Identifying Lures for Dive Depths and Action

I have been fishing lake Erie for 30 years. I have had and sold many boats over the years. I have accumulated hundreds of lures over that time.

Here is the issue...

I have two of the Large Amish Caddies full of Rapalas, Smithwicks, Bandits, Bombers, Reef Runners, Storms, Lindys, Berkeys...I also have two other tackle boxes of miscellaneous crankbaits. It is quite an impressive assortment of weapons to throw at unsuspecting fish.

When you are targeting depths, and can't identify the brand (let alone the exact lure), where do you start? I don't see any definitive markings on the lures to remember where or when I got it. Looking at Precision Trolling pictures, you might be able to say...'well, it looks kind of like that one'...but you generally know it probably isn't that exact lure.

With similar looking lures diving at completely different depths, where do you start?

It isn't so much an issue this time of year since I have about 100 different harnesses getting pulled a dozen different ways behind the boat. When fall and spring hit again, I want to be better prepared to target depths better. Other than trashing everything I have accumulated, and buying all new lures, how do other trollers handle identifying lures for depths? I am sure I am not the only one that buys a lure (or 12) and throws them into the tackle box without packaging - only to never use them successfully because of a lack of OCD of identifying each lure properly.

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Originally Posted by dayze_awayze

I have been fishing lake Erie for 30 years. I have had and sold many boats over the years. I have accumulated hundreds of lures over that time.

Here is the issue...

I have two of the Large Amish Caddies full of Rapalas, Smithwicks, Bandits, Bombers, Reef Runners, Storms, Lindys, Berkeys...I also have two other tackle boxes of miscellaneous crankbaits. It is quite an impressive assortment of weapons to throw at unsuspecting fish.

When you are targeting depths, and can't identify the brand (let alone the exact lure), where do you start? I don't see any definitive markings on the lures to remember where or when I got it. Looking at Precision Trolling pictures, you might be able to say...'well, it looks kind of like that one'...but you generally know it probably isn't that exact lure.

With similar looking lures diving at completely different depths, where do you start?

It isn't so much an issue this time of year since I have about 100 different harnesses getting pulled a dozen different ways behind the boat. When fall and spring hit again, I want to be better prepared to target depths better. Other than trashing everything I have accumulated, and buying all new lures, how do other trollers handle identifying lures for depths? I am sure I am not the only one that buys a lure (or 12) and throws them into the tackle box without packaging - only to never use them successfully because of a lack of OCD of identifying each lure properly.

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You have the answer right in front of you. When I buy a new lure (especially a custom painted one), just put a small strip of masking tape on the tube and record the make, color and size. Just make sure to return them to the right tube. I also take a photo with my phone and enter the info on the picture. My memory isn't as good as it us to be and sometimes I have multiple lures with the same basic colors out at the same time. This way I can get them back in thr right tube after I'm done fishing.

You can get a fishhaek Td it will record the depth of the lure. http://www.fishhawkelectronics.com/m...s/fish-hawk-td