Bait or lures???

[bo_sawyer]

Hi all,
Just wondering what you guys think....
Lures or Bait??? It would be very heapful thanks ;D
Bo.

[Robo]

No question, Lures are the way to go. Just they get expensive after you lose a few in a matter of minutes on big fish, but what the hell, that is what they are meant to do!

David

[bo_sawyer]

hey david
thanx mate
but y would a fish prefer a lure over the real thing???
Bo

[Robo]

I don't know why they would prefer it, But I do know you cover more ground when trolling or casting. And a moving lure that resembles a fish has got to be attractive. Bait just sits there waiting, boring.

David

[kc]

Different strokes for different folks. There are times when each come into their own and you really shouldn't have a biase towards one or the other. No doubt that luring (and even better fly) can be more fun and more "involved" than bait fishing and other times (tides, temp and clarity) when lures just don't work and bait (particularly livies) can brain it.

Don't close the door on any options...if you are flexible enough to change tactics to suit the conditions you will ALWAYS catch MORE FISH than guys who are locked in to one type of fishing. Personally I would rather 1 barra on fly than 5 on lures and 10 on livies but I still use bait heaps because there are times when it is the only way to catch fish.

One of the great joys of fishing is the uncertainty of it all and choice of "weapon" should be the same.

The cast net should always be in the boat along side the lure box and fly box and if it is not you will miss some great opportunities.

[bo_sawyer]

Hey kc,
thanx mate
very true, different techniques at different times seem to be the way to go
Bo Sawyer.

[BOMBER]

Hi Bo,

I was a bait fisho for many years until I met a group of guys that only fished lures I soon changed my way of thinking to lures I find bait fishing boring now days, and yes I do agree with KC at times maybe most times bait will outfish lures but what I enjoy about lure fishing particularly soft plastics these days, is the art of fooling the fish. Sure I may only catch 1 fish for the day out but that is a buzz for me. If I don't catch any well I wasn't good enough on the day to fool the fish, but hey I sure got in plenty of casting practice for when they are going off and that cast close to the snag counts. I will also take a fly rod if the lure casting becomes monotonous and then will troll if I feel like another change of pace.All in all as KC says horses for courses but these days lure fishing is the course for me, hope this helps.

Regards,

THE BOMBER.

[bo_sawyer]

Hey Bomber,
im sure lures do give better sport, but i haven't yet caught a fish on a lure, instead i've caught all my fish on mostly livebait. Any good sports to try out my luck with lures would be very useful
Bo Sawyer.

[BOMBER]

Hi Bo,

The main places to target species on lures are areas of structure fallen trees, oyster rocks or racks, rock bars anything that lays in the water basically interrupting flow or having a small pocket of slower flowing water near it as this is where the fish will wait to ambush.Other areas such as drop offs are great places to start. I found that when I first started lure fishing I always through some bait in or the cast net just in case but it became to easy to swap to bait after a period of time lure use isn't a case of chuck it and see you have to refine your retrieve to make it attractive to fish you have to troll at the right speed and impart action to the lure at the same time.If you are catching fish on Livies you will catch them on lures in that same spot with perserverance, hope this helps.

Regards

THE BOMBER

[bo_sawyer]

Hey mate,
thanks fot the tips. Whats all this about castnets when lure fishing???
cheers
Bo.

[BlitzBaga]

Go the lures, there clean, they usually don't bite or shit on you ("usually" I said) and they are easily changed to suite the style of fishing (species). You can also start a costly collection like all the rest of us lure fisho's

Cheers
Murray

[Volvo]

:)Each to their own i guess as was earlier mentioned but been there tried that with lures and got sick of runnin into objects from fallin asleep from the boredom lol.
Me thinks at least with bait if the fish gets the better of ya at least he ends up with a feed :D.

[Kerry]

Yeah, each to their own and the particular fishing being done.

Certainly more emphasis is placed on this lure stuff than it really deserves but maybe that's a by product of the marketing/tv shows? Lures might be suitable in some instances for some fish but not all.

Cheers, Kerry.

[SteveCan]

I have invested in a few lures for little return - having had most of my success on bait. But lately I have been having a lot of fun spinning home made metal slugs for tailor and Bonito etc. When fishing outside we might bottom bash with bait and spin with lures on the surface to broaden our options.

In general I prefer bait - but lures certainly have their place - and in some cases eg. bluewater sportfishing then lures are the only way to go.

I have been making these out of brass from the local hardware store and at less than $1.50 a pop it's a lot more cost efficient (and probably nearly as effective) than the shop bought ones. It also gives you a lot more confidence when fishing off rocky headlands as it is not a big hit to the hip pocket when you lose a couple.

Cheers
Steve.

[bo_sawyer]

thanks everyone,
Do any of you know why people have casts nets next to them when lurefishing???And Steve mate, how many fish have you caught on those metals?? They look pretty effective and i wouldn't mind makin a few for when i go rock fishing. I'd rather lose a $1.50 than 10bucks!!!
Bo Sawyer

[SteveCan]

Cheers Bo,

In three outings at Burleigh point over the last two weeks I have brought in five fish, three chopper tailor and two pike - which really surprised me as I have never caught them land based before (pike I mean). I was just fishing before or after work when I had the chance. One session was just after the bottom of the tide and the other two about two hours after high.

One of the locals told me about how he was doing it and in January he bagged out on Tailor using home made metals in about half an hour. As he said to me - 'When the tailor are on, they would bite a 20c piece with a treble on it!'

Seriously though, mine are far more pretty than the ones he was using and it is amazing what fish will have a go at. I have heard one story from WA where bloked were bashing flat used 303 Cartridges and putting a treble on with seriously good results.

After doing so well with these amature lure efforts - it does make me wonder wether lures are designed to catch fish - or fishermen! ;)

Cheers
Steve.

[blaze]

Hi
years ago when the hydro in tassie was building dams we caught nice pan size rainbow trout on 3" gavl nails with a single hook and hand line.
at the time was livin in the single mens quarters and the cook would cook for tea. couta on bits of wood with a hook. salmon on clear plastic tube.
cheers
blaze

[bo_sawyer]

Hi guys,
well done, i use $15 dollar lures and catch nothing, and he are use 2 using nails and pieces of metal and catching heaps.
It shows that lures do catch the fishermans eye more than they do fish.
Cheers
Bo.

[blaze]

Hi again
forgot to mention that 95% of the time now i use bait as i find it a lot more relaxing and i tag and release about 85% of what i catch these days and only take enouth for a feed that night
cheers
blaze

[bo_sawyer]

Hey blaze,
I fish bait alot more than I fish with lures as well. I rekon they can have a big advantage, especially in dirty water. It usually creates its own little berley trail and the smell attracts the fish. But the problem is that it doesn't really look natural. If u've fished live herring before, u'll notice that some times the herring come up to the surface and float sidewades.
HOW IS THAT ATTRACTIVE TO FISH???
cheers
Bo.

[webby]

Im a bait fisho by up bringing and its a habit hard to break, but i have even started to dabble in the world of plastics. But i am yet to be convinced their better then well presented natural baits.
Our water ways are intwined with rusting hooks/sinkers and miles of mono. But now we have the added factor of jigheads/plastics/braid and solid lure, so can anyone state the decomposition factor regarding plastics, or are they there for eternity also.
With the inventions of Braids,Plastics and High Teck Rod/Reels is the sport of fishing becoming a onesided affair
regards

[bo_sawyer]

Hey Webb,
Never fought of that mate, guess all of those snagged plastics could be screwin up our waters, slowly but surely.
Cheers
Bo.