Retrieving a lure too fast?

[juicy233]

Whenever I fish with lures, I constantly think about the speed of my retrieve and if the fish I'm going for are gonna see the lure and if the lure will 'outrun' the fish. Often times it feels like I'm cranking the lure pretty quick when working metals it feels like I'm going way too fast, but I'm probably cranking it a normal speed. I've just got this thing in my head that a fish will always hit a slow moving lure more than a faster moving one because it gives the fish more of a chance to see the lure. I know it sounds silly but I'm just wondering, should I be paying much attention to the speed of the retrieve especially when fishing for pelagics like salmon and does a slower or faster wind necessarily affect your catch rates when using plastics, vibes and metals? Should I be worrying about retrieving lures too fast?

[dirvin21]

There's no definite answer, only that if you retrieve too fast for the lure to maintain it's action

You'd be surprised how fast of a retrieve speed fish will hit a lure at, especially on a tough day you can sometimes trigger a reaction strike with a faster retrieve 

I prefer to start slow and increase my retrieve speed until I work out what tye fish like on a particular day

[Aussie_fisher]

What I’ve observed is (I fish with plastics 99% of the time) that it matters on the day, season etc: in summer for example when I go for flathead I jerk really fast and really hard and that seems to work well for them. In slower seasons I donut 90% of the time but the times I don’t donut I find a slow retrieve works better

[R E G I C Y C L E]

In my opinion it depends on your target species mainly. For example, if fishing for bream on crankbaits the slower the wind the better, but for pelagics on metals or plastics, a fast wind is more likely to trigger a strike on your lure.

You will never outrun a fish with your lure, especially in the case of pelagics. I read once that mac tuna have to swim at 2 or 3 times their body length every second, just to get enough water over their gills to respire.

[devoker]

12 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

In my opinion it depends on your target species mainly. For example, if fishing for bream on crankbaits the slower the wind the better, but for pelagics on metals or plastics, a fast wind is more likely to trigger a strike on your lure.

You will never outrun a fish with your lure, especially in the case of pelagics. I read once that mac tuna have to swim at 2 or 3 times their body length every second, just to get enough water over their gills to respire.

I was going to say the same, pelagics like bonito and tuna swim so fast that it is impossible to retrieve faster than them. However, lure action can make a difference instead of the speed, like moving the rod tip from side to side.

[campr]

As an oldie who used to high speed spinn off the rocks using Siloflex ft70 rods and ten to one seascapes, you can't spin too fast for pelagics.  I remember watching the lures from a cliff top and kings, Bonnie's and other tunas looked like they were in low gear as they came in to look at or hit metals being cranked as fast as possible. For demersables like bream and flathead, often super slow twitchy retrieves can be best, but faster is better for pelagics.  Ron

[big Neil]

On 10/14/2024 at 7:39 PM, juicy233 said:

Whenever I fish with lures, I constantly think about the speed of my retrieve and if the fish I'm going for are gonna see the lure and if the lure will 'outrun' the fish. Often times it feels like I'm cranking the lure pretty quick when working metals it feels like I'm going way too fast, but I'm probably cranking it a normal speed. I've just got this thing in my head that a fish will always hit a slow moving lure more than a faster moving one because it gives the fish more of a chance to see the lure. I know it sounds silly but I'm just wondering, should I be paying much attention to the speed of the retrieve especially when fishing for pelagics like salmon and does a slower or faster wind necessarily affect your catch rates when using plastics, vibes and metals? Should I be worrying about retrieving lures too fast?

An interesting question juicy. Lures are the most diverse methods we use to catch fish. Each has an IDEAL means of catching specific types of fish.

I like to see how lures look in the water in order to fine tune how to use them. The diverse numbers of lures available all have uses that work and ones that don't work. The more we understand what a lure is capable of doing, the better we can put them to use to catch fish.

Fish often respond to movement before actually seeing a lure. They pick up vibrations via their lateral line. Many fish species are ambush predators, others chase down their quarry. Obviously the type and method of use of lures has to be relevant to the way the target species hunts its food.

The one thing that I have learned from using many different lure types is to vary how you use them. Having said that it is probably best to target a particular species (or group of similar species). EXAMPLE: chasing pelagics with fast moving lures can result in possibly catching numerous different species.

