Fishing Hard Baits Can Make Your Fishing Trip More Successful

If you are fairly new to the sport of fishing, you might not realize how effective fishing hard baits can be, but if you have watched professional tournament bass fishermen, you may understand better. For one thing, hard baits are always "in season" and readily available. They are a one-time investment that can produce plenty of fish, no matter what type of fishing you are doing. Artificial baits might not be the favorite of beginning fishermen, but once you have caught fish on them, you will consider them the easiest way to go fishing, in all types of circumstances.

Fishing hard baits, which resemble local bait fish, can be easily done because you can get a variety of them that are capable of diving, floating or suspending at various levels, where the fish might be feeding. Many of the artificial lure manufacturers have developed innovative designs, colors and features to make hard baits more effective than ever before because they are so life-like, in appearance and movement. Not only does this mean there is no need to find a local bait shop, but it also means you can carry a variety of these artificial lures with you and accumulate them over a period of time.

Fishing hard baits takes a variety of techniques because they can be trolled, casted and retrieved slowly, "jerked," "cranked" or rigged in tandem with live baits, for finicky fish. While there are soft baits that resemble worms, lizards or snakes and crawdads or squid, most hard baits will resemble baitfish that are native to many waters, such as minnows, shad and perch. There are some artificial lures that will include rattles, lips for deeper-diving or popping surface noises and you can find jointed hard baits for more movement and life-like action.

While some fishermen might not start out fishing hard baits because they don't think the fish will be fooled by them, you just have to take a look at some of the paint jobs on today's most popular artificial lures, especially those that are used for bass fishing. If you tie one of these on your spin casting or bait casting reel, you are likely to catch some fish, if you choose those that will reach the area they are suspended in and find those that resemble some of the local food sources for the fish you are after.

There are a variety of body shapes and sizes to choose from and you will find them referred to by a variety of names. Whether you are fishing with a hard-bodied crankbait, plug, wobbler, jerkbait, stickbait, floater, suspending or jointed-minnow, you will be most successful if you start out with the most realistic colors and sizes, when imitating local baitfish. The vivid colors are helpful during times when fresh water clarity isn't the best or for deeper diving lures, but you will find many saltwater lures in much brighter colors. The type of fishing can dictate the most effective selection, but one thing is certain-fishing hard baits can make your next fishing trip more successful.