The Purpose-Driven Lure

I believe in the lure I throw. And fully expect every cast to be a fish. Needless to say, I’m used to disappointment. But hope almost always returns for another cast.

How many times have you put friends on fish?

“Stand here. Cast there. Reel at this speed. I’ll be ready with the camera.”

Cast– nothing. Cast– nothing. Cast– nothing.

“Give me that!”

Cast– fish.

One angler is a believer.

Fishermen who experience a slow day on the lake tap into their experiences and start working through their tackle collection trying to find the right color, shape, speed, etc. that might turn on the fish. Covering all the bases, many systematically eliminate lures, at least in their belief system. However, each lure may only get a few casts to prove itself. As confidence continues to dwindle, a few random casts with a new lure may not be enough.

On the other end of the scale is the fisherman who believes only in, say, lizards. Just keeps plunking a 7-inch purple plastic lizard all day. Does he know something the other doesn’t? Or, is he just stubborn ? Does he only want to catch a fish if it hits a lizard? Maybe his fishing world only makes sense within the parameters of a molded, googly-eyed lizard.

Can you believe in everything in your tackle box? I’d like to be that positive, but I’m not so sure. There is a reason that crankbait has gotten stuck to the twister tail in the back of that bottom tray. There simply are places in your tackle box lures go to be forgotten. Like vegetables in a crisper.

Throw what you believe in. And believe in what you throw. With confidence comes a heightened awareness, readiness and thus a greater efficiency in the hook set. The subtle, perhaps imperceptible differences of the confident angler (cast angle, drop time, rhythm of lure twitch, etc.) result in more successful fishing trips.

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Andy Whitcomb

Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.