Sea Trout Fishing Wake Lure

These are Grey Mice, tied from spun deer hair and foam.

Why do fish take these flies and lures? Oh but they do! The wake lure has on many occasions, revitalized my fishing. I regain confidence and faith.

Fish will appear from a seemingly empty pool, splashing and lunging at the lure. My friend Roland Carson with whom I do most of my fishing, is extremely successful with this method. On a recent trip to the Towy he took two fish on the Wake lure and had rises and takes from numerous others. This was in a short period of time.

The wake lure is best fished in the dead of a black night. It can be fished over a previously fished pool once the fish have had time to rest. The type of fly is not important. The importance is in its wake; the disturbance it makes on the water.

Essentially fishing the wake lure can be no different to fishing a lure, however the action of the 'wake' is all important, it is not the tying of the fly that catches fish, but the action in which it is fished.

The following two descriptions are suggested methods in which the wake or surface lure can be fished.

History of Wake Lures

The following extract from a 1945 Fishing Gazette may shed some light as to the origins of the pattern?

Wake lures by F.M Warhurst

For the past three fishing seasons I have been experimentally catching sea trout at night with a lure I describe as a "wake lure" which names fully explains its special nature..

This method of night fishing for sea trout is incredebly deadly on our local rivers, as sea trout can be taken at most times providing the fish are present and not to stale..

It is possible to fish a pool with a good stock of fish without any result to the ordinary flies, and immediatley afterwards take a good basket with a wake lure..

Originally i noticed that, when starting an evenings fishing the very first few casts with ordinary flies were more than usually likely to bring a rise, possibly due to the fact that the flies were held to the surface by the cast being dry. Experiments with dry flies confirmed this and further pointed to the fact that is was the wake caused by a dragging fly that was the real attraction.

As a wake seemed to be the answer, I constructed some lures which were almost unsinkable, and fished on the surface with a well greased line, they produced a super wake. The results were positively astounding!

These lures were made of cork or tinsel and feathers, with a section of goose quill sealed at both ends as a bouyancy tank. The finished article is preposterous in size and appearance, but there is no denying its amazing attraction for the fish....

"Wake lures" are not to easy to cast, but with a little practice in timing it is possible to fish them quite satisfactorily with a 12ftrod and a fairly well greased line. The method of using is to fish down and across a smooth glide, or, in fishing a still pool, to draw the line through the rings, causing the lure to cut a steady wake across the pool. When the fish takes the lure he does so with a splash and a heavy snatch.

When the night is to light, the fish will follow the lure across the surface and turn back with a swirl, sometimes on three or four consecutive casts, which is quite exiting if not very profitable, but on a dark night they take the lure savagely.

For use wih a spinning rod, a fully bouyant wake bait with a blunt nose has just the same attraction as the fly lure. Experimentally I have found a common pre war round clothes peg with the legs cut off, and suitably armed with hooks to be perfect. The pegs can be either unpainted or painted any colour he user fancies, as colour makes little difference..

All these experiments go to show that the surface wake caused by the lure is really all that matters, and the fish will even take a cork strait from the bottle neck! This being so, it is of the utmost importance for the user to be certain that the lure is on the surface cutting a good wake, as all effect will be lost if the lure is fishing submerged, which may happen through a water logged line being used in a still pool.

This novel method of fishing has been proved to be so extremely deadly that I introduced the idea to one of our leading fishing tackle manufactures who are making these lures under he name of "Wake Lures"..

In addition to the wake lure for use on a fly rod, i have evolved a fully bouyant Wake Bait which can be used with the same measure of success by threadline enthusiasts..

The wake lure can take various forms;

A carved cork with flying treble

Polyethafoam shell, Deer hair (as left) Muddler minnow

They can prove somewhat of a challenge to cast, however once mastered they canprovide great sport.

ORIGINAL Warhurst design wake lure's - courtesy of L. Cummings

Method One

Firstly cast across the river, either square or slightly upstream. Try to cast under overhanging trees, which create a deeper darkness. Let the fly swing around without retrieving for a few yards.Lift the rod, causing the lure to arc back across the current towards your bank.
Once the lure is moving retrieve through the arc, maintaining the lures momentum. If possible try to have some slack line in your hand. This will enable the fish to take the lure down before you strike, enabling better hooking.
The wake lure will work on pools whose flows are not conducive to fishing with a sunken lure. The method will also work on pools with little flow.
The best place to fish this method is across the tail of a pool. The flow at the tail tends to pull the wake greater, causing better disturbance. This is a method to try on any night, and I would never venture to a river without a Wake lure of some sort

