Gear Up For Fishing With Soft Plastics
By Bob Ives
The beautiful thing about fishing with soft plastics is that they are
so versatile. Not only is there a large variety of baits to use, but
there is a lot of ways to fish them and a lot of gear with which to fish
them.
Rods and Reels
There is no special fishing gear needed regarding rods and reels.
However, you might want to make a variance in the size of the rods and
reels you use. Very light baits are usually better fished on light
tackle, even a spinning rod and reel.
Spinning rods and reels allow for the usage of very light line, so small
baits work well with these. Line that works well on a spinning reel
ranges from about 6 pound test to 12 pound test on the heavy side. On
the other hand, if you plan on fishing soft plastic worms with weights,
you will want to use heavier gear; maybe a bait caster with a medium to
heavy rod and line in the 12 to 20 pound range.
Smaller gear is best for smaller fish or finicky fish, and heavier
gear is better for larger fish and hard hitting, line busting lunkers.
Hopefully, you will need to use the latter most of the time.
Fishing Hooks For Soft Plastics
It’s a good idea to match the size of your hook to the size of the
soft plastic bait you are fishing. Of course, the smaller the bait, the
smaller the hook, and vice-versa. If you are ‘finesse’ fishing with a
spinning rod, you’ll definitely want a smaller hook, and with a 15cm soft plastic warm you’ll want a good worm hook, maybe even around a 4/0
or 5/0. One good thing about larger hooks is they are a little less
likely to get swallowed by the fish before you can set the hook.
When fishing worms, lizards, creature baits and such, it’s a good idea
to use one of the various types of worm hooks for your soft plastic
bait. They come in straight shank, off set shank, wide gap and g-lock.
G-lock is a hook that has a crook in the shank that helps to hold the
worm on. They can be a nuisance when the keep sliding down the shaft.
Sinkers
Many soft plastics are better fished without weights, but for those
that are there are a couple that are most commonly used; the drop shot
sinker, the jig head and the bullet sinker.
The drop shot sinker is usually a round or bell shaped sinker tied to
the end of a line and the soft plastic bait is tied further up the line
to keep it off the bottom and above weeds, etc. A jig head is a weight
that often looks a bit like the head of a small bait fish and has a
built in hook that is run through the body of the bait.
The bullet sinker is wider on one end and narrow on the other, shaped
like the head of a missile, and slides up and down the line. This helps
to prevent the fish from feeling it when it picks up the bait. They can
be pegged for special situations so that they stay in place closer to
the bait.
Fancy Stuff For Soft Plastics
A couple other items you might want to include are fish scent and
dipping dye. Some fishermen swear by fish scent, others say it’s a joke.
Perhaps the best use of it is to put on your hands before handling a
bait to keep your scent off it. The dipping dye is good for doctoring up
your soft plastic bait when the fish want a little something more.
Dipping the wobbly tail of a bait into chartreuse or hot pink dye can
inspire fish to hit fast and furiously.
That’s what you want, right? After all, you’re probably not out there
for Jack LaLanne’s sake. |
