There
are many types of artificial lures on the market today from Hard Body Plastic
lures to Rubber Body Jig Head lures and everything in between.
Each
lure has its own specific use for various angling situations for example: if
your prey is in the surface layers of water there is no point using a Rubber
Body Jig Head as it will fall below your target area and away from the fish.
This is why lure anglers usually turn up to the water carrying a large variety
of lures to suit any angling situation that they might encounter.
The
first company I would like to talk about really needs no introduction, Rapala
lures was the brain child of commercial fisherman Lauri Rapala a Finish
fisherman that frequently used long lines to catch the fish that he sold to market.
He made a startling observation ‘Big fish eat little fish’.
After
observing a large predator fish darting into a shoal of smaller fish and
singling out the injured or slower swimming ones, Lauri realized that if he
could craft a lure that mimicked the movements of a wounded or dying minnow, this
way he could catch more fish than he currently did as baiting hundreds of hooks
at a time was very time consuming and not cost effective.
Nowadays
Rapala are a very big deal in the world of lures and currently have factories in Finland, France, Ireland, Estonia, and China. Rapala
lures are sold in over 140 countries around the world.
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Next on the list is the big US favourite known as
Berkley. Berkley produces a wide range of rubber baits that are to be attached
onto the back of jig heads.
Jig Heads are a bent angle hook that has lead
moulding around the eye to represent the fishes head. These leas are normally
plain silver but can be painted to match your choice of lure colour. At the
hook shank end of the mould you will often see a small ‘barb’ of lead, this barb
is designed so that you can push your rubber over it and have to barb grip the
rubber lure so that it does not slip down the hook during the cast.
Jig heads lures are often used for species that are deeper
in the water in the UK such as Pollock, the lure can be retrieved higher in the
water simply but reeling faster as soon as the lure hits the water. Obviously
if you are interested in Wrasse or Pollock you can leave the lure to sink a
while after it lands and then draw it back slower keeping it lower in the
water.
Look
out for ‘Salt Water Lure Fishing, UK – Part III.’ Coming soon.
Thanks
for reading, Al.
