Difference between revisions of "Fishing lure" - New World Encyclopedia

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In some countries (e.g. New Zealand, Australia) daisy chains can sometimes refer to a rig which is used to catch baitfish in a similar arrangement to a 'flasher rig' or a 'sabiki rig'; a series of hooks with a small piece of colourful material/feather/plastic attached to each hook.
 
In some countries (e.g. New Zealand, Australia) daisy chains can sometimes refer to a rig which is used to catch baitfish in a similar arrangement to a 'flasher rig' or a 'sabiki rig'; a series of hooks with a small piece of colourful material/feather/plastic attached to each hook.
  
== See also ==
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==See also==
* [[Worm charming]]
+
*[[Fishing]]
 +
*[[Fishing boat]]
 +
*[[Fishing line]]
 +
*[[Fishing lure]]
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*[[Fishing reel]]
 +
*[[Fishing rod]]
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*[[Fly fishing]]
  
 
== Reference ==
 
== Reference ==

Revision as of 20:29, 9 July 2008

fishing
P5300030.jpg
lures
plug
little cleo
mormyshka
spinnerbait
spin fishing
sabiki
jig
spoon
spoonplug
surface lure
topwater lure
zara spook
heddon

plastic lures
artificial flies
tackle
recreational

In terms of recreational fishing, a lure is an object attached to the end of the fishing line and designed to resemble and move like an item of fish prey. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibrations, and color to catch the fish's attention to make them bite the hook. Lures are equipped with one or more single, double, or treble hooks that are used to hook fish when they attack the lure.

Lures are usually used with a fishing rod and fishing reel outfit. When a lure is used for casting, it is continually cast out and retrieved, the retrieve making the lure swim.

History

The fishing lure has been around since the antiquity. They were first made out of bone and bronze. The Chinese and Egyptian used fishing rods, hooks, and lines as early as 2,000 B.C.E. The first hooks were made out bronze which was strong but still very thin and less visible to the fish. The Chinese were the first to make fishing line, spun from fine silk. The modern fishing lure was made commercially in the United States in the early 1900's by the firm of Heddon and Pflueger in Michigan. Before this time most fishing lures were made by individual craftsman. Commercial-made lures were based on the same ideas that the individual craftsmen were making but on a larger scale.[1]

Methods

The fishing lure is tied with a knot onto the fishing line which is connected to the reel. The reel is attached to a rod. The motion is of the lure is made by winding line back on to the reel, by sweeping the fishing rod, jigging movements with the fishing rod, or by being pulled behind a moving boat ("trolling"). An exception are artificial flies, commonly called flies by fly fishers, which either float on the water surface, slowly sink or float underwater, and represent some form of fish prey.

Types

There are many types of fishing lures. They are all moved to different ways to resemble prey for the fish. The different lures are made to look like dying fish and fast moving fish. They include the following types:

jig

A jig

A jig is consisted of a metal sinker with a hook molded into it and usually covered by a soft body to attract fish. Jigs are intended to create a jerky, vertical motion, as opposed to spinnerbaits which move through the water horizontally. The jig is very versatile and can be used in both salt water as well as fresh water. Many species are attracted to the lure which has made it popular amongst anglers for years.

Surface lure

A surface lure is a fishing lure designed to waddle, pop, lock, drop, pulse, twitch or fizz across the surface of the water as it is retrieved, and in doing so imitate surface prey for fish such as mice, lizards, frogs, cicadas, moths and small injured fish.

A typical surface lure has a solid body made out of wood or plastic, carries one or two treble hooks, and has an eyelet at the front of the lure body to attach the fishing line.

  • Waddlers get their action from a scooped metal dish attached to the front of the lure body.
  • Poppers get their action from a cupped face carved or molded into the front of the lure body.
  • Fizzers get their action both from the fisherman manipulating the lure with the fishing rod and from one or more blades attached to the lure body, that spin when the lure is pulled and create a fizzing noise said to imitate the buzzing wings of a drowning insect.

Sizeable fish can create a sudden, noisy and spectacular explosion when they take a surface lure, usually giving the fisherman a fright in the process. Catching fish on surface lures is therefore considered a fairly exciting form of fishing.

