Information on Saltwater Lures

A lure, is a lure, is a lure, right? After all, fish are stupid aren't they? Fish aren't exactly rocket scientists, but they are experts in one very important skill, feeding. Our job as fishermen is to "trick" the fish into choosing our lure instead of something else. Sounds simple enough but there are more saltwater lures on the market today than you can possibly imagine. How can you be sure to pick the "perfect" one? Don't tell anyone I said this but, fishing lures are not designed to catch fish at all, they are designed to catch fishermen. The experts in the field say that fish are not able to see color. So what's with all the different colored lures? Well, scientists say it all comes down to contrast, and the various "shades" of the bait. If you pick the "grey" that most resembles the fish they happen to be eating right at that moment, then you got yourself a winner.

Oh, if it were that simple. You see, saltwater lures come in as many colors, sizes and shapes as there are fish in the sea, maybe even more. If there was one lure out there that was "perfect", all of the tackle shops would be out of business or at least very boring. Thankfully that is not the case, but it doesn't make the job of finding the perfect lure any easier. I am going to tell you the biggest secret of the entire Big Game Fishing Industry, copy the last guy that caught a fish. I know, what a let down. Seriously though, it makes perfect sense, if the anglers next to you are bringing in fish with a metal jet then why would you throw a cedar plug in the water? The biggest trick is to get the fisherman to tell you what colors he used, that is the real secret. Aside from that, just go out and pick what you like or what you think the fish will like, because the only perfect lure is the one in the fishes mouth, the rest is just hearsay.

What can the shape of a saltwater fishing lure tell you about what it's going to do behind the boat? It comes down to the simple laws of hydro-dynamics, turbulence and friction. Okay, maybe they're not so simple and it might take volumes to explain them all, but nonetheless all lures abide by these laws. Here are some of the basic lure designs as they relate to the way they move in the water.

• A flat face lure will hold tension on the line keeping the lure straight, allowing faster trolling speeds.


• A concave, flat face lure is a cross between the round or bullet and the flat face. The trapped air in the nose cuts through the water like the bullet until the air dissipates which creates a long "smoke" trail. It is generally a straight running lure.


• A round or bullet face will dive a bit deeper, faster than most lures except the flat face, it is generally a straight running lure.


• A slanted face lure is a bit more dynamic, it "darts" through the water depending on which way the face is pointing (up and down, left to right, etc.), and can be erratic and "unnatural" at higher speeds. A scoop in the front can help "smooth" this lure out a bit.


• A bulbous lure (similar to a pear shape) really gets into the core of hydro-dynamics. As the water moves out and over the "bulb" it creates an "eddy" if you will, a spot of slightly lower pressure, which in turn causes the lure to "wiggle" or swim with a more realistic motion. This can be a difficult lure to control as high speeds can tangle the lure and even tangle the spread. This is a fun lure to fish but a hard one to master.

A lure design can be almost any combination of these. You can also put jets through a lure which will help it stay in the water a bit longer. Now that you have the basics of lure design you should be able to pick out winning saltwater fishing lures with confidence.

Joe Yee has been making lures now for more years than he cares to admit. He helped start the resin revolution of Hawaiian Big Game Fishing Lures. The Super Plunger is probably his most well know lure, catching more Marlin than any other lure in the water. His many years of fishing expertise really shine through in his lures. He takes great pride with each and every one of his mold designs. Perfecting the design and then taking the time to finish and polish every lure that comes out of them. The level of detail and perfection goes almost to the atomic level. The amazing success rate of his lures put him in the elite class of lure makers world wide.

Joe Yee designs all of his lures in his shop right here in Hawaii. After the design process is complete he creates a prototype and tests it in the waters just off the Hawaiian coast. Then depending on how the lure runs he either tweaks the design a little bit or molds it and puts it into production. The whole process is really quite interesting. It takes time, patience, and a lot of fishing to perfect a lure, and make sure it's successful. I can imagine that there are worse jobs in the world to have.

Pacific Rim Fishing Supplies is proud to offer these great lures at super savings. We buy them directly from Joe Yee himself which allows us to pass those savings right on to you. The most popular lure of his that we sell has got to be the Super Plunger. More Marlin have been racked because of this lure than any other lure out there. It really is a fish catching machine. Almost all of the great captains, here in Kona anyway, have at least one of these bad boys on board.