Wednesbury, West Midlands. UK
Phone: +44 7595 333762
Email: info@oystern.com
Phone: +44 7595 333762
Email: info@oystern.com
Walk into any tackle shop and you’ll face walls of lures in every shape, colour, and size imaginable. For beginners, it’s overwhelming. For experienced anglers, it’s still overwhelming — we just hide it better.
Here’s the truth that most fishing content won’t tell you: you don’t need most of those lures. The majority of fish are caught on a handful of proven styles, fished with confidence by anglers who understand when and why to use them.
This guide cuts through the noise. We’ll explain what each lure type actually does, when it works best, and — just as importantly — when to leave it in the box. By the end, you’ll understand lure selection as a logical process rather than a guessing game.
Every artificial lure is designed to trigger one thing: a predatory response. Fish don’t examine lures carefully and decide to eat them. They react — either because the lure looks like food, because it’s invading their territory, or simply because something moving triggered an instinct to strike.
Lures trigger these responses through some combination of:
Different lure types emphasise different triggers. Understanding this helps you choose logically rather than randomly.
Hard baits are rigid lures — usually plastic or wood — with action built into their design. Cast them out, reel them in, and the lure does most of the work.
What they are: Rounded, fish-shaped lures with a plastic lip (called a bill) at the front that makes them dive and wobble when retrieved.
How they work: The lip catches water and forces the lure down. As you reel, the body wobbles side to side, creating both visual appeal and vibration. The size and angle of the lip determines how deep the lure dives — shallow-running cranks have small lips, deep divers have large ones.
When to use them:
Best for: Bass, pike, perch, walleye, trout
What they are: Slim, minnow-shaped hard baits designed to be worked with rod twitches rather than steady reeling.
How they work: Sharp snaps of the rod tip make the lure dart erratically, then pause. This “twitch-twitch-pause” mimics a wounded or disoriented baitfish — an easy meal that predators can’t resist.
When to use them:
Key variants: Floating jerkbaits rise during pauses, suspending jerkbaits hover at depth (deadly in cold water), sinking jerkbaits fall slowly for deeper fish.
What they are: Lures designed to float on the surface and create commotion that attracts fish from below.
How they work: Different designs create different disturbances — pops, splashes, gurgles, or side-to-side “walking” action. Fish strike from below, often explosively.
When to use them:
Main types: Poppers create a “pop” and splash when twitched. Walk-the-dog lures zigzag across the surface with rhythmic rod twitches. Buzzbaits have spinning blades that churn the water during a steady retrieve.
What they are: Flat-sided, sinking hard baits without a diving lip. They vibrate tightly when retrieved and often have internal rattles.
How they work: They sink on a slack line and can be fished at any depth depending on your retrieve. The tight vibration and rattle make them effective even when fish can’t see well.
When to use them:
Soft plastic lures are made from flexible materials that feel more natural when fish bite — meaning they hold on longer, giving you more time to set the hook.
What they are: The most versatile soft plastic — simple worm shapes in sizes from 4 inches to over a foot, in every colour imaginable.
How they work: Rigged on a hook (often with weight or “Texas-rigged” to be weedless), worms are fished slowly along the bottom or through cover. The soft, undulating tail mimics natural prey movement.
Why they’re effective: Fish eat a lot of things that look roughly like worms — actual worms, leeches, small eels, salamanders. The soft plastic gives a natural feel, and the slow presentation appeals to fish that aren’t actively chasing.
Key styles: Ribbon tail worms have lots of action on the fall. Straight “stick” worms have subtle action but an incredibly natural sinking motion. Curly tail worms kick and vibrate during retrieval.
What they are: Soft plastics with multiple appendages — claws, legs, tentacles — that create movement even when the lure is sitting still.
How they work: The appendages flutter and wave with any water movement, mimicking crawfish, small baitfish, or just “something alive.” Often used on a jig head or rigged Texas-style.
When to use them:
What they are: Soft plastics shaped like baitfish, with paddle tails or boot tails that kick and swim during retrieval.
How they work: The tail creates a thumping, swimming action that closely mimics a real fish. Usually rigged on a jig head and retrieved steadily.
Why they’re great for beginners: Swimbaits are possibly the most versatile and beginner-friendly lure category. Cast and retrieve — the lure does the work. They catch almost everything that eats smaller fish.
Sizing guide: Match the swimbait size to local baitfish. 3-4 inch swimbaits are a good all-around starting point.
What they are: Small, simple soft plastics with a fat body and curly tail.
How they work: Rigged on a jig head, grubs are retrieved steadily or hopped along the bottom. The curly tail provides constant action.
