Anthropomorphism and why fish bite lures

[Gotfish?]

Some opinions/observations about lures:
1. I see statements made all over the Internet that a certain lure works because it resembles such and such a bait that fish feed on. This is usually nonsense. Plastic worms work but bass do not normally feed on earth worms and they do not look like minnows. A Ned rig does not look like a minnow feeding on the bottom. Spinners, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, metal jigs, blade baits, etc. do not look like natural forage.
2. If the reason fish bite lures is because they look like natural forage, then the only lures shops would be selling are those with photo like finishes matching real forage. These lures are available in both hard and soft baits but they haven't displaced lures that look unnatural.
3. Anthropomorphism is the tendency of humans to attribute human attributes to nonhuman objects (including fish). Most theories about why fish bite a lure are based on what humans think they would do if they were a fish. Spoiler: fish don't think like humans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism
4. On the other hand, no one says that a dog chases a ball because it looks like a rabbit. Or that a cat chases a piece of cardboard on a wire or a laser dot because it looks like a mouse. https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Dancer-101-I ... r=8-1&th=1 . They do this out of the chase instinct. Fish will chase and attempt to eat lures largely out of instinct and like a cat, something that looks particularly helpless is often the best lure. And sometimes, something fast moving works better.
5. In the book https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Bass-Sci ... 1585745235, an experiment is described where the scientists experimented with crawfish like shapes (great book, by the way). They found that if they took a plastic crawfish and removed the claws, the legs, the antennae and the tail flat, that was the most effective shape. In other words, the shape that looked least like a craw but most like a helpless piece of food worked best. It had about the same size and shape as the Ned TRD baits.
6. When bass are exposed to lures, they wise up to hard baits faster than to soft baits. This is similar to a house cat which will quickly bore of a fast moving toy but can be teased into attacking a slow moving toy with twitches. And the toys don't have to look like mice or birds to work. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news ... 792255007/ . The instinct to attack baits that look helpless is strong, whether a fish or a cat.
7. I think a reason the Ned rig is so effective is that it looks helpless and when sitting on the bottom with the tail floating up, it doesn't look to have an easy escape. Nothing to do with looking like a feeding minnow.
8. Some more examples of effective baits that don't look like common forage: mop fly for trout, poop baits, creature baits, dice style baits, hard metal jigs. If you can tell that a bait is fake right away, a fish probably can too and if caught and released on such a bait, will quickly learn to avoid that bait. Sometimes the best bait is simply a bait the fish has never seen before.
9. Similar comments can be made about colors. Some days, the best colors are those that stand out and fish can see from further distances. Other days, colors that blend into the background (green for weeds, brown for bottom, white for sky and clear always) work better. Other days colors that resemble forage seem to work better. FYI, live bait fishermen sometimes dye their minnows to get them to look unlike a natural minnow. https://pautzke.com/learn-to-catch-fish ... e-minnows/ So much for looking natural.
10. So why do fish bite lures? Chase instinct, looks like an easy meal, territorial aggression, reaction strike (predator instinct). I don't think fish experience anger, that is a human emotion and the attribution likely an example of anthropomorphism. Fish have been known to over feed when bait is plentiful and then regurgitate and feed more, the predator instinct is that strong. Similarly, wolves kill sheep they don't intend to eat and humans almost drove bison to extinction with needless killing. Needless to say, hungry fish are much easier to catch than nonhungry fish.

Before Isaac Newton formulated the law of gravity, people attributed objects falling to the object "wanting" to get closer to the earth. It was assumed that heavier objects would fall faster and a big surprise to people that objects fell at the same rate in a vacuum, regardless of mass.

[VinnyBass]

Lets just say that the power of advertising in the fishing world often works pretty effectively.
For me, it does not matter what a lure may look like, or imitates, but if it is catching bass on YouTube videos,
I must admit I am one of the suckers that feels I just have to have that lure....ha ha.
My buddy Joe years ago told me that I need to buy another boat to pull behind my boat that just carries
all of my extra fishing tackle.

[Midnightpass]

Great write up...
Butch

[Gotfish?]

Lets just say that the power of advertising in the fishing world often works pretty effectively.
For me, it does not matter what a lure may look like, or imitates, but if it is catching bass on YouTube videos,
I must admit I am one of the suckers that feels I just have to have that lure....ha ha.
My buddy Joe years ago told me that I need to buy another boat to pull behind my boat that just carries
all of my extra fishing tackle.

So, which of the following have you purchased:
Banjo Minnow
Flying Lure
Any electronic fishing lure
Roland Martin's Helicopter Lure
Bionic Minnow
Mighty Bite
any others I have missed?

Imagine, the perfect Xmas present for a fisherman! Or maybe just revenge for the crappy present you got last year.

[foulhook]

I bought the banjo minnow and still have the how to use it cd and most of the lures.