Is it the lure, the location of fish or the presentation of the lure.

[Wayne Ek]

Katoguy,Cory and I are having a discussion on secret lures Vs. fish location. I contend that locating fish will always win out over a secret lures. Also, that presentation has more to do with catching fish, than the type of lure you are using.

[musky hunter]

You've got my vote, I think you are seeing it correctly.

[katoguy]

Agape, you are having a hard time comprehending what I wrote. I never referred to a secret lures importance versus location. That is ridiculous. I do not believe in "secret lures" such as the flying lure, etc...

Once fish are found you need to trigger these fish. (referring to negative to neutral fish) If we both find the same school, but I find the trigger. Then I, being a tournament angler, will not tell you. I will try my best to keep my "secret" from you. Maybe you will also be able to get a few bites by doing something completely different (lure and presentation), but I still will not tell you how I am catching fish.

Of course my "secret" lure of the day is really no secret. Nothing space age, etc... My "secret" lies in the lures capability of triggering bites based on the current conditions.

[Flipnripem]

blaaah blaaaah blaaaah, Ha ha kato how ya doing. Just had to rip ya a bit. To all who dought the jig, the secret lure, you can attest. In this part of the country, we who live and fish here, are VERY FORTUNATE. It seems there will always be some fish going on any given body of water. Managing your time on the water and lure presentation will put more fish in the boat day in and day out. In a controlled situation, school of fish on a patch of weeds on a flat, you can throw a tackle box at em and won`t catch a fish untill they feed. But, if you know there are there You can wait them out, a l l d a y l o n g, if needed. more often than not it will pay off. To me fun fishing is the time to be aggressive and keep on the move till you find fish and or a pattern. Pay attention to how and where you get the bites. Lots of variables to think about. The essentials in my mind are, floating plastics, JIGS, texas rigged worms, frogs, and mabey a spinner bait. I can`t believe I said that, but they will catch fish. Just had to chime in Flip

[Wayne Ek]

OK, I reread (is that a word, where's Deitz when you need him) your other posts, So we both agree, fist location, then presentation, then lure. By presentation, I mean, vertical,or horizontal, fast drop,slow drop, and the lure we choose will be based on the presentation we are trying.OH YA !!! don't dis the Flying Lure, it's one of my secret lures

[Goldenboy]

For me, locating aggregates of fish is top priority. But, for the tournament anglers, how do you gauge when you have located an aggragate of quality sized fish versus an aggregate of smaller fish, versus a random solitary hog and back off to save the area so as to not "burn the school"? I assume it's an inate sense, intuition, experience, or a combination of all of these. I know some anglers who continually have to "check" their spots and hook a few fish mulitple days leading up to tournament time. At what point have you "over checked" for lack of better terminology? On the other hand many anglers cut off hooks or cover the hooks while pre-fishing to avoid hooking until tournament time. How do you gauge the quality of fish at that point? I guess it boils down to, at what point have your met the threshold or citeria for having "located" the fish???

[Crank It Up Pro]

Sorry AGAPE but what is fist location, I agree with location,presentation,lure and last color.My secret is drop-shottin' buzzbaits

[CorynTracySellHomes]

I agree Agape about location being top priority, over some secret bait. With that said, you can learn alot about location by taking a peek in a competitors boat. Is it loaded with a buzz baits and scum frogs? Or does it have deep diving crank baits and Carolina rigs? You can infer from this to what kind of areas this person is fishing.

As for secret baits, you are right there are none, BUT, one of my favorite go to baits has never been mentioned, does that make it a super secret bait? No, but I have a great deal of confidence in this bait, and I feel better that it has not been mentioned!!!

Cory Frantzick

[Bobby Bass]

I think it is presentation, some people just have the knack. I fish with so many people that just toss it out and reel it in. They always do better after I point out you need to WORK a lure. A friend of mine just works the heck out of a lure on it's way back to the boat and he catches almost as many as I do but you also have to remember what you were doing to. Of course a lot of people just enjoy being on the water and catching a fish is a bonus. Of course everyone loves the person who catches a fish and then tells ya " Ok , this is what ya have to do...

[katoguy]

Agape, agreed and color of lure lastly (as long as it is black or black/blue) Not dissing the flying lure!

Flip, you going to the Ultimate meeting on March 11? I know what you throw, but can't fish like you fish. I'll have a beer waiting for you. Maybe after feeding you enough drinks I'll be able to steal some of your secrets. Team LB has dominated the Ultimate long enough!

Depending on the bait, the "presentation" may or may not need to be imparted by the angler. Some lures are straight forward -crank and slow reel, etc..., but variations may trigger more strikes.

katoguy - wishin the ice would melt tomorrow

[Wayne Ek]

Boy Cory are you in trouble... You know in the next year or so we will probably end-up fishing together and then when I get home and JUMP ON FM I will give you up in a "New York Minute" no more secret confidence bait for you.. I agree, sometimes having confidence in a bait or technique is more important that the bait.