Method Two

Cast the lure out into the pool or run, a slow deep pool with eddies or upstream currents can be fished using this method
As soon as the fly lands, put a mend into the line, either upstream or downstream, if desired more than one mend can be used.
The idea of this is to make the path of the returning lure, irregular and erratic.
The retrieve for this method should consist of short sharp tugs, the lure can be allowed to stop and then retrieved again.
It is worth experimenting with the speed and uniformity of the retrieve.
Short jerky pulls will cause the lure to wake and 'pop', causing extra disturbance.
Overhanging trees usually offer cover for resting fish, and a wake lure may tempt them from their lies.
Again an angler should never venture onto a river without a wake lure of some description

These are Grey Mice, tied from spun deer hair and foam.
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		Why do fish take these flies and lures? Oh but they do! The wake lure has on many occasions, revitalized my fishing. I regain confidence and faith. Fish will appear from a seemingly empty pool, splashing and lunging at the lure. My friend Roland Carson with whom I do most of my fishing, is extremely successful with this method. On a recent trip to the Towy he took two fish on the Wake lure and had rises and takes from numerous others. This was in a short period of time. The wake lure is best fished in the dead of a black night. It can be fished over a previously fished pool once the fish have had time to rest. The type of fly is not important. The importance is in its wake; the disturbance it makes on the water.
		Essentially fishing the wake lure can be no different to fishing a lure, however the action of the 'wake' is all important, it is not the tying of the fly that catches fish, but the action in which it is fished. The following two descriptions are suggested methods in which the wake or surface lure can be fished.	Methods of fishing History of Wake Lures The following extract from a 1945 Fishing Gazette may shed some light as to the origins of the pattern? Wake lures by F.M Warhurst For the past three fishing seasons I have been experimentally catching sea trout at night with a lure I describe as a "wake lure" which names fully explains its special nature.. This method of night fishing for sea trout is incredebly deadly on our local rivers, as sea trout can be taken at most times providing the fish are present and not to stale.. It is possible to fish a pool with a good stock of fish without any result to the ordinary flies, and immediatley afterwards take a good basket with a wake lure.. Originally i noticed that, when starting an evenings fishing the very first few casts with ordinary flies were more than usually likely to bring a rise, possibly due to the fact that the flies were held to the surface by the cast being dry. Experiments with dry flies confirmed this and further pointed to the fact that is was the wake caused by a dragging fly that was the real attraction. As a wake seemed to be the answer, I constructed some lures which were almost unsinkable, and fished on the surface with a well greased line, they produced a super wake. The results were positively astounding! These lures were made of cork or tinsel and feathers, with a section of goose quill sealed at both ends as a bouyancy tank. The finished article is preposterous in size and appearance, but there is no denying its amazing attraction for the fish.... "Wake lures" are not to easy to cast, but with a little practice in timing it is possible to fish them quite satisfactorily with a 12ftrod and a fairly well greased line. The method of using is to fish down and across a smooth glide, or, in fishing a still pool, to draw the line through the rings, causing the lure to cut a steady wake across the pool. When the fish takes the lure he does so with a splash and a heavy snatch. When the night is to light, the fish will follow the lure across the surface and turn back with a swirl, sometimes on three or four consecutive casts, which is quite exiting if not very profitable, but on a dark night they take the lure savagely. For use wih a spinning rod, a fully bouyant wake bait with a blunt nose has just the same attraction as the fly lure. Experimentally I have found a common pre war round clothes peg with the legs cut off, and suitably armed with hooks to be perfect. The pegs can be either unpainted or painted any colour he user fancies, as colour makes little difference.. All these experiments go to show that the surface wake caused by the lure is really all that matters, and the fish will even take a cork strait from the bottle neck! This being so, it is of the utmost importance for the user to be certain that the lure is on the surface cutting a good wake, as all effect will be lost if the lure is fishing submerged, which may happen through a water logged line being used in a still pool. This novel method of fishing has been proved to be so extremely deadly that I introduced the idea to one of our leading fishing tackle manufactures who are making these lures under he name of "Wake Lures".. In addition to the wake lure for use on a fly rod, i have evolved a fully bouyant Wake Bait which can be used with the same measure of success by threadline enthusiasts..	The wake lure can take various forms; A carved cork with flying treble Polyethafoam shell, Deer hair (as left) Muddler minnow They can prove somewhat of a challenge to cast, however once mastered they canprovide great sport.			Home Page