[Senkosam]

As many know on NYBASS, I've caught bass on every kind of lure you can think of from Hopkin Spoons, to Zara Spooks, to skirted jigs & trailers, to hand crafted spinnerbaits to crankbaits of every size and aciton to the smallest of lures - hand tied flies included. But over the years I don't fish for the lunker bass or pickerel like I used to and fish for numbers to include bigger fish. Small light lures used on light line (braid) is a finesse approach that is very versatile when it comes to when and where to use it.

Some think it very difficult to keep a fish hooked on small hooks, but wiht over 1,000 fish caught and I can tell you it has everything to do with the usual: the right drag, the right rod action, a good knot and line that is not frayed.

What do lures of any kind resemble as regards prey that some insist a must when choosing lures? I couldn't tell you nor do I nor the fish care what they resemble. Most important for any good lure to consistently catch fish is:
right action
right shape
right size
color*
right presentation (retrieve speed and type of retrieve)
and I bunch of other misc. lure related factors
*(color is in the eye of the beholder and its importance relates to lure design and action)

Finesse action lures can be as long a 5 1/2" or as short as 1 1/2". Most do well with ball head jigs ranging in weight from 1/32 oz - 1/8 oz. Jig hook size should be long enough to come out from the 1/4 front of the lure. Too long and lure action is affected. I've caught 7 lb catfish and 3.5 lb bass on light jigs and never has a fish opened the hook or got away.

The above lure characteristics are always considered when soft plastics are chosen, made and modified. By modified, I mean using a candle to melt together the parts from (usually) two different lures. A long time ago, I like most anglers today, bought all of my lures. Then I started making my own: tying skirts on spinnerbaits and jigs, adding different size blades to spinnerbaits, making soft plastics from molds, etc.

But once I made my first - what I call a hybrid lure - did I apprecaite the significance of lure action-by-design! Believe me when I say that the number of lure shapes and actions that can catch all sizes and species of fish is totally amazing!!! In fact, anyone can copy the examples I show and be sure they will catch fish first time out. Note: It pays to see what the lure's action is in the water, especially after fish are caught. Lure action is at the top of the least when it comes to being one of the best.

Here are some examples - some given cute names for my photo log folders of specific shapes and therefore action:
light bulb - part a grub melted on to another grub

Its action is a erratic waddle when the rop tip is twitched. The chartreuse color in this example enhances lure shape and action.

Whiskers - the tail of two lure attached to a body (grub or small worm)

Action: You can imaging the tips quivering like a wacky rigged Senko with the least action applied!
Like most finesse-action lures, subtle actions tickle-the-fish's senses provoking it to strike.

The ribbing of the body and the flutter of the thin tail I believe accounts for its success.
A curt tail was added:

 

[Senkosam]

What all the above comes down to when it comes to manmade objects that catch fish, those that do, have actions unique to each that fish senses detect in the water media they live in.
Spinnerbait skirts flutter brought on by a flashing vibrating blade
A bass jig has a skirt that breathes once it hits bottom and then hopped off it. Various trailers have unique actions such as Uncle Josh's Pork Frog with its flapping delta-shaped tails.
Crankbaits wobble - some more, some less. Rattles inside add to the clicking of hooks and split rings.

None of the above is perceived by fish as anything except as an annoying tresspasser that is showing off. The senses detect and the brain, like a simple computer program, reacts without thought nor reason. Fish have two types of aggression: one to detect and feed; the other to dominate and stop a moving irritant.
Here are a few more hybrids:
Remember the Bettle Spin? It doesn't take much of an imagination to know the attractive elements of it. It, like many good lures, has caught fish for over 30 years regardless lake or river.

The only thing in common with a spinnerbait is a blade that pulsates and flashes as it turns and one of many attached lures, each with with its own profile and action.

The fin of one lure was attached to a grub body:

Any resemblance to a fish is coincidental, nothing more. It tail is horizontail and flutters with the least rod tip action.

 

[Senkosam]

Another horizontal flapper is the old Uncle Josh Pork Frog trailer which looks nor moves anything like a frog when used as a skirted jig trailer. The real thing attached to a bass jig (I tied the one shown).

Here is a plaster mold I use to copy the original in three sizes.

But why only use it as a bass jig trailer? Why not by itself, attach it to a light ball head jig?

Here's a takeoff of the design using the claw of a lure attached to the body of one of the above or another body shape:

It does just as well.



Fish, no matter the size or specie, attacked this chunky profile with its flpping tails. Interesting history of the pork frog:

Founded in 1922 by Urban Schreiner and Allen P. Jones, two anglers who had created an artificial lure to imitate the live frogs they used to catch largemouth bass on Wisconsin’s Jordan Lake, Uncle Josh became one of the most venerable names in the tackle industry. Its pork rind jig trailers, packed in brine-filled jars, brought the term “jig-and-pig” into the angler’s lexicon.

Note:
1. Lures aren't artificial. They are real things that have names, unlike an artificial leg which imitates the real thing.
2. Those two who made millions selling lures made from pork skins, knew very well the lures did not imitate anything in nature but advertised it as such, creating a myth that lasted until 2002 when it was taken over:

Company owner Kurt Kellogg purchased Uncle Josh in 2002 and has directed its diversification into soft plastics, terminal tackle, ice fishing tackle, and wire baits.

 

[Senkosam]

More hybrids.
Remember the Joker grub? Why not attach the tails to a French Fry stick segment?

A Unique shape and action that catches everything.

 

[Senkosam]

Here are a few more using claws:

 

[Senkosam]

Talking about lure design innovation, of course you remember the Senko. Well Gary Y became rich with his wacky-rig stick design. But why only a heavy plastic stick over 4.5"?
Enter the mini-stick:

(note the clear plastic used)
...and not just wacky-rigged but using two grub bodies fused together:

As you can see from the above examples, color is in the eye of the beholder - fish or human. I can only guess what color(s) do well depending on lure design and action as well as water that is rarely clear. Colors that have done good in the past depending on the lure, I have no reason to change or speculate about. Hue and color brightness choices that enhance a lure's shape and action are good enough for me.

 

[tomloge1]

Very cool, and great pictures too.

 

[Senkosam]

Thanks. Innovation never sleeps - at least not in my basement! LOL

 

[JOHN G]

Man, dem's some UGLY looking critters there, buddy! LOL....but as usual, you still catch fish with them!

 

[Senkosam]

Good thing fish don't know UGLY - so long as they bite em!
After all these years, it still amazes me the variety of designs that fish attack, which is the basis of my obsession to discover more.