Lures that look like fish

[Newt]

Rob - that looks a lot like a Castaic swim bait. They were the originals and have accounted for some monster fish. Pricy but effective.

 

The move that angler made to cause it to pivot 180º and look the other direction is an expert's tactic.

 

Peter - I do remember that outing and that lost lure. This one should be even more effective since it has a much larger profile than the other similar lures I've seen and the shape is similar to the photos I see on here of some UK fish.

[Guest tigger]

Newt I reckon they all look as good as one another. By the way if your sending them to me won't you need my address ?

[Newt]

Tigger - sorry but it ain't you.

 

However, if it were and you could only have one, which one would be your preference?

[Ken L]

I've been using the Fox replicants in the 6" size lately. Nice lures that catch fish but the only way to get them run properly without keeling over is to tear off the four fins that stick out from the body.

Oh and don't believe the stated running depth of less than 6 feet. These things run between 5 and 12 feet, depending on the speed of the retrieve.

[Newt]

I'd never seen those before Ken. Great looking soft baits.

[Ken L]

They are but I suspect they'd be cheaper if they were just designed to catch fish instead of catching anglers.

I bought them because they were supposed to be shallow running and I thought they might be an alternative to the suspending Storm lures, but they're not even close.

The Storm lures are incredible fish catchers but have rubbish build quality. They're OK for pike which don't really fight that hard but even after upgrading the rubbish hooks and splitrings, I've had the belly hook ripped out of them 4 or 5 times and the main jig hook is so weak that we've taken to cutting it off.

A guy I know hooked a BIG barra on one of these on Wednesday night only to loose it because that top hook straightened out on him.

Given that these things are sold as saltwater lures, Storm should be ashamed of themselves - Unfortunatly, I've yet to find a viable alternative so I keep on having to buy them.

Edited February 29, 2008 by Ken L

[Dick Dastardly]

Ken Ive never known any of the Fox jerk baits to run properly! Some wont even with a lot of playing around/modifying.

[Peter Waller]

I find that the soft fish type lures with just a belly hook get a lot of negative hits, cured by an add on flying treble.

[Grandma]

None of those look enough like fish for the relatively minor variations in their colours to make much difference. They bear a passing resemblance out of the water, but their movement gives the game away completely, because real fish don't need to reach a certain speed before their tails move, they don't swim in a dead straight line and they don't sink like a stone when they stop.

 

They still catch pike on their day, but that's because they suit being fished at a certain depth and speed. Most lures fit this description and the presence or otherwise of stripes, spots or orange bellies won't make any difference most of the time.

[Neil G]

Agree....I think lure pattern has little to do with it's success rate, depth more important