Crossing a threshold

This is a post from another forum I frequent. It was written by Derrek Stewart. I think he does a great job of defining lures as tools that are applied to techniques. I hope this helps.

Crossing a Threshold

A swimbait is just a tool. Another tool in your tackle bag that can be applied to many techniques. If your goal as a fisherman is to solely use swimbaits and do nothing but catch swimbait fish then as a specialist so be it. The swimbait or nothing approach is not what most of us are about. Swimbaits are not 'magic bullets' and nor are they the only lure that will catch more and larger bass. They are simply another tool.

It has been well said many times here at the BBZ that tools do not define techniques. Lures are tools that are applied to fish catching techniques. These tactics are what fool fish into thinking they are accomplishing their goals when they eat our presentations, our deception. To illustrate that a lure does not define a technique let's look at a scenario.

You suspect a bass has positioned itself at a submerged bush in 7' of water. The bush sits next to a boulder out-cropping on a shelf located on the side of a bluff wall. The edge of the shelf is directly adjacent the outside edge of the boulders. The boulders and the bush are at one end of the shelf where the shelf turns back into the bluff wall. The bush is on the inside of the boulders against the wall and slightly away from the drop off edge of the shelf. Water clarity allows human vision to see to depths of 10'. It has been determined that the bass are feeding heavily on bait fish. You have seen the bush and its relation to the boulders and have identified it as a funnel, a likely ambush spot. You have also considered where you feel the bass is expecting it's next meal to come from when entering the funnel.

A technique; you position yourself tight to the bluff wall a good distance away from the boulder end of the shelf. Knowing that the bass are keyed in on baitfish you present a baitfish imitation, either realism or illusion, and make a cast to the other end of the shelf opposite of the boulders. You retrieve the lure on top of the shelf close to the bluff wall. As you retrieve you anticipate two deflections, one at the bush and another at the boulders. As you reach the bush first your lure deflects and then heads for the boulders. Just before you reach the boulders the bass strikes. After a solid hook-set you move her off the shelf and she is out in deep water in front of the bluff wall. She is big but you play her well and you have a nice catch.

Back to the technique, notice that I did not identify a lure. The lure is a component of the technique so what tools could you apply to this scenario? A short list could be, a spinner bait, a chatter bait, a crank bait, and yes you guessed it a swimbait. In other words you can use different lures for the same technique. So if you can understand two important concepts 1) swimbaits are a tool, not a technique and 2) tools do not define techniques, you are well on your way to understanding when to use swimbaits. Does every tool apply to every technique, no of course not. You have a specific situation that calls for a task, what tool(s) when applied to a technique are best suited for accomplishing that task?

Look at this way, as an angler prior to using jigs you have your tools that you are proficient with. You are good at catching bass with crank baits and plastic worms. You have heard and read about the possibilities and the big bass catching power of jigs. You're interested, you believe what you hear but the confidence level is not that high, you're not sure. Finally you cross a threshold and you are rigged with a jig. You have gathered an extensive background on them and you are getting them wet. To make a long story short time has passed, you practiced, you have gained experience and you are now an excellent jig fisherman.

You are back on the water and rigged with your tools. The crank bait, the plastic worm and this time also a jig. As you go about your day on the water you indentify different situations and you are using multiple techniques to approach them. In doing so you employ the different lures at various times. You decide which ones when and where. It is not a case where you abandon your plastics and cranks and exclusively throw jigs. What you have done is expanded your skills by increasing the number of tools and options you can apply to techniques. Now go back to the previous paragraph and this one and substitute the term jig with the term swimbait.

Swimbaits especially the big bait can be intimidating. They are unfamiliar to many and surrounded by myth and misconceptions. When learning how to use them understand the essence of what you are attempting to accomplish is really no different than any other lure you were once unfamiliar with.