12.95 vs similar sized.

  • Thickset body assists the lure’s action.

  • Casting prowess with a caveat.

Options

  • How when I prefer to use = More turbulent due slow scattered retrieve/tapping or gently zigzag.

  • Smaller version 90 = ideal in quietly shallow back/muddy lagoon and creeks.

In addition to the various options

  • I really like the selection of colours produced.

  • Trevor increased his rate through pause to his retrieve.

  • Breaking out the surface lures for sure.

MY APPROACH TO USING NEEDLEFISH (PART 1 OF 2)

  • Needlefish has revolutionised the way to target bass.

  • Most have no intrinsic action when retrieved.

  • I believe it is a key to their success.

  • Intrigued after reading reports from Channel. First strategy tactics.

I was intrigued

  • Employ to cast up- tide, swings maintaining contact with the lure with contact for velocity presentations.

  • Few months though after catching bass with level sinking courtesy of James Lanfear.

A previous example

  • Mimicking a fish taking advantage of current tour/shape and movement (lack of) remindcutte fish/ squid.

  • Ghosting gliding effect is what delicacy does. Not exciting with their eyes but irresistible.

Attributes

  • Prevalent current also with trem loads being caught.

  • Some lure anglers have cast for long slow higher into the sky.

  • Next if the lure sinks in seconds/ horizontal fashion- when a percentage hit.

  • Then if positioned in level or water. Approach instead

Of course, the retrieve rate can be varied

  • Confirmed wants the lure to remain very close to the surface.

  • Trajectory terms with be. Important effective.

  • White silver black models have products in darkness.

Advantages

  • Admittedly not chief and say is senko/similiair look achieve water still.

Sec - stability = if hard/ senk don't make cut

  • Distance. Can't reach same speed feature senko cannot at any longer.

  • Third - stability - a needlefish better at achieving and maintaining steady depth - senko to easy all import.

MY APPROACH TO USING NEEDLEFISH (PART 2 OF 2)

  • In Part 1 of this series I talked about the many attributes of the needlefish that I have been using, in addition to how to cast and retrieve them to mimic prey items such as small fish in a comatose state or indeed, squid and cuttlefish.

  • In Part 2, I will describe the type of ground (the seabed essentially) that I will look to routinely look to cover and fish over whilst conducting my guided and personal fishing sessions.

What’s a reef?

  • Definition: a ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or below the surface of the sea.

  • Reef: area of rock with or without weed attached to it.

  • Considering reef to fish - Reefs - rock -weed attatch (dark).

What ever a way session features

  • Found, submerged either tide (ebbs etc.) don't ever too concerned.

  • Find area of reef utilize devastation effect.

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HIGHWAYS

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HOW I UTILISE AN OSP DOLIVE STICK WAKASAGI (PART 1 OF 2)

  • Little introduction for OSD’s versatile with cap has prompted them as a versatile two Part series.

  • If you haven't heard –just what are they –just what are they –4.5&

Considering weight

  • They cast due with of soft A great addition extensive the top a rig or snag even above present lure to bass great with contact. Just get to water line.

  • Drift = that water of contact to line that line only in contact or has

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