The hardest thing for a lure manu-
facturer to understand and replicate is what fish actually feel and sense when stimulated by a particular bait. The more a hard bait is able to excite the senses, the greater its effectiveness. Contemporary smart hard baits employ a variety of design techniques to attract fish: ribbed and segmented bodies that emit vibrations; body pat- terns that change color; hydrodynami- cally engineered lure bodies that move with the precision of an actual baitfish; light reflection to stimulate sight re- sponses; frequency tuned sound devices; and even devices equipped with built-in light emitting capabilities that generate color specific to the depths fished.
THE TECHNOLOGY EDGE Many of today’s leading manufac-
turers of plastic baits and fish attracting scents have paid particular attention to the physiology of fish-sensing mecha- nisms and have applied that science to the development of new products. Their baits work to attract fish and, in some cases, actually “stimulate” them to feed. The technology and chemistry associated with those baits involves
unique formulas of natural ingredients known through scientific research to attract and stimulate fish to feed by releasing “feeding pheromones.” Fundamentally, pheromones are chemical stimuli that trigger a number of natural responses in animals. Phero- mones play a vital role in fish physiol- ogy and behavior, from the process of reproduction and migration to fear, aggression and other behaviors asso- ciated with feeding. Specific pher- omone formulas have been developed to increase the aggressive feeding behavior of fish by stimulating their natural instincts to feed. The most pre- dominant pheromone formulas in use today are designed to trigger reactions based on fear, aggression and feeding behaviors.
Many of the new attractants repli- cate the scent of a food source — bait- fish, worms, crustaceans, mollusks or any other preferred prey from which scent can either be extracted or repli- cated. It is a simple yet ingenious con- cept: create the scents that represent the food which fish actually eat. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the most advanced use of attractants involves the transfer of pheromone-based scents
in the form of liquid mixtures in which the plastic baits are bathed. Scents can either be infused into the plastic as an integral part of the bait or contained in a liquid mix that the baits are soaked in.
Experience has shown that the latter scenting method seems to have better results since the mix can be refreshed or “re-charged” and additional appli- cations of scent can be applied to the baits as they are fished. Most all manu- facturers offer sprays or soaking mix- tures that can be applied to plastic baits as needed. Sometimes the application of scents can even enhance the appeal of natural baits, live or cut. The reason is that fish have protective mechanisms that can help disguise their scent by reducing the escape of bodily sub- stances which enable detection by predators. Applying scents to natural bait can improve and boost its effec- tiveness by removing masking mecha- nisms and allowing predators to sense the bait with greater intensity. As effective as contemporary plastic
baits are, the key variable in the equa- tion is the angler, acting to exert influ- ence on the line and lure to make it behave in a natural and realistic way.
TIDE
www.joincca.org
45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64