It firms them up so they stay on the hook longer, and different cure recipes can change the color and scent profile to match what fish are responding to on a given river or day
You saw milk being dumb, things like that
The most recent seabird bycatch estimate for the fishery, for 2019, was 1002 captures, of which 96% were retrieved dead, and likely were captured during setting 7,11
Pike get lethargic. Up in Ontario and over in the Dakotas, where the ice season doesnt end until the ice is gone, small-lake pike fishing gets red hot again during March, when pike gather near the mouths of creeks, sloughs, and wetlands where they spawn shortly after ice-out
Even at slow retrieve speeds, the paddle tail produces enough movement to attract attention without overwhelming inactive fish