The beginner’s secret weapon: A 3-inch grub on a small jig head might be the most versatile setup in freshwater fishing. It catches panfish, bass, trout, perch — genuinely everything. If you’re just starting with lures, start here.
What they are: Metal lures with a spinning blade that rotates around a central wire shaft when retrieved.
How they work: The spinning blade creates flash and vibration that attracts fish from a distance. The technique couldn’t be simpler: cast, let it sink, reel steadily.
Why beginners love them: Inline spinners catch fish almost anywhere, require zero special technique, and provide instant feedback (you can feel the blade spinning). They’re confidence-builders.
What they are: Wire-frame lures with spinning blades on top and a weighted head with a rubber skirt on the bottom.
How they work: The angled wire design makes them remarkably weedless — they deflect off cover rather than snagging. The blades provide flash and vibration while the skirt adds bulk and movement.
Blade types matter: Round “Colorado” blades thump hard and work well in murky water. Long, narrow “willow” blades flash more and suit clearer water. “Indiana” blades are in between.
What they are: A jig head with a metal blade attached to the front that creates a distinctive chattering vibration.
How they work: The blade wobbles erratically during retrieve, causing the whole lure to shake unpredictably. This triggers reaction strikes from fish that can’t resist the commotion.
When to use them: Around grass and vegetation, stained water, when fish are feeding aggressively.
What they are: A weighted hook dressed with a rubber skirt, hair, or soft plastic trailer.
How they work: Jigs are incredibly versatile. Drag them along the bottom. Hop them. Swim them. Let them fall on a slack line. The weight gets the lure down; the dressing provides attraction.
Why serious anglers rely on them: Many experienced fishers consider the jig the single most effective bass lure. It works year-round, in nearly any condition, and tends to catch bigger-than-average fish. The learning curve is steeper than spinners or swimbaits, but the payoff is worth it.
Main types: Football jigs have wide heads for dragging across rocky bottoms. Flipping jigs have compact designs for punching through vegetation. Swim jigs are designed for steady retrieval.
Rather than memorising rules, ask yourself these questions:
| Water Clarity | Best Colours | Best Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Muddy (under 1 foot visibility) | Black, chartreuse, white, bright colours | Vibration and noise (spinnerbaits, rattling lures) |
| Stained (1-3 feet visibility) | Chartreuse/white combos, orange, gold | Balance of flash and vibration |
| Clear (3+ feet visibility) | Natural colours — green pumpkin, watermelon, shad patterns | Subtle presentations, natural action |
Actively feeding: Fast-moving lures — crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater. Cover water, trigger reaction strikes.
Neutral or inactive: Slow presentations — jigs, soft plastics, suspending jerkbaits. Give them time to decide.
Surface: Topwater lures
Shallow (0-5 feet): Shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits, unweighted soft plastics
Mid-depth (5-15 feet): Medium-diving crankbaits, weighted soft plastics, swimbaits
Deep (15+ feet): Deep-diving crankbaits, heavy jigs, drop-shot rigs
Match the hatch when possible:
Changing lures too often: Give each lure time to work. Five casts isn’t enough to know if fish want it. Confidence in your lure matters.
Retrieving too fast: This is extremely common among beginners. Most lures work better slower than you think. Fish often follow to the bank before striking — if you’re reeling fast, they never get the chance.
Wrong size: When in doubt, go smaller. A slightly undersized lure gets more bites than an oversized one.
Ignoring the knot: Your connection point is only as strong as your knot. Learn one reliable knot (the Palomar is hard to beat) and tie it properly every time.
Avoiding cover: Yes, you’ll lose some lures. But fish live around cover for a reason. Weedless presentations (Texas-rigged plastics, spinnerbaits) let you fish where the fish actually are.
You don’t need one of everything. Start with these essentials and expand as you learn what works in your local waters:
That’s enough to fish effectively in almost any freshwater situation. Add specialty lures as you discover what works for your local conditions.
The best lure is the one you have confidence in. Yes, selection matters — but presentation, location, and timing matter more. An angler who truly understands how to fish a grub will consistently outperform someone with an expensive tackle box full of lures they don’t know how to use.
Start simple. Learn a few lure types thoroughly. Pay attention to what’s working and why. The intuition will develop with time on the water, and that intuition is worth more than any amount of tackle.
Our 232-Piece Lure Collection covers all the essential categories in this guide — soft plastics, hard baits, spinners, jigs, and terminal tackle — curated for real fishing situations rather than just filling a box. Everything organised and ready to fish.