Other types of lures are often taken "on the drop". These need to slowly drift down through the water column. Obviously, the lure needs to be in the zone. Flathead are best caught by fishing on / near to the bottom.

Good luck juicy.

bn

[Steve0]

On 10/14/2024 at 8:39 AM, juicy233 said:

Should I be paying much attention to the speed of the retrieve especially when fishing for pelagics like salmon and does a slower or faster wind necessarily affect your catch rates when using plastics, vibes and metals? Should I be worrying about retrieving lures too fast?

I had the good fortune to be able to observe fish chasing lures in very clear water for a lot of years. I use metal because metal better casting distance (higher weight and lower wind resistance = longer cast).

Tailor seem to hit whatever happens to be in reach. They're a nuisance to SP fishos because they shred plastic.

Salmon behaviour varies. Natural behaviour is to pick off individual fish as they separate from a school or ambush individuals from cover. Sometimes they hit almost as the lure hits the water (also if you allow the lure to flutter down deep before retrieving). Some days they'll follow to your feet and when you are thinking "too late now", they hit the lure. Some days they aren't in the mood, and you need to vary your retrieve to get a result. Rod tip flicks; superfast retrieve; superfast retrieve with pauses... whatever you can think that may cause an aggression strike (think how your lure might look to a fish and make it look like a wounded baitfish, which is an easy meal for a fish that wants it). 

Most days a comfortable paced retrieve works. If you see a school and cannot get any chasers on a comfortable retrieve, try different retrieve techniques in different positions in the school. If you still get nothing, preserve your sanity by moving on!

You'll feel the right pace for a vibe through the rod tip. I dislike them, preferring casting over lobbing.

You can take Salmon and Tailor well into a moonlit night on lure, which indicates they seek prey via lateral line sensing and silhouette. It's impossible to say whether lure colour matters. Lead lures with almost all paint missing catch fish. Marketers catch me with lures that have reflective flashes. The only advantage I ever found with one metal lure over another is a lure designed to flutter as it falls through the water column. These are a little broader, slightly rounded on one side and more sculptured on the other side. The differences in profile make the jig flutter during free fall, but they still perform the tail wagging movement of a regular metal when retrieved. 

 

[savit]

3 hours ago, Steve0 said:

I had the good fortune to be able to observe fish chasing lures in very clear water for a lot of years. I use metal because metal better casting distance (higher weight and lower wind resistance = longer cast).

Tailor seem to hit whatever happens to be in reach. They're a nuisance to SP fishos because they shred plastic.

Salmon behaviour varies. Natural behaviour is to pick off individual fish as they separate from a school or ambush individuals from cover. Sometimes they hit almost as the lure hits the water (also if you allow the lure to flutter down deep before retrieving). Some days they'll follow to your feet and when you are thinking "too late now", they hit the lure. Some days they aren't in the mood, and you need to vary your retrieve to get a result. Rod tip flicks; superfast retrieve; superfast retrieve with pauses... whatever you can think that may cause an aggression strike (think how your lure might look to a fish and make it look like a wounded baitfish, which is an easy meal for a fish that wants it). 

Most days a comfortable paced retrieve works. If you see a school and cannot get any chasers on a comfortable retrieve, try different retrieve techniques in different positions in the school. If you still get nothing, preserve your sanity by moving on!

You'll feel the right pace for a vibe through the rod tip. I dislike them, preferring casting over lobbing.

You can take Salmon and Tailor well into a moonlit night on lure, which indicates they seek prey via lateral line sensing and silhouette. It's impossible to say whether lure colour matters. Lead lures with almost all paint missing catch fish. Marketers catch me with lures that have reflective flashes. The only advantage I ever found with one metal lure over another is a lure designed to flutter as it falls through the water column. These are a little broader, slightly rounded on one side and more sculptured on the other side. The differences in profile make the jig flutter during free fall, but they still perform the tail wagging movement of a regular metal when retrieved. 

 

 Interesting observations. What's your thoughts on bonnies and macs?

[Steve0]

1 minute ago, savit said:

 Interesting observations. What's your thoughts on bonnies and macs?

I tend to specialise one species or method at a time, and never got around to targeting those. OK,  'obsess', not specialise.