Lure Casting Pelagics

extracted from Rod & Line Magazine, English (Dec 2008)

For many budding anglers, catching a fish on a lure is a great achievement indeed. I’m sure many of us still recall our first fish caught on an artificial – the feeling of excitement as the fish slams the lure as you crank it in and the sense of sheer joy and not to mention trembling hands as you hold the fish in your hands in triumph after the fight.

However, many anglers out there who are not as fortunate to experience this feeling and sense of satisfaction, not because they are unlucky but because they don’t know the how and... no one has shared with them how to. Unless you have a very generous ‘sifu’ (teacher) that will teach you the finer points of lure fishing, it’s all learning through trial and error. I was such a bloke when I first started off lure fishing with no one to tell me what to do. So you can imagine this fellow tying an oversized snap swivel with wire trace to a small lure and hoping to catch something big on it. Obviously it took many fishless trips to teach me a lesson or two the hard way. Sounds familiar?

It is crucial to believe that the beautifully painted piece of wood, plastic or metal can catch fish. If you are not convinced yourself that the artificial will catch fish, what more to convince the fish to bite? As a result, some anglers give up casting after a few rounds of tossing and cranking the lure back. You have to believe that the lure you are working will attract a fish to bite in due time and even if there is no strike after a few rounds that’s when Rule #2 kicks in – PERSERVERANCE! Don’t give up! The longer the lure is in the water, the higher the chances of a fish sighting it. As for Rule #3? Keep the bait at home. Chances are, if you bring bait, you will be more likely to give up on casting and revert to bait. Bringing only lures on your trip will force you to work those lures a bit harder for the fish.


Like any other form of fishing, the understanding of structure and how that attracts fish is crucial to up your chances to land your targeted quarry when casting lures whether from shore or on the boat. Always be at the look out for structure such as rocks or snags that attract the smaller baitfish. The presence of the baitfish always attracts predators at the right tide. In the open sea, wrecks, reefs, FADs or drop offs are also good grounds to fish with artificials. Spring tides are good for pelagics, so to maximize your chances of getting them, carefully plan your trips accordingly to the dates.

Casting lures these days come in all types of shapes, sizes and colours and each would have their own characteristics of attracting targeted quarry. Poppers, stickbaits or pencil baits are surface lures (though sometimes you do have sub-surface ones too) that attract predators through the splashes or noise on the surface. They mimic frightened baitfish that scatter on the water surface when chased by rampaging fish below. Swimming lures would have their distinctive bibs that cause them to swim enticingly below the surface or dive deep to a certain depth. Generally the bigger the surface area of the bib, the deeper the lure dives. Metal spoons or jigs are also effective pelagic-hunting tools though usually you would need to crank very fast to trigger the natural aggressive nature of predators. Bibless lures are also fish producers in their own right. Most have built-in loud rattles in a slim aerodynamic profile that gives a shimmery wiggle while emitting loud rattling sounds as they are cranked in.


Some friends and I had the liberty to try out some new toys from Rapala in the form of the new 2009 lure called the “Glidin' Rap” recently. Personally I think the design boys at Rapala must have been working overtime to figure out a chunky bibless, sub-surface lure such as this. Designed primarily for Pike in the European waters, we thought we should try them to see their effectiveness in the salt. We started off merely casting them out and winding them in flat with fast and slow retrieves. The lure looked unattractive and had a clumsy wobble that gave me doubt if any fish at all would be interested. However, when twitched and worked ‘walk the dog’ style, the Glidin' Rap swayed attractively from side to side underneath the surface of the water with a sexy action! We merely summed up the result of the trip with two words: TENGGIRI BAIT. We figured the unique way it swam (surprisingly not with a high-speed retrieve) really got the fishes hot on the bite! The key thing to learn from the trip was this: try to experiment with all sorts of retrieves, twitching or jerking actions to impart the right action to the lure. Knowing what type of lure used in conjunction with the type of gear, line poundage, and the right retrieve would be the effective combination to increase your chances each time you go for pelagics.


To wire or not? That is the question. Some swear that putting on wire will reduce the bites tremendously while others feel it’s a necessary insurance against losing your precious lure. There is no hard and fast rule here except that tying a wire leader does affect the swimming action of the lure particularly if the wire is stiff. This is more so true if the lure is one with a small bib. If it’s a beefy or long lure you are casting with, wire is usually not necessary as the teeth would not get to the leader unless by some accident the line gets between the jaws of the fish. Most of the time you will be fine.


Lure casting in the open waters is much more than just tossing the lure out and cranking it with a flat out retrieve. Sometimes this works but when the fishes are much more wary, it pays to vary your retrieves and or change to other types of lures. Shallow running bibbed lures such as the X-Rap can be twitched in between cranks of the reel handle. In the case of the Glidin' Rap, it was a change from the conventional tight-wiggling action of a minnow profile to a slower, side to side gliding motion that triggered non-stop hits. There are many ways to work a lure and therefore it is worth trying all sorts of techniques to find a combination that works for the day.

Another tip to a successful lure-casting trip is to observe how the lure swims. If you see the lure swimming unnaturally, chances are the fish might find it unnatural too. Some lures swim better without a snap swivel or wire trace in front of the lure. This is often true with shallow bibbed lures – they don’t really go well with big clips or snaps.

If you have yet to catch your first fish on lure after trying all the techniques mentioned in books, magazines or even from forums, fret not. Remember the 3 rules or principles mentioned above apart from the technical bits of lure casting will definitely connect you to a fish on lure in due time. Good luck and tight lines!