The angling world is full of monsters waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims.
The good part is, the victims don’t know and don’t care if they get sucked down a big mouth. They’re plastic.
Finding a good fishing hole is usually not too hard. Finding the right technique to get the fish to take your lure can sometimes be excruciatingly irritaing.
Plenty of companies market lures designed to catch more fish than their competitors. But it takes more than just a rod, reel and bait to go out and catch fish.
Much like marionettes, with their tiny strings, anglers can work a lure and make it do almost anything they want. You just have to know where to start.
Here are just some of the ways to retrieve a fishing lure:
STRAIGHT ON: A straight lure retrieve is self-explanatory. The angler pulls in the bait with a steady reeling motion, barely moving the rod if at all. Variations to this retrieve can be used with the rod. By picking the rod tip up or lowering it, the angler can make the bait arc up or down.
Straight retrieves are good for hitting a lot of water and keeping the line taut all the way through the anglers’ retrieve.
THE TWITCH: This type of retrieve makes the bait seem to dart and fall, much like a smaller bait fish milling around and then resting. The bait is maneuvered by using quick flicks and stops of the rod.
This maneuver will make the bait dance and float for short distances then fall almost lifelessly. This can be great for aggressive fish like bass that are apt to strike almost anything when they are hungry, especially quick-moving fish that catch their eyes.
Twitching can also be good for sluggish fish though most lethargic fish tend to only hit a bait that is dropped on their head.
There is no set way to twitch a bait through the water. Some anglers do a lot of twitching with no pauses while others do little maneuvering with long pauses. The key to this technique is to make the bait tempt the fish as if to say, “Here I am. Come eat me.”
DANCING A JIG: The jigging technique is used by many anglers to find fish located on or near the bottom of a body of water.
Jigging involves casting the bait and letting it hit the bottom while the line remains taut. The angler then lifts the rod to make the bait come off the bottom for a short distance and then lowers the rod to make the bait fall back down. Some anglers reel as they jig and some don’t. Again, there’s nothing wrong with trying your own variations.
THE JERK: Jerk baits are made specifically for this type of retrieve. The angler literally jerks the rod to his or her side and then reels up the slack line left over when they return to the starting spot. Jerk baits dive or seem to twitch when this motion is put on them and then they will usually float up a little, causing the illusion of a fish or animal stopping to come to the surface.
FLIP AND PITCH: Anglers who like targeting cover typically rely on flipping and pitching to introduce a lure into a tight spot without a regular cast. This can up your chances of targeting fish that are holding tight in pre-spawn staging areas and also when you need to put a lure near a bed without spooking a fish. Flipping, which is used for closer targets, involves peeling off a certain amount of line and then sending it through the guides as you drop and lift your rod. Pitching involves letting a bait go from your hand using an underhand pitching movement while you keep a thumb on the spool.
