The dry flies of the spin fisher you could call the various
models of swimming lures which do not dive when you pull. Not always successful,
but if they are you're into some really good action. For black bass, perch and
pike these lures work good at times, I've even caught a
wels (european catfish) on a
popper once, which isn't really as much of a surprise as you might think if
you consider that the noise the popper makes is very similar to that of the "wallerholz"
used to attract wels since ages in eastern Europe.
There is hardly a lure you can fish slower (except maybe for soft plastic lures
in the hands of experts) und certainly none more exciting! When a large black
bass lets your lure disappear in a big splash or an eager pike shoots full
length out of the water,
your heart almost stands still. And then you will usually commit the classical
error of a beginning surface lure fisher: premature hook set. As a spin fisher
you will be so conditioned to set the hook on the slightest sign of a bite, that
you totally forget that what you see and hear fishing the surface normally
happens without you noticing it and wouldn't normally be answered with a hook
set. The rule of thumb is to wait until you feel the fish. If the lure is "gone"
and the line moves it is also a good idea to set the hook. A lot of the noisy
action is just fish missing the lure and even if not, the fish has often not yet
firmly closed its mouth when your reflex pulls the lure out of it.
Important Factors
Action-Noise
There are lot of different surface lures and I want to elaborate
only on the two types I have actually had success with. One is the popper with
its concave head, it makes a gurgling popping sound when you move it with hard
and short jerks. The sound can be quite loud in relation to the rather small
lure. The other type is more or less cigar shaped and equipped with one or two
propellers at the ends. These propellers make a much quieter commotion, if you
jerk these lures they will walk from side to side like jerk baits, if you don't
these run in a straight line. There are some other variants: Cigars without the
propellers are called "walkers", "crawlers" move from side to side with the help
of two moving arms or a big concave lip but I'm still waiting to get a bite on
any of those.
Size
Surface lures are more restricted in size than other lures, they
are mostly between 6 und 15cm. Larger ones might be found for musky fishing or
saltwater applications.
Form
The form of a surface lure is mostly designed to achieve a
certain action.
Colour
The colour of surface lures is not so important because the fish
only sees the silhouette most of the time. That is why black is a very popular
and successful colour. More or less frog like designs, contrasting black spots
or stripes and lifelike baitfish imitations are also found and all seem to work.
The importance of colour is also diminished, because these lures are often
successful in low light conditions.
Presentation
The correct presentation is absolutely crucial when fishing
surface lures. It has to be and quite slow and irregular, that means you have to
make pauses in between jerks or series of jerks. This is especially true for
poppers, other lures can also work on a straight retrieve, but even then it
should be slow and pausing now and then. Experienced musky fishermen always do a
sharp change of direction shortly before the lure reaches the boat to tempt any
followers. After the lure hits the water you should always wait at least a few
seconds and be prepared for an immediate strike, especially if you have cast to
structure extending over the surface of the water (trees, poles, reeds, etc ).
