Todd & Eric Juno Bait and Tackle

                                                   Picking Lures

Walking into a wall of lures at a tackle store can be a bit bewildering at times.  Rows of different sizes style, and color lures can leave even the most seasoned angler scratching their head.   Luckily though, by keeping in mind three simple things; picking out fish catching lures can actually be very simple.

1.  You’ve heard it before, but it remains the most important factor in picking out a lure, “MATCH THE HATCH”.  Picking out a lure roughly the size, shape, and color (more on color soon!) of the most common forage should always be your base starting spot for picking successful lures.  It makes absolutely no sense to buy a 12” mullet swimbait when gator trout are keyed in on shrimp.   On the flip side when giant snook are blasting mullet along a seawall a DOA shrimp is not going to get a whole lot of attention.    Not sure what the prominent food source is in a specific area?  Ask the local tackle store; if a local tackle store can’t answer that question, it may be time to look for a different bait shop!

2.  Strongly consider the depth of water being fished, and/or the depth fish are feeding at, when picking out lures.  A fast sinking heavy jig is a poor choice in a few feet of water or when gamefish are striking baitfish on the surface.  The same jig though in a swift shipping channel current is a far better choice than a noisy topwater lure.  A Zara Spook will call them up, but only from a certain depth.  No lure is going to work that well if it isn’t spending most of the time in a fish’s strike zone.  Or as Eric says, “get the lure in front of the fish.”

3.  When picking out a lure, the angler must feel confident in your choice.  It is a funny thing to consider, but it may be the most important factor.  If the angler feels good with what is tied on to the end of the line, more bites will follow.  The fish can’t see confidence, but it results in more bites than anything else.   Confidence baits may not fit the above two criteria, but they are hugely important to have in the tackle box!

Here is a quick list of some of our confidence baits here at Juno Bait.  We will almost always have these lures with us, anywhere we go, and be able to fit the top two points and feel good about what we are using!

Todd’s Confidence Baits- DOA Shrimp, DOA Terror Eyz, Zara Spook Jr, 1.5oz Flair Hawk, ½ oz Gulfstream Shrimp Jig, Zoom Super Fluke and Super Fluke Jr

Eric’s Confidence Baits-   2oz  Flair Hawk, Super Spook, Yum Money Minnow, DOA Shrimp, Gambler Flap’n Shad, Bruiser Super Swimmer