Attraction vs Triggering

[Outlaw4]

Watched this old Doug Hannon video the other day. In particular the first part where he is talking about attraction and triggering qualities of lures and what he prefers and why.

Curious what others here who build lures think of this and do you apply the methodology and if so how to the baits you build. 

Doug Hannon - The Bass Professor - Catching Big Bass (1986) 

Youtube wont allow me to embed the video but this is what it is titled if you wish to check it out.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Like most opinion pieces put out by fisherman I believe some of it holds merit but a lot of it is just opinion biased on his fishing style 

My opinion attraction is based on flicker/flash, noise/vibration and overall visibility 

true triggering traits are that show weakness/opportunity or create the fish to fear a loss of opportunity. Weakness is a pause, fall, or small twitch showing struggles to move. Drawing on a now or never response is a long pull/jerk, variation in speed and veering to the side

Above is the main factors I consider when creating a lure and what I choose to fish with.

Water color is acknowledged but I also consider how close my presentation will be to the fish. For example I have caught lots of bass in muddy water flipping dark color lizards into cover. I have also had great results trolling Lakers with bright noisy crank baits in crystal clear water 

One I am dropping on the fishes nose the other I am drawing fish in from a distance 

There is a ton of other factors I consider but it would be writing a novel lol

We all have our opinions and in the end if it works keep doing it. If not change something 

[azsouth]

If one person was always right he/she would own the fishing industry, but that is not the case!!

We all have had great years followed by not so great years.... as conditions change from year to year so does the fishing.

[Anglinarcher]

I did not watch the video, but Mr. Hannon was known as a pretty smart feller.  The terms attraction and trigger are not new for sure and I do believe that they have a great deal of merit.

Larry Dahlberg was known to use the terms frequently on his show "Hunt for Big Fish", and his presence in the Salt Water Hall of Fame, and the Freshwater Hall of fame lend him credence.  

Still, opinion is opinion and until we can hold a conversation with fish, we will never know.

Hillbilly has explained the various attractions and triggers pretty much like I view them.  Anecdotal observations on may part are crankbaiting than just bumping cover or bottom and as soon as it clears the obstruction fish hit it, far more often than the straight retrieve.  I hate trolling, but have been known to do it.  The numbers of times I have had a line in the water and pulled it forward with my rod than let it drift back just to have it hammered are countless.  I can't even count the number of times I see fish follow a presentation that won't hit, unless I do something a little different in the retrieve.....sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.  On the next fish, if it worked, I repeat, if it did not, I try a different "trigger".

If I had to hang my hat on something, I would personally agree that attraction and trigger are different, and important.  I also, believe, for the most part, a lure is designed to attract, the fisherman creates the trigger within the limits of the lure.  Still, often attraction is all that is necessary.  Sometimes attraction and trigger are the same thing.

[Outlaw4]

its interesting. i have experienced attraction and triggering in several fishing situations, couple examples...

1. jig fishing - the jig is both an attraction and trigger lure that can be manipulated by the user. specifically talking vertical jigging here. large aggressive movements to attract, and small jiggly movements to trigger

2. musky glide baits - these are great attractors, fish love to come and check them out. if you are not moving fish a glide bait is a great way to see a fish. and they do trigger and catch fish as well but attracting is their specialty.

This all got me to thinking a bit more about making baits. I generally focus on lures as tools. To get a certain depth, to get through weeds, a certain sound, speed etc...more of if it moves it's food approach

So the video got me to thinking even with my lures as tools approach to bait making, i should probably also be paying attention more to attraction and triggering as tools as well, and is something that i might be able to dial into a bit more.

