All about Suspending Lures
A Suspending lure is an asset in any lure box. Suspending lures are designed to stay more or less in the same place in the water column when a retrieve is stopped (when reeling is paused) thus remaining in the strike zone of a fish which is in its range. These are truly versatile lures the buoyancy of which matches water and thus they do not sink nor rise when a reel retrieve is stopped. So if you get them to the right depth, depending on the structures that you are fishing around,
they will be the ideal bait to lure out the Barramundi or Red Snapper in most Indian Waters. As the theory goes when targeting a fish, you have to keep the lure at the depth that the fish will be hiding at and your retrieve speed and pauses should be such that the lure remains in the sight range of the fish to make them strike. Of course, knowing the structures beneath the waters you are fishing in and then having the skills to keep the lures at the right depth around them without getting the lure snagged will be the ultimate arsenal in the armory of any angler who is casting out a suspending lure.
Conditions and Techniques for Using Suspending Baits
If we look at the Indian Subcontinent, Suspending baits are ideal for fishing rivers or coastal areas for Red Snappers, Barramundi, and Groupers which usually hide under rocks and structures especially when the waters are a little cooler. This also happens to be ideal when fishing during early mornings or late evenings and Nights in Indian waters when the daytime temperatures start to drop. Fish are also not very active in the rains when the downpour is heavy or in winter when the waters get cooler. These could be ideal times to put your suspending lures to test and to learn the skills of getting them to the right depth. As these lures go a little deeper into the water column and stay put in the same place when the retrieve is stopped these make ideal targets for slightly lethargic fish not making the fish chase the lure, far out of their covers.
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Rapala Shadow Rap Suspending Lure Action Video
Suspending Lure Range available on Fishermanshub
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Suspending baits come in especially handy in rivers & ponds that are not too shallow nor too deep, when fishing near the banks (Ideal range could be between 1.5 - 5 Meters depth). You need to find the ideal depth that you can get these lures to and then reel them keeping them at this constant depth with pauses & twitches to get some good action on them. Keeping the suspending lures in and around the structures under such waters where the fish could be hiding could markedly increase your chances of getting the fish to strike either at the stop of the jerk or when you begin to jerk the bait again after the pause.
These baits may not be very effective in large open waters of the Indian Subcontinent as such waters will need to be fished either on the surface with Poppers or larger shallow divers (depending on the size of the fish you are targeting) so that the fish are able to see the bait clearly and the baits cause enough disturbance on top of the water so as to attract attention of the fish swimming in open waters. Of course deep divers will also help in large open waters if you can get closer to the bottom with them. Suspending Lures also may not be as effective as Top Water baits for fish like GT’s, Travelleys, Tunas, Kingfish & Barracudas as these fish more likely chase top water baits more than something that is in the middle of the water column as these baits can be seen easily and these fish tend to go for surface disturbances. Of course a skillful angler will be able to put suspending baits to good use even in deep open waters if she/he choses the right colours and has an idea of structures and the weeds if any, in such waters of deeper depths.
Action of the Storm Twitch Stick A classic Suspending Lure
So if you are targeting a Barramundi or a Red Snapper or a Grouper, especially around banks of rivers and when fishing the seas just off the coast in India, a Suspending bait will be a nice option to have in your lure box along with the other floating and sinking baits that you may carry.
So having said this we have listed below a few of the known Suspending Baits available in the Indian Market. These are not listed in any specific order nor are they ranked or rated in any way. There would be many other such baits available in Indian Subcontinent and if you know of any, please do drop us a line and we would be happy to add them to this list.
HALCO HAMMA
STRIKE PRO INQUISITOR
-Tight Lines
Here are some more action videos of the Various Suspending Baits in the list
Deep Diving Suspending Lure - The Rapala X RAP Magnum
If you know of any other Suspending Baits available in the Indian Subcontinent do write to us in the comments section below or mail us at mail@fishermanshub.com. You could also drop us a line in our chat on facebook or Instagram.
