Does the popularity of a lure cause it to lose its effectiveness?

[Steve K]

I have been thinking for a while about whether or not a lure loses it effectiveness the more popular it becomes. I think that the needlefish is a perfect example. Over the past few years its popularity has exploded. For example, I was in a shop on the north shore of MA and I overheard someone who works there and has worked there for quite some time tell a customer that this was the first year that he tried a needlefish thanks to the rave reviews on the internet. This is someone who has been fishing the area for at least 10 years.

So what do you think? Does a lure lose its effectiveness the more popular it becomes? If you see a bunch of people throwing the same plug do you switch to something else? Does anyone have any specific experiences where by switching to something different he as outfished others around him?