A Well Loved Lure

In the winter, I spend time (too much sometimes) cleaning and maintaining my fishing gear for the up coming season. I'm a little obsessive about this. The underlying factor for my all consuming attention to detail is rooted in the core belief that I can't control what the fish will do, but I can control my equipment. If my gear fails, then I've failed you as a guide. I am not a fan of failure.

So, as I'm soaking and scrubbing off the sticky, sardine residue off of lures, I sort out the "swimmers" from the "non swimmers".

Huh? What the heck does that mean?

Well, within the fishing community that I belong to, a "swimmer" is a lure that catches fish. A "non swimmer" does not. It's pretty easy to tell the difference.

Here's a "swimmer."  Notice all the scratch marks on the tail end. This is from the teeth of countless salmon that couldn't resist the action of the lure.

Definitely a "non swimmer." This lure was fished on multiple trips and it looks like it's brand new. Since I don't want this lure in my 2018 line up, it was separated from the "swimmers" and put in box of gear which will be sold at a garage sale to be held at a later date (some day, Jane, I promise). Here's a bit of advice for you, reader of the blog: don't be tempted to buy slightly used fishing lures at a garage sale or Ebay. Most likely it's someone trying to get rid of unproductive lures. Just sayin', wink, wink....

A final bit of advice I'll leave with you about lures. If you're on a guided fishing trip and you get to choose, always grab the lure that has the most teeth marks and the most paint missing. Not to say a lure that is being fished for the first time won't be effective, but why not start with one that has a proven track record. A well loved lure is hard to beat




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service