What is an area fishing button?
The first buttons were variants of waving spoons. A button gets its name from its shape. It is also called a bottom lure because it is also used for bottom fishing. It is a lure in the shape of a disk or a hexagon, asymmetrical in shape. It sinks on one side, more or less flickering as it sinks in a braked manner.
They started to be democratized in Japan at the same time as the democratization of the area in France. Vincent Petit, at the time manager of Ryoshi Europe Distribution, via the Neo Style brand has largely contributed to make these micro lures known in France.
It is a micro lure of rarely more than 2 cm in diameter that weighs less than 3 grams. It is designed for "vertical" fishing. But be careful, it is not the same vertical that we hear about when fishing for pikeperch in particular. This name of vertical fishing translates in fact the descent of the lure and its work in the various layers of water.
It vaguely imitates a fish egg or a pellet that would pass through all layers of water until it falls to the bottom.
The trout do not hesitate to pick it up while it is inert on the substrate.
It has a clip and a single barbless hook as standard.
3 major events
The button or bottom is animated at the bottom, as its name indicates. But paradoxically, it is also very effective on the opposite side, on the surface.
- The basic animation consists in throwing the button and letting it sink. It then crosses the water layer, not horizontally as most lures do, but vertically. It will then be necessary to control the descent, by avoiding to brake it, to imitate the food of the trout of reservoir. Once the lure is on the bottom, you can leave it inert for a few seconds. Then bring it back and cast. To let the lure sink again.
- But to this animation, I prefer this second one, more playful in my opinion. We repeat the cast and the sink to the bottom. And instead of bringing back and throwing, I prefer to scrape the bottom slowly, or to make the button make small good of more or less amplitude.
- Finally, I discovered that this lure was very used and efficient on the surface, simply brought back with the rod high or with mini tressautments. This gave me some nice fish when other lures were not giving any results.
The adapted equipment
There are rods specifically designed for button fishing. They are in fact ultra sensitive rods, allowing to throw these micro lures far and accurately. And especially to feel the slightest disturbance on the lure for an immediate strike. Because if the buttons provoke "food" hits, the trout believing that it is food, they keep relatively little time this hard lure and without taste in mouth. It is thus necessary to be very reactive to the striking and to strike at the slightest doubt to maximize the concretization of the bites.
In line with this search for sensitivity and the need to throw far, specialists often use a very fine braid.