 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

@Outlaw4

Don’t ignore your tools theory on lure building because this is still very important. If you are not in the strike zone your odds of attracting or triggering fish decreases 

This is just as important as the attraction and trigger factors 

My opinion two of the biggest factors in a great fisherman and a meh one is getting it in the strike zone and applying a trigger to the action. Most lures are designed to attract with a basic retrieval that most fisherman can figure out easily 

I have posted it before a truly great fisherman can out fish an average fisherman even using crap lures because of how they apply them

My opinion on lure building priorities 

1) get it to the fish 

2) get their attention 

3) don’t have a static action. Make it so it has its own hiccup or one the angler can easily apply 

4) User friendly is important. Fowling and breaking is a fail. Casting ability or trolling ability with out adding terminal tackle 

If a lure doesn’t meet the above it is a short lived design for me. I self a lot of OK designs that still catch fish in pursuit of something better 

Theses are my simple thoughts and they make my lure building complicated enough without getting into too many theories 

[SlowFISH]

1 hour ago, Outlaw4 said:

its interesting. i have experienced attraction and triggering in several fishing situations, couple examples...

1. jig fishing - the jig is both an attraction and trigger lure that can be manipulated by the user. specifically talking vertical jigging here. large aggressive movements to attract, and small jiggly movements to trigger

2. musky glide baits - these are great attractors, fish love to come and check them out. if you are not moving fish a glide bait is a great way to see a fish. and they do trigger and catch fish as well but attracting is their specialty.

This all got me to thinking a bit more about making baits. I generally focus on lures as tools. To get a certain depth, to get through weeds, a certain sound, speed etc...more of if it moves it's food approach

So the video got me to thinking even with my lures as tools approach to bait making, i should probably also be paying attention more to attraction and triggering as tools as well, and is something that i might be able to dial into a bit more.

 

Interesting thread.... My mind says having both and attraction / trigger in a lure is best... and maybe the technique or speed you fish determines what your really doing or need...

Jig fishing... I fish with an older friend - he's the king of throwing 1 ounce (and larger) jigs into shallow water - like inside weed edge, 2-3 feet or less and catches big fish. I don't know how he does it - but his mindset is big splash, fast fall and a big ball of dirt stirred up when it hits the bottom just makes the big fish angry and they can't resist... total trigger reactions.  I don't think he owns a jig or weight less than 3/4 ounce - which he calls his "finesse jigs" LOL.

On that same note - how many times have you burned a crank back to the boat in that last 10-15 feet of a retrieve only to have a fish chase and swipe at it?  

Trigger to me happens with speed.... fast fall, fast horizontal movement, fast whatever....  its' something moving fast enough that the fish has to determine if it's willing to let it go by and lose it - or just hit it.

Attraction to me is usually a bit more finessed.  It's that damn weightless stick bait fall.... a shakey head sitting on the bottom quivering.... its something where the fish looks at it enough that they want it.

As for how I use it.... for soft baits I spend alot of time making little details that shimmy and wave on bait I expect to sit on the bottom without me moving it.... for stuff that's moving - I tend to make details that flap/vibrate like crazy - make a commotion.  

J.

 

[Bassinfool]

My opinion on the matter is that attraction and triggering often time go hand in hand.  One of the best examples I can think of are with big glide baits thrown in clear water.  These big baits have a lot of "drawing power" with those slow, wide movements bringing in fish from a long distance away- I have had instances where I can see a fish close on the bait from maybe 10-15 feet away, get right on the tail of the bait and follow it all the way to the boat before turning away.  Obviously this fish was attracted to the lure but didn't commit.

This is where the triggering part comes into play.  Again, using the glide bait example, if I can see that I have a follower but they're not committing to the bait I will jerk my rod tip hard a few times to make it dart side to side, crank the reel handle hard a few times and kill the bait to let the bait slide off to one side or, depending on the bait, twitch it and make the bait do a 180 turn and face the fish.  Often times these movements are enough to illicit a violent reaction from followers or turn them off completely- you really don't know until you try a few different things and start getting bites.

 To summarize, attraction is what brings the fish to the bait but triggering them to bite appeals to their core predatory instinct making them lash out and commit to the bait.

[Chuck Young]

Sometimes inaction is the trigger - like when a Muskie hits it on the pause. I have seen prey freeze when faced with a predator. 

Some fish attack a school, stunning or wounding prey. This might be another case where inaction triggers a strike.