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Consider this: fish don't bite lures because they resemble anything, but because they don't. Here are a few ideas that support this.
First, fish are sense sensitive, meaning that they have enhanced underwater vision and lateral line hypersensitivity. Not much enters a fishes locale without it knowing how big the object, the direction of travel, shape and motion. Fish depend on it's senses to track & attack when an object - your lure - moves just right and at a certain speed. Does a fish think about the object in any way, especially moving slow or paused? I wish I could say beyond a shadow of a doubt it were so. But seeing as how most lures have some features that are totally unrealistic (brush guard, plastic lip, hooks hanging down attached by split rings, jig trailers that resemble nothing, skirts on jigs, etc.), to suggest fish ignore those items and still believe the lure is one animal or another, attributes an imagination to fish they don't possess.
Fish understand lure motion - either inherent or imparted, meaning they sense a lures action and responds to that action if it's the right action that fits the lure. Not all soft sticks that resemble the Senko have the same action, mostly because of too much plastic hardness and maybe not enough salt. Fish will not bite it. Many cheap crankbaits aren't balanced and are usually ignored. When it comes to well made lures, fish may simply not be in the mode (not mood) to respond to the lure design and motion, whereas others seem to work very well.
Fish notice the little things. The are visually sensitive to tiny flashes of light such as that produced by metal flakes in soft or hard plastic lures. Coupled with the right lure motion, it could irritate a fish to attack. Subtle lure motions fall into the same category where sometimes less is best. Of course there are times when big flashy baits work, but not always.
First, fish are sense sensitive, meaning that they have enhanced underwater vision and lateral line hypersensitivity. Not much enters a fishes locale without it knowing how big the object, the direction of travel, shape and motion. Fish depend on it's senses to track & attack when an object - your lure - moves just right and at a certain speed. Does a fish think about the object in any way, especially moving slow or paused? I wish I could say beyond a shadow of a doubt it were so. But seeing as how most lures have some features that are totally unrealistic (brush guard, plastic lip, hooks hanging down attached by split rings, jig trailers that resemble nothing, skirts on jigs, etc.), to suggest fish ignore those items and still believe the lure is one animal or another, attributes an imagination to fish they don't possess.
Fish understand lure motion - either inherent or imparted, meaning they sense a lures action and responds to that action if it's the right action that fits the lure. Not all soft sticks that resemble the Senko have the same action, mostly because of too much plastic hardness and maybe not enough salt. Fish will not bite it. Many cheap crankbaits aren't balanced and are usually ignored. When it comes to well made lures, fish may simply not be in the mode (not mood) to respond to the lure design and motion, whereas others seem to work very well.
Fish notice the little things. The are visually sensitive to tiny flashes of light such as that produced by metal flakes in soft or hard plastic lures. Coupled with the right lure motion, it could irritate a fish to attack. Subtle lure motions fall into the same category where sometimes less is best. Of course there are times when big flashy baits work, but not always.
I started fishing, on Greenwood lake, at 11 years old, my father rented a summer home for us each year there, I started with Blue gills, a one mile walk from Cont's bungalows to the old 17 bridge. by Brickners landing and boat livery. I used dough balls and then night crawlers , and learned by fishing every day , about the spawn, where on the weeds they were most likely to hit. One day pulling in a gilly, I saw a flash and now I had a pickerel!.
Then Mr Brickner gave me my first Rapala and soon my first bass was on line and this was the beginning of a beautiful friend ship
I also lived in New Orleans for several years with a lot of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas time and KISS , is what I have found out
I only fish soft plastics, the newest addition is Paddle tails ( 4 to 5) inches. Primarily I throw Worms, ribbon and straight tail, Craw fish, BPS Stik-O's, Zoom Brush Hogs , tubes and said paddle tails. I use Jig heads, Swim bait hooks etc to fish various parts of the water column .
I look for deeper water than the shore, flat grassy areas, rock piles and ledges. I like docks and mats shallow. I like overcast, slightly windy days best as well as being out at midnight. I will everyday and every time I can no matter what the conditions
So with this experience I have found for LM Bass:
I use Pumpkin Green, Brown, Water melon and shades with purple in them, For paddle tails I also use silver and pale blue This has worked in ever place I fish.
Color is most important for me with an environment with crawfish ,as every time I match the craw fish, the day gets a lot better. I have caught bass with crawfish in bodies of water where I didn't see one, but they work.
So there have been many days where one of my 3 primary colors ,Brown , Green and Purple hues, have out fished the others
There have been days where 4 inch paddle tails have out fished 5 inch Paddle tails and matching the colors of what they are spitting out has improved the outing's success
So Frank, I don't get into it like you, my trips result in depth searches followed by at the max 3 bait switches and Im good to go for the day.
Color and matching what they are eating has been a positive difference in a quick look at my logs; for a 3 year span ; 48 trips , so for me its an issue, but not one I ponder, research or fret about as I have a job already
ps I have been fishing River/Delta stripe bass and River steel heads since I got here, different games different rules!
Need to address something else, especially when using unweighted soft plastics FALL RATE! is extremely important for me I can alter the fall rate by changing hooks I change from light wire almost Aberdeen to Bass Pro Shops Magmas or thicker Owens wire hook and a lot of times the fall rate pluse the right color equals success for me Again These are my colors for soft plastics ( all that I use) Green Pumpkin , Watermelon ( red seed), PB & J, Brown and purple hues , and some black and that is it.
Jigs; I have about 2 dozen jig heads 1/2 football. 1/2 Arkie , I use my own skirts ( pumpkin green, PB and J, Purple and brown and black and blue) with Yomama Craws, all in the same colors There is a definite edge using one color over the other on a given day, this is from a lot of log entries and with craw fish , there are clear and definite preferences that result in more bass to the boat on a given trip This does not mean I match the hatch, which I think is basically a waste of time and advertising crapola However there are definite preferences daily that will affect my success
I also throw Slider heads with Zoom Mag Finesse worms on them , any color will work, as long As its pumpkin green!
Finally with sticko's Sometimes the Color of the bottom side of the stick can make a difference
I dont care if the bass are hungry or why they bite I just care that they bite and when I find the location and then the preferred bait I stick with it This is not a job or rocket science and I am no expert , and I fish based on the day and my years of experience with what works for me