Why do so many anglers make it so awkward to change a lure when you’re fishing?

Through the course of my work and my fishing I get to watch a lot of different anglers fishing. Whether it is lining up various photographs through the viewfinders on my cameras or simply keeping an eye on our anglers on our co-guided lure fishing trips in SW Ireland, I get to see a lot. I learn far more than you might realise about all things fishing, but there is one specific thing that I have watched a million times and most of the time I am wondering why on earth people do it like that…………….

I am talking about changing lures, something which you are most likely going to do at some point, and some anglers change lures more than others. Get to know me and you will find out that I am nowhere near expert status with my fishing. But I get to fish with and spend time around some very good anglers and guides, and I make sure to observe, ask questions, and learn all that I can, all the time. I haven’t got it all sussed out at all and I hope that I keep a very open mind about nearly all things fishing.

A situation where a somewhat “specialist” approach to changing a lure might be required!

One thing that I do think I have got right though is when it comes to changing a lure when I am actually fishing. I probably have watched and get to watch more anglers than most of you put together - and I cannot think of a single angler I have ever watched fishing where I have then thought, mmm, I prefer how they go about changing a lure, I think I will grab that way of doing it for myself.

Something so seemingly simple, but I have seen everything. Dropped rods, spinning reels ending up in the drink, dropped lure boxes, dropped lures, bags opening up and depositing the contents in the drink, body related contortions to get at a different lure, steam coming out of numerous ears, hooks in clothing, sunglasses falling off the face or head, you name it, I have seen it.

Now if you carry whatever lures you have decided to take fishing with you in a rucksack or bag which you put down away from where you are fishing then so be it. You will either then stuff a few lures in a jacket or wader pocket to change over to, or else you will be going back to your bag - wherever it might be - to change lures. You might also not change lures at all and then you’re absolutely fine and don’t bother reading anymore. It was a good few years ago now that I finally got fed up with leaving a couple of those washable lure boxes in a rucksack with my camera gear, back from where I was standing to fish, and I adopted this system of an HPA Chest Pack (or similar) which sits on a belt around my waist - with a shoulder strap on it which goes over my right shoulder and makes the thing so easy to wear.

I don’t get on with sling-style bags because I am always carrying (and then putting down) a waterproof rucksack - this one here specifically, I think it’s bloody brilliant - and therefore a sling bag can’t work for me. I get that some anglers like a sling bag, but this blog post comes partly from having watched so many anglers with sling bags going through a rather convoluted process to simply change a lure. With various things going wrong as well - dropped rod, dropped lure boxes, cursing away etc. I sort of get the whole sling bag thing and I have used them a bit for surf fishing specifically, but whenever possible I shy away from them because everybody makes changing a lure when wearing one look so bloody awkward.

My whole “changing a lure when you’re actually fishing” process centres around where I put my lure fishing rod (obviously with a spinning reel strapped to it) when I go to change the lure. I kinda get those rod holder things - like this - which sit at your side on a belt/wader belt, and I also just about understand putting the butt of your lure rod inside the front of your waders to free your hands up to change a lure. Why not simply trap the lure rod under your arm pit though?

I see some anglers kind of trapping their lure rod between their knees and then contorting themselves to get at a different lure or lure box, and I don’t understand it. I am right-handed and my HPA lure bag sits on my left side as you can see in the photos here. It’s so natural I don’t even think about it, so I made sure to photograph myself changing a lure the other day. It’s the same with casting and what you do at the end of the cast - it’s so natural I don’t actually know exactly what I do unless I film or photograph myself doing it.

The Seadra washable lure box with the horizontal slots

So we’ve got my lure bag sitting on my left side around my waist level. Inside that lure bag are usually two of those medium size washable lure boxes, one with vertical slots for hard lures and metals, and one with horizontal slots for soft plastics or hard lures over 140mm long (if the Savage Gear one is out of stock I will buy this Seadra one instead). If I am doing the subtle stuff in an estuary I might be carrying a lure box or two like the one you can see below, but what I am getting at is that my lure boxes sit at my side and out of the way until I need them……………

And to change a lure I simply clamp my lure rod under my arm pit, remove any bits of weed if necessary, unclip the lure, unzip the lure bag, take out whichever lure box I am after - I do this by feel because the vertical slot lure box sits upright in the HPA Chest Pack and the horizontal slot lure box sits across - then put the lure back in the box and pick out the one I want to change to. I am not putting my rod down so the reel sits underwater - seen this SO many times! - and I am not remotely contorting myself to do something as simple as changing a lure. So simple, so natural to me that I don’t really think about it, but there has to be something to it with how many anglers I see making a pig’s ear of changing their own lures!

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