It’s the vibe! by Roderick Walmsley

The names explain the lures quite aptly. They can be called anything from lipless cranks to bibless minnows, vibration baits or even just vibes, but no matter what you call them, their fish-catching ability speaks for itself.

They catch a host of species across Australia and the world and it seems there are very few fish that vibes can't catch.

You can catch fish by simply throwing them out and winding them in. While this may be very effective, it's certainly not the only way to fish vibes.

The effectiveness of these lures is definitely due to their versatility. They can be used in so many different ways to catch a host of Australian species so let's take a look at some and the techniques that make them so good.

HISTORY

Lipless lures have certainly come a long way since Cotton Cordell invented them in America back in the 1950s.

His Rattling Spot has been popular in this country for all of 30 years now, especially up north, and Spots still catch their fair share of Australian fish.

This model proved a great stepping-stone and many lure manufacturers have refined the shape and the balance, altered the materials to make it vibrate differently or to be more appealing to fish and have modified the noise levels the lure makes.

Plastic vibes were always something that got a run on the odd occasion, but it really wasn't until the Jackall TN60 came along that their popularity spread massively throughout the country.

Subsequently other plastic vibes that are exceptional fish catchers overseas have found their way here.

Lures like the Jackall TN60 and the Imakatsu Piranha come with varying numbers and sizes of rattles made from various materials, producing noise from intensely loud to a mild single soft throb, or even silent.

It really does pay to have a few variations of your favourite plastic vibe to suit the conditions.

Silent vibes are becoming more popular in fisheries that suffer from a lot of angling pressure and they are proving to be deadly additions to the lipless crankbait stable.

Soft vibes are made from a type of pliable plastic material that can take a lot of punishment. They offer the fish a natural feel, subtle vibration and lifelike movement in the water. Lures like the Jackall Mask Vibe or Jackall Tranzam command a lot of respect from most lure fishos because of the numbers of fish they catch.

These lures originally started their popularity in the dams targeting bass, but soon found their way into other fisheries- like snapper, threadfin and barra. As with most other vibes there are not many fish that won't eat the soft version.

METALS

Metal vibration lures seemed to fly under the radar somewhat until they surfaced a few years ago to dominate the bream tournament fishing scene. Since then they have become exceptionally popular across Australia on a host of species.