Get to know the main types of fishing lure

These are soft, flexible imitations of things fish eat. They come shaped like worms, shrimp, small fish and other animals.

Some are only the soft body; they need a separate hook or weighted hook before you can fish with them. A paddletail has a small paddle-shaped tail that moves as it travels. Check whether the lure already includes a hook or whether you're choosing the body and hook separately. The paddletail lesson shows one way those parts fit.

A jig has a weighted head and hook. It may carry a soft-plastic body, hair, feathers or another dressing.

A soft-plastic body on a weighted jighead is both a soft-plastic lure and part of a jig. The names describe different parts of the same setup. The weight helps it sink.

For an illustrative identification, a flexible paddletail body fitted to a jighead can be described as a soft plastic, a paddletail and a jig arrangement. Those aren't three separate purchases you must add to the line. Point to the body, weighted head, hook and attachment point before deciding what is missing.

You don't have to jerk a rod up and down just because the lure is called a jig. Some are cast and wound back; others are moved below a boat. The lure and fishing method determine the movement. Ask for the intended starting action and return: whether to let that lure settle, wind it, pause or move it under the boat. The word ‘jig’ doesn't establish the same sequence for every model and fishing position.

A plug is a hard-bodied lure, often made to resemble a small fish. Some float, some sink and some dive as they're pulled through the water.

A diving plug may have a small projecting lip at the front that helps it travel downward. Topwater means a lure intended to work at the surface; a surface plug might wobble or make a popping splash.

Check the packet or instructions for whether the particular plug floats, sinks or dives when pulled. Two similar-looking plugs can work at different depths. A topwater lure is meant to work at the surface; it isn't a bottom-fishing lure simply because you pause after casting. Keep the actual model's floating, sinking or diving description with its instructions instead of assigning a depth from its shape alone.

A spoon is a shaped piece of metal with a hook. As it moves, its curve can create a wobble and flash of reflected light.

Some versions are intended to sink and others to work around particular cover. Cover means things in the water such as plants or branches. A “weedless” design aims to reduce snagging on plants; it isn't a promise that it can never get stuck. Ask how the particular spoon should travel through the chosen area before copying a movement from another spoon. A similar metal body doesn't establish identical behavior.

These lures use a metal blade that turns as the lure moves, adding flash and vibration.

An inline spinner has the parts arranged along a central shaft. A spinnerbait commonly has an angled wire frame, with a blade above a weighted hook and skirt. The skirt is the group of flexible strands around the body.

The rotating blade is the feature to notice; the frame and hook arrangement tell you which type you're holding. Its depth and the speed needed to make the blade work still depend on the particular lure and setup. During a close demonstration, observe the blade if it is visible and ask what movement the instructor is using. If you cannot see it, keep that uncertainty rather than assume the name proves it is turning throughout the retrieve.

Retrieve means bringing the lure back by winding the reel and moving the rod. For the lure you've chosen, find out whether you start winding after it lands or first let it sink. Then use one simple movement from its instructions, such as a steady wind or short movements with pauses.

Ask for a close demonstration of the actual lure, then make a short cast where you can follow the line and, if the water allows, see the lure. Use the instructed movement and bring it back. Check for tangled hooks, plants, loose parts or a twisted soft body before repeating.

Keep a simple lesson note: the exact lure and attached parts, intended movement, what you could observe, condition on return and one correction for the next attempt. Fix an obvious problem before changing color, speed and weight all at once. A clear first return teaches more than a box of names you haven't learned to use.

Check that the complete lure, including added parts, suits your rod's stated rating. The rig-parts guide helps identify what is already attached and what still needs a connection. If you swap the body, head or another component, repeat the affected connection and casting-weight checks rather than assume it is still the same match. Keep exposed hooks contained when the lure isn't in use, and ask the crew how to handle changes aboard. The method guide explains what casting, jigging and trolling involve if those names are new to you.