Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Sticker Shock!

Went to Bass Pro Shop last week to buy some new lures. Haven't bought bass gear in a while because I've already got about four tackle boxes full, but I wanted to try a few new lures that I had seen and read about in some sporting magazines...

Anyhow, looking around I was completely shocked at the number of lures in the $15-30 range! I've always cringed when I've had to pay $7-8 for a lure, so you can imagine my reaction. Don't get me wrong -- a lot of these lures are beautiful and no doubt will catch fish. But what happens when you get snagged-up on a sunken tree in 10-12' of water? I don't think I could stop myself from going in after it...

On another note, I did buy a couple Strike King Red Eye Shad lures because I had seen it mentioned in a couple magazines and they were only $4.25 each (plus it just looked like a good lure). Fished my pond last Sunday morning, tied on a chrome Red Eye, and proceeded to catch the two largest LMB I've ever caught in my lake -- a 6 pounder and a 5 pounder. So I've now got a new favorite lure!

Great story on that new lure! No pics?

No pics, but therein lies the story...

I took my twelve year-old daughter and three of her friends to spend the night at the farm. We fished for our dinner on Saturday evening and fried up some bass, bluegill and crappie. They stayed up until 1:30am. talking and giggling. Thus, I was able to get up by myself on Sunday morning for three hours of solo fishing while they slept in . Forgot to bring the camera out in the boat, and didn't have anyone to take the pic anyhow ...

We did take a picture of our fish fry, though (the Shiner Bock is mine)...

Great report! Good times!

Shiner Bock???

A nice Texas beer...

I just cannot pay that much for any lure. Or will not. I go to the clearance bin and look for the best plastic worms for under $3 a pack. Ironically many lures in that range are made for human eye appeal, not for catching fish. That is one area where you do not get the desired bang for the buck for the cash upgrade. I can see paying double prices for fluoro over mono, and yet still don't. But are the results of a $30 lure that much better than a 50 cent worm? In some places I would prefer the worm. Let me spend that money on something I can use year after year, like an upgraded rod or reel. I just spent $40 with coupons and discounts for a Fish Eagle II, 5 ft 1 piece ul. I know I won't lose that in some stump or in a fishes mouth with a snapped line. I agree 100%, sticker shock is putting it kindly.

Somebody has a signature line something to the effect "If you didnt want to throw the lure where the fish are, then why did you tie it on." I'm sure that would describe most folks buying a 20-30 dollar lure. I also grab the discounted ones. They are ususlly the more natural colors, instead of the chartruese fading to green, with orange and black phychedelic patterns on them.

Now, not saying chartruese is bad, I love it, but not with all the other stuff painted on.

The only time I drop money in that range on a single lure are on the natural looking swim baits. Ones matching rainbow trout in particular. One I use runs around $30 but matches an 8" hatchery rainbow trout to a tee and absolutely slams the big largemouth and tiger muskies who love to make easy meals of stocker trout. It pains me to pay that much, but I did it once and it worked so well I have bought two more... Otherwise, I can't see dropping that kind of cash. There are custom painted Rapala's on E-Bay going for $50+. That's just nuts! But hey, if you make your living fishing in tournaments and you really think it makes a difference, spend away...

I once spent a few days at on the Mannistee River and Lake Michigan with a friend and cousin. We were trolling the river and the lake for mainly chinooks. The local tackle store would have a daily display of the latest hot color of J-plug the charter boats were allegedly catching fish on. I got a really pained look from the guy behind the counter when I pointed to the lure choices of the day, that btw had some really wacky paint jobs and said, "Those are the ones the store wants to get rid up. Anyone who knows anything about what happens to colors under water knows that once you go so deep all colors look the same."

If it was not true I think the worker would have raised a fit. He did not.

I think at the real deep depths, red, purple and black are the go to colors if I recall correctly... Any hard core deep water troller know for sure?

I used to know this information pretty well as I read some great research on it somewhere. Unfortunately I don't remember where I read it. I also can't remember what colors disappear first but I do believe they all become pretty much gray once you go so deep.

I'll bet an Internet search would reveal the answers.

One fallacy a lot of trollers fall for is they automatically think a certain color is producing, when there are other variables involved, since they rarely have all their lures at the same depth, the same distance from the boat, or they may not be the same size etc. Or it just be that that one lure that seems hot was in the right place at the right time.

From my SCUBA diving days, I remember that red actually fades out to a brownish tone pretty quickly, so beyond a few feet, unless you've got really clear water with plenty of sunlight, red is not going to last long. We did some color experiments during deep water training, but I don't recall offhand what the others were, but all colors tend to lose a bit the deeper you go, other than black and white.

And keep in mind different species of fish have different levels of color perception.

For everybody that's complaining about the price of lures, don't even think about fishing in saltwater for any of the bigger fish.... Price a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and a full roller rod, then spool it with Spectra with a top shot of fluro.

Take a look at the Marlin plugs, or some of the trolling lures (Marauders)that are used for Wahoo.....

I fished with a guy that lost 3 Marauders in a row. The 275# braided wire leader was broke at the lure eye. He'd rig up another one, drop it in the water and 5 minutes later the line would go slack. He changed rods, and never lost another one. Something about that rod and the harmonics that it set up in the lure/leader.

That is correct!

As a Charter Boat Pilot, and my BIL as a Licensed Captain (and very good) We changed colors only for different underwater flash, based on conditions. It was never based on the color that a fish could see but what type of flash would attract them.

The wavelengths of light that WE see as colorful are filtered out as water depth increases, the shorter wavelengths penetrating deepest. But I know of no study that shows which wavelengts of light fish are responding to, which wavelengths they associate with which colors, or if they see in color at all. For all we know, their visible spectrum might include X rays and gamma rays, and they might be seeing colors that we can't even imagine.

Well, in our little pond world, the color fade out situation is not that big of an effect. But in the world of deep trolling with downriggers, colors are basically worthless. Same as bouncing the bottom deep sea fishing. Then it is all about the flash. Deep sea you bounce the bottom, rocks with chrome jigs and hex bars for noise, and the flash of the chrome. All colors are gone at that depth. Fade to black. I used a strobe and glow in the dark paint on teasers going down to 200 feet. All home made stuff. Outfish everyone else on the boat with thier $20 hex bars and diamond jigs. When trolling deep with downriggers color is also irrelevant. It's all about flashers and chrome, even prism tape. A lot of factors involved on how deep colors last, what colors in a rainbow fade first, what the water clarity is, the surface action, what they fade to.

Also been a ton of studies on LMB, some suggest they are color blind, and can barely differentiate one color from another. What they do see supposedly is light to dark, or shades of gray. They spots contrasts very well. I always try to use two tone worms. With a lighter underbelly. This mimicks many natural food patterns. You ask many bass pro guys, they will say it is not even about color, but movement. All those custome colored hand painted lures are made for gullible fisherman. They get hooked more often than the fish.

I get weekly sales papers from BPS and Cabelas. I look at them and ask "are they kidding?".

Almost spring trophy striped bass season or as they call them in the Chesapeake Bay, rockfish. Some of the trolling spoons are $30 and a good high quality umbrella rig will set you back $75. Even if you build the umbrella rig yourself with components, you're still looking at $40 to $50. We troll between 4 and 6 rods. When adding up all the rigs, rods, reels, lines you're looking at a couple thousand dollars worth of fishing gear. It ain't cheap... But I figure, a lot of guys spend that much in beer a year and since I don't drink I can drop it on fishing tackle instead!