Spoon lures

spoon lure

A spoon lure is, in terms of sport fishing an oblong, concave metal piece resembling a spoon. The spoon lure is mainly used to attract fish by reflecting light and moving randomly.

The spoon lure was invented by Julio T. Buel in about 1848. The design of the spoon lure is simple; an oblong, concave metal piece with a shiny chrome or paint finish, and a single or treble hook on the end.

While the basic principle of design has stayed the same over the years, application and use has changed some. In its beginning, the spoon was simply used to cast and retrieve. However, since trolling motors have become so popular on fishing boats, a new version of the classic was invented.

This particular breed of lure was nothing more than a duplicate of the traditional casting spoon, but made with thinner material. While using the trolling motor on the boat, the fisherman could cover a wider body of water, increasing their chances for a successful day. Using split shots, or other forms of weights, the fisherman could easily zero in his fishing lures' depth, depending on the speed involved.

Now armed with the ability to cover more area, the average fishermen could take their new spoon lures to any body of water, without full knowledge of the underwater geographical layout; which is key to catching some species of fish. The regular casting spoon (heavier version) is primarily used by fishermen that already know the water and what lies beneath. The fishermen will anchor the boat 10 to 20 feet behind the area where they believe the fish are at. Then the spoon is cast PAST this point, and retrieved through the given strike zone.

To take it a step further, fishermen believe that by using different color variations can help catch fish. Since then, multiple color options have been added to the classic spoon lure, and different materials have been used to affect the color applied. When the spoon is silver plated, gold plated, or dyed; it gives the spoons' finish a much more vibrant or 'brilliant' look.

Plugs

A variety of plug lures.

Plugs are a popular type of hard-bodied fishing lure. They are widely known by a number of other names depending on the country and region. Such names include crankbait, wobbler, minnow, shallow-diver and deep-diver. The term minnow is usually used for long, slender, lures that imitate baitfish, while the term plug is usually used for shorter, deeper-bodied lures which imitate deeper-bodied fish, frogs and other prey. Shallow-diver and deep-diver refer to the diving capabilities of the lure, which depends on the size of the lip and lure buoyancy.

Artificial flies

Classic 19th Century Artificial fly-The Triumph
In-line spinner lure with ring, dish, body/weight and hook

In general, artificial flies are the bait which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing. Artificial flies may be constructed to represent all manner of potential freshwater and saltwater fish prey to include aquatic and terrestrial insects, crustaceans, worms, baitfish, vegetation, flesh, spawn, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds, etc. Artificial flies were originally constructed from various furs, feathers, threads and hooks. Today there are literally dozens of different types of natural and synthetic materials used to construct artificial flies[2]. In the early years of fly fishing through the mid-20th Century, effective artificial fly patterns were said to be killing flies because of their ability to put fish in the creel for the fly fisher. By the mid-19th Century, there were thousands of artificial fly patterns. Today, the number of distinct patterns is probably incalculable.

Bass worms

Bass worms are made out of plastic or rubber and are made to resemble worms and lizards in the water.

Spinnerbait

These fishing lures can be made out of wood, plastic, rubber, metal and cork. They can have many moving parts and also no moving parts. They can be retrieved fast or slow. Some of the lures can be used by themselves or with another lure.

Daisy chain

A daisy chain is a "chain" of plastic lures, however they do not have hooks - their main purpose is to merely attract a school of fish closer to the lures with hooks.

Typically, the main line of the daisy chain is clear monofilament line with crimped on droppers that connect the lure to the main line. The last lure can be rigged with a hook or unrigged. The unrigged versions are used as teasers while the hooked versions are connected to a rod and reel. The lures used on a daisy chain are made from cedar plugs, plastic squids, jets, and other soft and/or hard plastic lures.

In some countries (e.g. New Zealand, Australia) daisy chains can sometimes refer to a rig which is used to catch baitfish in a similar arrangement to a 'flasher rig' or a 'sabiki rig'; a series of hooks with a small piece of colourful material/feather/plastic attached to each hook.

See also

Reference

  1. History of the fishing lure. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  2. Wakeford, Jacqueline (1992). Fly Tying Tools and Materials. New York: Lyons & Burford Publishers, Preface. ISBN 1558211837. 

External links


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