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walleye express
01-14-2005, 01:09 PM
Hope nobody minds, but I barrowed this topic from another board. Below is the posters querry and my answer to it. What's your views on the subject?


I read an interesting article on another site (wmi.org/bassfish article 163). In it, David Fritts, a bassfishing crankbait expert, contends that not all crankbaits are made alike. There are special crankbaits, generally 5 or so out of 100 that possess special characteristics (unique actions that catch more fish, such as the ability to dive deeper or more steeply, run straighter and truer, special "hunting" action, or some other distinct movement or sound). He jokingly says that they were made at 11:30 A.M. on a Wednesday, when workers are at their peak efficiency. He also says that when he finds one of these baits, he puts it in a special place, and he claims he would not take $1000 for any one of them.
It would be interesting to have frequent crankbait users weigh in on this-Do you agree, or is this Fishing Voodoo?


My answer: Like everybody else who has or will post an answer to this question, I also have a few cranks I call (Old Scar Face) because they continue to outfish their identical twins in the same litter. But my feelings (of why this is so) on this particular subject matter, differs from Mr. Fritts.

It's my feelings, that the lure in question is actually faulty in the most slightest way, and not better made. Let's face it, all lures made are meant to be life like and imitate a healthy/swimming forage baitfish. But predators are conditioned and instinctively programmned to pick out the weak or disfigured as an easy meal. These individuals are (extra) appealing to even neutral or negative feeding mood predators. And even though we ourselves don't perceive it, I say that extra hot lure sends off or imitates a flaw that only predators perceive as an easy meal.

Think about (old scar face) for a moment. Seems the more beat up and the more paint he looses, the more fish he catches. His flaws become bigger, yet his successes better.

Thus, somewhere in that lures construction, even though not plainly visible to us, or major enough to throw off it's true running dynamics and render it useless. That telltale look, vibration or sound equates to an easier meal to the preditors, because they are an easier meal.

Most people put fishing strategies, techniques and thought processes on the same plane as we thinking, rationalizing human beings. Everything a fish does is purely done by instinct and envoronmental conditioning. It's easy to think inside the box. Start thinking outside of it for more likely answers, especially when fishing.




STEINFISHSKI
01-14-2005, 01:20 PM
The most beat up lures in my box catch the most fish.:lol:

Sometimes i can run 3 of the same lures and only 1 will catch fish. I do have a couple gems I would hate to lose. All others can be replaced.

ESOX
01-14-2005, 01:24 PM
I call that seductive action that separates the irresistable lures from the rest "It". All lures are certainly not created equal, some have it, most don't. This is particularly true with wood lures, where the differences in wood density can make two seemingly identical lures fish totally differently. Even molded plastic lures with much more consistency have one per every couple dozen or so that seem to stand out. Tweaking the eye, changing the hook size, perhaps a bit of lead tape, a lip shave here, a belly shave there and most lures can get "it", but that can get expensive when experimenting with different tweaks. I always lament the loss of a lure that had it. A few stand out in my mind more than others, but they all did make me sure that the action means more than the color when it comes to catching fish. Hard to think the color was key when the lure started out as a clown or frog, but was still nailing fish full of repaired holes and paintless.

Gone Fishing
01-14-2005, 02:02 PM
The above statements are “oh so true!” Sure color makes a difference but it doesn’t seem to compare to that bait that ESOX stated has “it”. Out of the 300 or so Muskie baits in my boxes, there are a couple that consistently catch big fish. I sure wish I knew what made them so special. I’ve tried tuning baits by screwing eyelets in and out, bending them up and down and side to side, shaving one side of the lip and a few other tricks to try to get that action they just can’t resist. With marginal results I might add. I’ve tried to study the running of the Muskie baits that have “it” and although I’m probably wrong it seems those baits tend to lose the equal water pressure over the area of the lip causing them to dart erratically and triggering a strike. When I try to tune a bait to do this, my results are never as good as using the bait that has “it”.
Interesting thread! :)

ESOX
01-14-2005, 02:11 PM
Yep, you have some lures that certainly have "it". Something like a bait that almost wants to roll out before digging back down, almost rolling out the other way, repeat, all the while wiggling like crazy.. I think you called it a "searching pattern" one day.

THE ROOKIE
01-14-2005, 03:36 PM
You guys may have explained a question I have raised myself now and then. It seems the more I drink the more my catch increases !!! May be due to the irratic action of the angler ??????? :lol: :lol: :lol:

chamookman
01-14-2005, 07:47 PM
Dan - I agree on the "faulty" assesment. Like a school of baitfish, it's the one that looks or acts a little differant that rings the dinner bell for hungery gamefish. Bob.