I know we live in the big bait era, and I really want to get in on it more. But unlike those fellows who are building up a career of fishing preeminence, I still get a lot of satisfaction in just getting bit. And along the way, when I get bit enough, sprinkled in are a surprising number of decent, if not quality fish in the mix.
Only I’m really not sure why, since a lot of the baits I rely on are pretty small: 4 inch worms and grubs and, of course, I give them a pretty good dose of plain old Road Runners. Still one of the best buys in hard baits, even with a 2-inch trailer and a #2 willow blade, the whole bait is barely two inches long overall.
In a world of 13-inch worms and 8-inch swimbaits, I realize I’m not going to impress the biggest bass in the lake, but a whole lot of muscular 3 1/2 to 7-pounders keep biting my lure every year. Just last week, when bites were as hard to find as Mickey Mantle rookie cards, the few bites I did get were good ones. In fact, on another day or maybe another season, no telling how much the 24-incher I busted might have weighed.
But just looking at the maw on that South Beach dieter (left), I wonder what was the magic of such a small bait? True, in the weeks immediately following the spawn we see “fry guarders” and in the months that follow that, there are lots of young-of-the-year shad, crappie, bluegill and bass in the water. But why pick out one of those nibs when there are bigger baits to swallow?
I don’t know. Maybe my two-turn, stop-and-go retrieve with the ‘Runner just shows them an easy meal. Or maybe, they weren’t really interested, but they took a nip and got caught. One thing that has really helped me is I have switched to the 8-pound “green” (heck, it’s fluorescent chartreuse, Berkley boys) Fireline and when there is a hesitation, pause or twitch in the line, I am on them. And my 8-foot rod doesn’t hurt either.
But maybe we don’t always have to know why it works. We just have to keep doing what works.
2 Responses to “I can never quite figure out lure size…”
No doubt there are legitimate innovations in tackle and techniques. But there are also and always will be bait fashion cycles which are a human thing – not a fish thing. Fish the fish. Thank you – good night.
One of my most memorable catches was standing way out on a jetty in Sandusky Bay (Lake Erie)in the middle of winter while working there for two weeks. After 4 hours of trying everything in my tacklebox for my first fabled Erie Smallmouth, I could no longer feel my thumbs. I tied/fumbled on a 1 inch red and chartreuse tailed Rattlesnake crappie tubejig in an effort to catch SOMETHING… About four casts later, I hooked a 4 1/2 largemouth and my shouts echoed throughout the deserted bay! I took a picture and let her go after the obligatory kiss. I’m a 20 lb fluorocarbon and 3/8 oz jig-n-pig man, but when the going gets tough, the tough downsize!! (and keep making those 100+ “last casts”….)