Lures spread and Lures colours

When it comes to lures in your spread, some anglers want to offer choices and others claim that it’s the worst thing you can do.

According with some, there is a reason to run all the same lures in your spread. What is important is how they swim, and where they swim. More than that, followers of this style will recommend only one lure colour, or if you want to use different colours to have the same lures in all the spread.

The logic behind it is that fish behaves like other predators; they will go for the weak, the odd fish ball or the one who swims a little different. When they come up the idea is not to give them any choice, since they will go for the weak one. Instead keep the lures all the same and let them eat them all!

Others claim that setting up a pattern with big lures close to the boat and smaller at the end of the spread will drawn the fish through the whole spread offering a greater selection to choose from.

The concept of the predator/weak fish also has to do with teasers. Depending on its action the teaser can become a weak fish, don’t run it far since it will bring the fish or school up in the back of the spread. Run it in front so fish that are holding at 20 fathoms will look up and see all that movement from the bigger lures, and head in that direction.

On the colour issue, most fishermen follow the old adage of using brightly colored lures on bright days and dark colored lures on dark days.

And there are also the black lures .... Some anglers prefer a majority of black lures in their spread, and there is a reason for that. Most of the time marlin patrol at depths of 40 to 50 feet for bonito, tuna and other food. They might get deeper than that, but they will always be looking up toward the surface, regardless of the sky conditions marlin are always faced with looking up at a light background unable to see a light-colored lure because it blends into that light background. But a dark lure, especially a black lure, provides a silhouette that fish can see from amazing distances. Generally, black lures will out produce other colors because the fish can see them from farther away.

Without a doubt, light-colour combinations match the normal marlin food and can easily be seen by a surface-finning billfish against the dark ocean bottom.

There is extensive research into the colour vision of billfish, Japanese and Puerto Rican scientists together with US anglers developed a colour chart that indicates what colors can best be detected by billfish in relation to the sun's position.

There is extensive research into the colour vision of billfish, Japanese and Puerto Rican scientists together with US anglers developed a colour chart that indicates what colors can best be detected by billfish in relation to the sun's position.

It is not a bad idea to change one of the lures of ther spread according with this chart regularly depending the time of the day.

The studies show that the sun's ultraviolet light permits certain colors to propagate farther into the water at certain times of the day than other colors.

How to set them up in the spread, the set of lures should match the most common baitfish colours found in your fishing area. It’s recommended that once you have a pattern that works, you should keep it alone using extra colours or extra lures in positions like the shot gun or around the main spread.

In conclusion, colour is important … but not the most important factor, in fact for some anglers it doesn’t matter at all!

Location and presentation will work regardless of your target species … how the lures swim and where they swim!