How to work a lure

A lure is an inert object until you move it. Fish rarely chase a constant, unchanging retrieve; the strike usually comes when depth, speed or pause changes and the bait suddenly looks vulnerable.

1. 01

   Pick a depth to start

   Decide where the fish are likely to be — near the surface, mid-water, or on the bottom — and let the lure sink to reach it. Counting the seconds it takes to hit the bottom tells you how deep your water is and where your lure is working.

2. 02

   Retrieve steadily first

   Wind at an even pace and keep the rod tip low so you can feel the lure's action through the line. If you can't feel it, you can't tell when a fish takes it.

3. 03

   Change speed in stages

   Slow, then slightly faster, then faster again, and back down. Fish that ignore a fast retrieve will often follow and take a slow one — and vice versa. Change one variable at a time so you know what worked.

4. 04

   Add pauses and twitches

   Stop the retrieve for a few seconds, or lift and drop the rod tip. Most strikes come on the pause, when the lure falls away and looks easy.

5. 05

   Expect a slack line

   A bite is as often a sudden slack or a line that stops moving as a knock on the rod. If the line goes slack mid-retrieve, strike and reel in fast — many lures are hooked on the follow-up.

6. 06

   Write down what worked

   Depth, speed, lure, pause. A session that ends with a description of the retrieve that produced the fish is worth three sessions that end with 'it was one of those days'.