Dictionary of Ichthyology  

lure = 4) a natural structure attractive to fish, e.g. the modified mantle of mussels or clams which resembles a small fish, and thus attracts a larger, predatory fish. The larval glochidia of the mussel can then attach to the predator as it tries to strike the lure.

Plain Pocketbook mussel (Lampsilis cardium) in the Ottawa River, Ontario at MacLaren's Landing, 2005. Photograph by André Martel.

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