Whether you fish for Pike, Zander, Perch, Chubb or Sea Bass, you will be aware of the explosion in fishing with artificial baits. In this article I will try to explain the different types of lures that are available.

Why use an artificial lure?

I use artificial for two reasons, in modern life I often find the opportunity to fish difficult and find myself snatching a few hours here and there after work. I am unable to keep in my freezer more than a few Mackerel and definitely no course dead bates.

Lures give me the freedom to fish anywhere and require no special storage, I can at a moments notice put a few in a container and I am ready for a few hours fishing. The second reason is quite simply I find that on many occasions they out perform a dead bait and give me a much more active and fun sport.

The Spoon

These are the more traditional lures and still some of the most effective. They consist of a blade normally gold or silver that flutters as it is pulled though the water, with the fish seeing flashes as the light hits the blade, like small fish scales.

The Popper

This is normally a hard bodied lure with a concave lip, as it is pulled across the waters top it jumps through the surface layer like an injured prey fish and can be extremely effective for Pike by water lilies and Sea Bass.

The Diver

This lure dives, normally a hard-bodied lure it will dive to a certain depth, this is controlled by the angle of the lip and the length on the box that the lure will dive to. Once cast the speed on the retrieval will make the lure dive or float towards the surface. This method accounts for many big Pike on reservoirs.

The Jellies

These are plastic, worms/shads, fish imitations that are rigged onto a cranked hook or weighted hook that is then retrieved or jigged in the water, movement is the key. Developed mainly by the Bass fishing fraternity in the USA, these are the natural choice for rivers and sea, as Perch, Chubb and Jack Pike seem to be particularly fond. The body gives as the fish bites and they seem to produce very confident takes.

Jerk Baits

These have by far revolutionized the large Pike scene, with names like the Bulldog and Hell tail; they rely entirely on the action of the fisherman to reproduce takes. Heavy lines should also be used a 100 pound braid should be considered the norm, as it is rather sad to see your £15 lure flying off in the horizon unattached to your line.

Tips

Use braid, it gives you so much more contact with your lure and information that you just do not get from a stretchy nylon, and gives you a smaller line profile to.

If fishing for Pike always use a wire trace.

Remember the movement of the lure is controlled by you; use your retrieve and rod tip to make the lure attractive to a predator as possible.