>>1433439>>1433466Fish can and will consume food items up to about half their size, but they much more regularly eat smaller fare. Check the stomach of the next fish you keep, and you are likely to see one or two larger things and lots of smaller things.
For the fish, smaller fare is safer and more reliable, and the fish are playing a survival game, so.....
So, imho, smaller is more versatile, assuming it's not so small as to impede the action of the lure, ie doesn't cast far enough or sink fast enough, or doesn't push enough water to create enough vibrations in murky water. I think there is a sweet spot for any given situation, and it depends on your goals as well. Aiming to catch as many fish as possible and I'll go with the smallest possible lure/bait/fly, but if I am trophy hunting, I'll scale up and acknowledge that I have a better chance at bigger, but also probably fewer fish.
Honestly, it's all about what you prefer. If you don't have enough experience to know, I recommend smaller, as it will tend to catch more fish.
I agree that larger baits are more effective on more aggresive fish, and sometimes, ALL of the fish are really aggressive, but that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
