When new anglers join the sport of fishing they are often confused as to all the different lure options on the market. Why would we use all these different things when you can just put a minnow or worm on a hook? On the other hand there are traditional anglers out there that use nothing but live bait and cannot be convinced otherwise! Today we are going to give you a breakdown on our take of why lures are the best way for anglers to be successful and why they hold advantages over live bait.
Let's start things off by outlining the benefits of live bait and how it is fished. Live bait is advantageous to anglers because it lets them match what fish are feeding on, exactly! There are no unnatural movements or scents. This sounds great but this is only if the bait is kept alive. Most rigging techniques lead to the bait dying and so there is no longer any action. Rigging methods that keep fish alive on the end of your hook often fragile and leads to bait falling off on the cast or as it swims around. The other struggle is having to keep the bait alive while in the boat, moving to and from the lake, and when you're finished for the day. This adds a lot of work to going fishing for the day not to mention all of the new regulations in place in Ontario for baitfish management. If you are not aware there are new regulations in place (2022) check the link here to find out more.
Outside of Ontario there are places where using live bait is also illegal which adds to the disadvantages of using it as your go to technique for catching fish. The most important reason for avoiding live bait for myself and prospective new anglers to the sport is the style of fishing that is associated with it. Live bait fishing is what most people think of when you say the word fishing. Sitting and waiting for something to grab your bait while hanging under a float. Let's face it, even as someone who loves to fish, it's boring! There aren't many ways you can change your approach with live bait fishing from this which is why a lot of people often think that fishing is a boring sport! Lures help change this up.
Lures come in all shapes and sizes. There are countless different techniques and methods to fish them which allow anglers ample opportunity to pick the right tool for the job. In fishing different scenarios require tools. In the same way you wouldn't use a sledgehammer to put a nail in the wall for a picture frame you don't use heavy action gear and giant lures to catch panfish. Each lure is a tool that has a time and place that allow anglers to contact fish more effectively. Lures can also be designed to create attention seeking behaviours that live bait would typically try to avoid in order to not get eaten. This means creating distressing movements, sounds, and scents that are more potent to make it easier for fish to find the lure in the water.
Lures allow anglers to fish more quickly, cover more water, get into more hazardous areas, and get the bait to where the fish are instead of waiting for the fish to come to your bait. They allow anglers to take control over their day on the water and go get the fish rather than hoping fish come to them.