Lure Classification

There are so many different types of fishing lures. We definitely need classify them to better understand when and where we use one. I found that classification by play depth is the most useful way. There are 3 types of lures according to play depth: top, middle and bottom water baits.

1. Top water

• Floating hard bait: They look typical hard plastic baits, but they remain floated when they are retrieved. Chug bug, Jitter bug, Stik bait are brand names of this kind of lure. They are usually called topwater lure.
  
• Buzz bait: They look like spinner baits, but they have props which make them float.
  
• Frog bait: They look like frog, and do not snag on grassed water.
  

2. Middle water

• Diving hard bait: They are the most typical hard plastic baits. They have lips, and they make the bait dive. Larger the lips, deeper they dive.
  
• Swim bait: They are soft plastic lure with paddle at the end. The paddle makes it swim in the middle of water.
  
• Spinner: They are made of wire and wings. Being retrieved fast, spinning wings imitate swimming bait fish.
  
• Spoon: They are spoon-shaped baits.
  

3. Bottom water

• Soft Plastic: There are many different shape of soft plastic baits, such as worm, bait fish, cray fish, and salamander. They are used with jig head or Carolina rig or no sinker rig. They are many variations of rigging.
  
• Jig: Jig is a combination of jig head and many kinds of skirts. For example, bucktail jig is a jighead with bucktail skirt.
  

I found this classification useful. Because it gives us idea which lure we have to use at different situation. Classification like soft plastic, hard plastic, non plastic does not help at all.