Markos Vidalis: Understanding the Lure

I barely remember myself taking my first gear, a bunch of lures and go out for the big one! Well at that point “big ones” was for my 14 years of age, some sea bass around the kilo and when the sea was in good mood and pay back my efforts, I remember that the feeling was great! I felt holding a fish like that, like I had the whole world in my hands and only an addicted angler can understand that feeling!

In the next 21 years until today, my goals got greater and my targets become more extreme, while the one kg fish now always return back to the water. I have manage to keep the feeling and spirit burning in the same flame, and until today, every fish makes me feel like I got the best thing in life, hanging on my fish grip!

Many things changed from back then, like the gear, the lures and the fishing itself! For 21 one years I keep on testing lures, using them and sometimes even sleep with them at night 😉 I have lures hanging on my key chains, on the mirror of my car, on the zip of my jackets! I’m addicted I know, and somehow I have completely understand that every single lure has its own magic and character! Now fishing is my job, and what is most important for me is always to understand why the fish striked and I dont just give credit to the lure. Of course I’m talking about quality lures, that created with good knowledge of materials, hydrodynamic and fish behavior. DUO got the whole package well, I have to mention, and I love I’m part in this, by sharing with the company my thoughts and my results in new developed models.

The reason I’m writing this small article is not for promoting the brand, (well maybe only a little) but to uncover to all of you, the magic of creation of a single mode and what really makes it special in fishing! Before I got deeper in this, I thought that things were much simpler! Basically in second party brands that just copy succesful lures, its easy, since they just buy the model, they give it to a Chinese factory and say: “Hey I want this one in those colors and just make a small difference so not to have problems with copyrights”.?

I will try to explain you in a quick way from where it starts and how it ends! In the beginning it is an idea! Nothing material, only a desire in the brain! I have to admit that many of us might have good ideas, but in order to bring it to reality, takes more than good imagination, experience and fishing skills. So the very next thing is sculpting, and more precise, like the painter have its model in front of him and try to pass it to the paper, the lure creator, does not see anything in reality, but only? a “ghost” lure in his head that tries to bring it out on a piece of wood or plastic.

After the shape has been given, it must be reconstructed with the needs of movement, balance, and castability. Very different things with very different needs that all must be very well controlled to give the right result, and to succeed in this, might take even years! When the lure is ready, if you give it a little thought, it is a small piece of art! We might only see a piece of plastic with nice colors and some treble hooks hanging, but if someone could look deeper and realize that this creation has a very long way before it reaches our line, then it would look at it with a very different eye!

This unique masterpiece also has unique advantages, that in order to discover them all, you might have to use it with different rods and reels. If you allow me, I would compare a lure with a dog! If you leave the dog untrained, it will be just a dog! If you train him, it will learn to do tricks and uncover its true abilities. Depending the training, the dog can become a guardian, a clown or a working dog. The same goes for lures but in a different way. Did you know that the same lure could react very differently with a softer or stiffer rod, or a faster or slower reel? Have you ever been in the position where some anglers near you, do get strikes with the same lure that you also use, and you get nothing? Or you to be one of the lucky ones, but someone else don’t?

A major mistake many anglers do in this case is that they accuse the leader that is visible or the black cat they crossed the same morning. Believe me, the true problem might be in the gear and ill explain why for the less experienced. A fast and a soft tip, give completely different move while twitching a lure, and especially when we “walk the dog”. The same with a fast reel of a speed more than 5,7:1 because in those cases we must learn the accurate turning speed in order our lure to react properly and equal to our demands. So try to understand perfect your “dog” and give enough time, experiment and effort to teach it “new tricks”! In the end the result will be only success! Remember this. No lure catch fish by itself! You do! So I let you decide if this derives from luck or from your skills!

Finally the ultimate combination is the perfect lure with the perfect angler! You got the perfect lures so… go for it!

Markos Vidalis