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| 19 February 2010
Some lures catch the eye of snook; some just catch the angler
Fish can indeed smell and evidence is that they respond to pheromones by instinct
Artificials have come a long way, baby.
My grandpa’s tackle box had plenty of worm hooks and bobbers, but any lures were made of wood, metal, or some combination of the two. In fact, I remember him chastising my dad when he broke from tradition and used rubber worms, way back in the day when they came pre-rigged with two hooks, a few beads, a propeller and a mono loop in front where dad attached a snap swivel.
The evolution of lures has not slowed with the economy, as manufacturers figure out new ways to appeal to the most obvious senses that fish use to feed, those being sight and smell.
Walking down the lure aisle of your tackle store, you would think vision was the only sense a fish depended on. Not so. We’ve all heard that some lures were made to catch the fisherman, not the fish, suggesting the angler’s vision is the stronger consideration for a top selling lure. You also may have heard salt water fly anglers touting their “impressionistic” flies – meaning, they don’t really look like anything in particular, yet those folks catch plenty of fish.
A snook's nares are simply tunnels in front of the fish's eye that contain sensory organs, which detect odors and other chemicals
Where the visual profile and color gradient of artificial lures might have evolved as far as they ever needed to go 20 years ago, the area of chemoreception is a different story. Smell in particular has been a priority for lure makers.
Smell is a primary sense for a lot of creatures, meaning it is one of the first to develop. Like humans, fish have nares, or holes in their head, through which they smell. Unlike land animals, fish don’t breath through their nares – just smell. Although some fish have small hairs that can move water through their nares so they can smell while sitting still, others (like most of the mackerel family) need to be moving in order to wash water through their nares, where the olfactory (smell) sensors are located.
But an appealing odor might not be the only reason a fish is triggered to eat – at least not in the sense we might be familiar with. Chemicals called pheromones essentially bypass what we might consider a planned response to an odor, and trigger instinctual responses. Fish give off pheromones in a variety of situations. For example, when prey species are threatened, they release a pheromone (called Schreckstoff) through their skin cells.
Biodegradable soft plastics like these crabs now come complete with fish attracting odors as well as synthetic pheromones designed to trigger a feeding response
Rapala has taken the study of these chemicals to a new level with their Trigger-X series of lures. Not only have they created a synthetic replica of frightened prey, but they included the pheromone that fellow game fish release when on the feed. Mark Fisher, director of field promotions, explains, “The new Aggression Formula is a blend of “fear” and “aggression” pheromones, designed to trigger bites from actively feeding fish.”
The line of soft baits is not PVC based, so they don’t have that “plastic” smell, and they are completely biodegradable and natural, breaking down and entering the food chain within weeks. The ribbed body shape provides more surface area, allowing for better dispersal of pheromones.
Possibly the most impressive claim of the Trigger-X line is that the lures are designed to target specific species. Each line of lure has specific pheromone combinations, body shape, and action designed to attract particular game fish. This represents a new level in lure technology.
Technology. Usually when we think about advancements in technology, it requires a more complicated understanding or action on the user end of the deal. Finally, an advancement that actually can simplify your pastime. Some of my best fishing memories involved wading a flat with nothing more than a single rod, a pocket full of hooks, and my bait bucket trailing behind. Now, I can eliminate the trip to the bait shop or the hours spent searching for bait – a rod and a pocket full of chemically charged lures… It doesn’t get much easier, or effective.
Did you know...
- Catfish can ‘smell’ with their skin
- Most fish develop a keener sense of smell as they grow
- Pufferfish can’t smell at all – they don’t have nostrils
- Some pollutants, including pesticides, can permanently damage a fishes sense of smell
