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Old 06-09-14, 04:20 PM   #1
vaindioux
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Default I still can't catch bass on soft baits

Hi

I am an eternal skunked fisherman when it comes to catch bass on soft baits.
Today on my local lake I tried a trigger X salamander in smoke red flakes color on a shakey head.
I dragged it, shaked it, stopped it motionless, made it swim to no avail no bites, so I switched to one of my to go baits which is a rebel popper and on my second cast I catch a bass.
Last year I spent 5 hours fishing various soft baits to no avail. I do watch my line closely for signs of bites (Especially when the bait hits the water) and keep it fairly tight.
I do know how to fish I do catch bass but not on soft baits.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Patrick
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Old 06-09-14, 11:16 PM   #2
keithdog
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How do you rig your plastics? Do you vary the rigging style? Say weightless, or t rigged with a weight? If your using weights, try going weightless for a slower presentation.
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Old 06-10-14, 08:29 AM   #3
vaindioux
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Default Weightless

I use shakey heads or rig Texas style. That is a very good idea to go weightless.
How do you cast far when you go weightless?
Thanks

Patrick
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Old 06-10-14, 02:37 PM   #4
MIbasser
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What type of water are you fishing? For me a senko in watermelon red/black and watermelon w/black are the two senkos that I fish. If they don't eat one, they will eat the other. If they don't either, then no fish in the lake!

Or, I will go with a strait black shakey head. That seems to work well for me. I used to have 100 different colors of plastic, now I'm down to about 5. I try to keep it simple.
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Old 06-10-14, 04:59 PM   #5
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I fish a lake 10mn from my house in Georgia, it's called lake Allatoona, you can google or bing it.

Thxs
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Old 06-10-14, 06:18 PM   #6
keithdog
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vaindioux View Post
I use shakey heads or rig Texas style. That is a very good idea to go weightless.
How do you cast far when you go weightless?
Thanks

Patrick
I don't have much trouble using casting gear for most plastics. The lighter plastics I'll use spinning gear. Other wise I use bait casting.
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Old 06-10-14, 06:47 PM   #7
vaindioux
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Ok I will give it a shot

Thxs
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Old 06-10-14, 10:16 PM   #8
mikechell
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Soft plastics: The main reason, in my experience, for people NOT catching fish ... you're fishing too fast. You say you "fished for 5 hours, with various baits".
If I may make a suggestion.
1. Pick a lure (curl tail worm ... lizard ... craw ... whatever).
2. Rig it on a large worm hook, Texas style, no weight. (My favorite color is watermelon candy)
3. If you've got a spinning rod/reel, preferably with 20# braid, rig it up with no weight.
4. Now, after you cast the lure to likely looking cover.
5. Let it sink on slack line while watching the line.
6. (If it does a little "tic" while sinking, set the hook)
7. When the line stops, the lure is one the bottom. Once it's one the bottom ... leave it for as long as you can stand.
8. THEN count to 30.
9. Lift the rod tip about three feet and repeat steps 5 through 9.

Usually, if there's a bass in the area, you'll only have to repeat the process 2, maybe 3 times.
If at any time, you see a tic in the line, reel up slack, feel for resistance and if it's there, set the hook. Any time you do step 9, if there's "weight" on the line, set the hook.
I can feel light pick ups, some others maybe can't, so weight on the line might be your first "clue" you've got a fish on.

I won't say good luck, since I fully believe the above method will get bit if there are fish in the area.
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Old 06-11-14, 08:32 AM   #9
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So many ways to rig,so many styles of baits and colors.
Best bet go out with someone loval seewhat color,what way and mimic.
Here it can be a crig,texas rig,shakeyhead or even weightless like with a senko.
Color does matter,and at times way to fish it even on the same day if 20 miles apart like a different area of a large lake.This year rubber dont have a problem getting bit just in getting them in the boat.
To me the popular shakey head is one of the hardest as swimming the bait and fish take and swim with it,generally toward the boat and or beyond,sort of just feels weird like grass or leaf on it.
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Old 06-11-14, 10:44 AM   #10
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One other thing I am VERY fond of, 5/0 "Mister Twister Keeper Hooks".
It takes so little pressure to set the hook, because the rubber bait slides off the pin and turns sideways.
I truly believe I get more hook sets because I am using those hooks.
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Old 06-11-14, 01:21 PM   #11
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I've not done much on soft plastics, I've had firsh on em but most chances are is that I'll stick on a Hardbait to generate interest from the fish. I find that with soft plastics is that we (as anglers) tend to over complicate things, I myself have done so many a time when I've tried texas rigging a nose pegged bait but as all my fishing incorporates wire leaders the presentation just doesn't look as good as what it would with say fluro,braid or mono.

The simplicity of a shad/grub & jighead combination fished with a straight & steady retrieve, or bounced on the bottom or near structures does catch fish.
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Old 06-11-14, 05:57 PM   #12
vaindioux
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I have 8# on my reel is that too light that you recommend 20# braid?
So after casting the worm I let it sit on the bottom for 1 mn right? That should be enough right?
Thanks





QUOTE=mikechell;415573]Soft plastics: The main reason, in my experience, for people NOT catching fish ... you're fishing too fast. You say you "fished for 5 hours, with various baits".
If I may make a suggestion.
1. Pick a lure (curl tail worm ... lizard ... craw ... whatever).
2. Rig it on a large worm hook, Texas style, no weight. (My favorite color is watermelon candy)
3. If you've got a spinning rod/reel, preferably with 20# braid, rig it up with no weight.
4. Now, after you cast the lure to likely looking cover.
5. Let it sink on slack line while watching the line.
6. (If it does a little "tic" while sinking, set the hook)
7. When the line stops, the lure is one the bottom. Once it's one the bottom ... leave it for as long as you can stand.
8. THEN count to 30.
9. Lift the rod tip about three feet and repeat steps 5 through 9.

