[Dave Irving]

I was wondering if anyone else really tries to find out which lures are better than others?
I have been fishing several lures in rotation on the same mark, and one has definately stood out.
Now it could be that it only better on that mark. But I find that it does give you more confidence. To have "proven"
a lure outfishes other similar lures.
I will be repeating the same experiment with other types/sizes of lures.
So does anyone else actively try and work out which are the more productive lures within each type??

 

[Luke Fox]

Yellow and white patchinko is for me and i'm sure a load of others, the most productive lure over any ground if the bass are there of course. I find it useful as a bass locator, very often you will get a follow but no take but at least you have then found em then I stick on my duo flyer (red/gold) and 9 times out of ten whammo!
As for softies its gotta be the giant xlayer in Ayu colour.

 

[Dave Irving]

Luke I use the patchinko the same way, great as a fast search lure.
But have you fished say a feed popper, a z claw and a sammy against the patchinko?? As honestly as possible??
I have and (for me) the patchinko gets more attention from the bass, boils splashes and tail slaps. But I hook more on the Z Claw. So if I want to cover some ground that I am unsure hold bass, it is the Patchinko every time, as I know any bass there will probably give themselves away. However having sneaked into a good mark in the predawn, then the Z Claw will be first out of the box.
I have been playing the surface lure against each other so far, but will start looking at slim divers that run about 3', So Sld-f, Saltiga,Saruna,Flash minnow will be tried and tested to see if I can find any advantages to one or some of them.

 

[Tim Griffin]

Dave, I find it hard to be sufficiently disciplined to get any meaningful comparisons by giving each lure an equal chance. Last season you would have struggled to get me to take my Green Sandeel Feed Shallow off my line. This season it is my Green Maria Chase BW - all but one of my fish have fallen to this lure so far and I have not had one on a Feed Shallow. Meaningful, confidence or coincidence? Who knows....

 

[Dave Irving]

That is my point Tim,
We All have lures we catch on, and that confidence is a powerful thing. But I can't help but wonder IF the lure we currently think is deadly is really the best lure to use.
Our current in vogue lure might catch us a bass, but would a different lure given us a chance of more or larger bass??
Hehe I remember when it was hard to you to even look at a subsurface lure, and I couldn't be arsed to to fish topwaters as I "knew" I would generally catch more on subsurface lures.
But both of us would have missed out on a lot of bass if we hadn't tried a change.
Funny thing Tim, never had a bass on a Chase BW-and boy have I tried.

 

[Tim Griffin]

Very true, Dave! I know I benefitted enormously from our discussion out on Portland. Hardly taken a fish off the top since! And last year, I wouldn't have given you tuppence for a Maria Chase BW. It's odd for sure!