Usually, if there's a bass in the area, you'll only have to repeat the process 2, maybe 3 times.
If at any time, you see a tic in the line, reel up slack, feel for resistance and if it's there, set the hook. Any time you do step 9, if there's "weight" on the line, set the hook.
I can feel light pick ups, some others maybe can't, so weight on the line might be your first "clue" you've got a fish on.

I won't say good luck, since I fully believe the above method will get bit if there are fish in the area.[/QUOTE]
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Old 06-12-14, 06:18 PM   #13
mikechell
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Vaindioux ... you've got 8# mono? Or 8# test braid (which has the diameter of about 2 pound mono)? Not that it matters, much. I don't like braid that small, because it's too ... unruly. I've had it wrap a rod tip on the retrieve, and subsequently snap off the tip. But if you don't experience that, no problem.
You'll still get a hook set with 8# ... but make sure your hooks are sharpened.

As far as how long you let it sit on the bottom ... that's a judgement call. Fish it like a yo-yo at first if you want ... pulling it just off the bottom every time it touches down, all the way back to the boat. This kicks up little puffs of silt. If they're active, you'll catch tons.
But letting it sit there for a minute ... when you twitch it off the bottom, be sure to pay attention. You might get a light tap as soon as you twitch it ... as soon as you stop moving it ... or as soon as it hits the bottom again.
What I've seen happen, a bass will hover, and watch, for a while. Like a cat playing with a toy, it turns away, but it's not really "leaving". When you twitch it, it'll either pounce, or resume watching. After a couple of these, at most ... you might get the rod ripped from your hands.
Patience almost always pays off.
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Old 06-12-14, 09:14 PM   #14
vaindioux
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Mikechell

Best detailed tips I have ever gotten on the subject, will try all you wrote. I have 8# mono.

Thanks again

Patrick
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Old 06-13-14, 07:38 AM   #15
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My pleasure, and have a great time catching bass!!
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Old 06-16-14, 05:54 PM   #16
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There are always variences,taller person using something a shorter cannot,buddy of mine swears by 8-10 pd braid and an unweighted senko,during summer doldrums he out fishes me.
I only know of one sure fire method to catch bass
Take a can of peas sprinkle liberally all over the bank
when a fish jumps out to take a pea ya got him
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Old 06-16-14, 09:08 PM   #17
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I got a bag of dried peas a few years ago for my birthday. I like them better than a can of peas. Take up less room and less weight.
If I ever get one of those days when NOTHING is biting, I'll whip out the peas and give it a go.
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Old 06-25-14, 08:52 PM   #18
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Go to youtube and watch a video on texas rigging soft plastics. Once you learn that, you'll be able to rig virtually any soft plastic baits. Whether I rig them weightless or with a slip sinker usually depends on the depth i'm fishing or how thick the vegetation is. If it's thick, you'll generally want some weight so you can penetrate the veg. As far as techniques, there's already been some great suggestions. One absolute key is to let that bait fall on slack line so it falls vertically. Looks more natural. My 3 go to soft plastics: 1) Rage tail craws 2) senkos 3) Zoom super flukes. I usually only fish the flukes weightless. They are tremendous baits. You can't go wrong with any of these. As far as how fast or slow you fish them, let the fish tell you what they want. I know you've probably heard that a 1000 times but its the truth. I'll start out faster and if no bites, i'll slow it down. By fast, I mean once it hits the bottom, I'll only let it sit for a few seconds and start hopping it back to the boat. Hope that helps
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Old 08-31-14, 07:27 PM   #19
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Quote:
The simplicity of a shad/grub & jighead combination fished with a straight & steady retrieve, or bounced on the bottom or near structures does catch fish.
Soft plastics cover a large territory; ways to use them is even larger, but most important is where to use them. Knowing the bottom sounds simple but knowing depth, bottom cover or hardness, contours vs. flat, points vs. coves, etc., determine soft plastic style and presentation - speed being one of the most crucial considerations.

From the pictures (below) of fish caught, you can see that there is no such thing as a bass soft bait or a pan fish soft bait. If you can catch a fish species on one design, you can also catch other species on the same lure, so trying a few lures that you are certain to catch say, perch, know without a doubt that bass will attack the same lure. Here are a few multi-species lures:

Crappie on swimbait and jig head/ Perch on a Zoom Fluke Texas rigged


Perch on a t-rigged Zoom Fluke


White perch on a 3 1/4" Tube


White perch on a 4" plastic worm rigged on a jig head


Bass on Senko wacky rig using O ring


Pickerel caught on my favorite search lure - a hand poured minnow grub


A crappie caught on the same lure


Minnow grubs used on 1/8 oz or 1/16 oz jig heads:




The above fish were caught on 5 different bodies of water and each soft plastic lure caught different species, including bass. The bottom lure I use 90 % of the time to find active fish locations. If I find one species, I'll usually find bass somewhere in the vicinity. Finding them is number one - catching them is just a matter of finding a range of soft plastics they'll strike in that area, under certain environmental conditions and the speed of retrieve and type of retrieve (usually somewhat relaxed and slow).

Even skirted jig with plastic action trailerg moved steadily like a spinnerbait can be considered a soft plastic lure.

Last edited by senkosam; 08-31-14 at 07:55 PM.
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Old 09-07-14, 06:16 PM   #20
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Patrick, it can be real frustrating not getting bit on a bait everyone else has success with. I threw a jig literally for years and could not get bit on it. then that first fish came after years of frustration and now it is one of my go-to baits. Good advice from all, so I'll add my $.02. I have a couple of soft plastics I always have tied on. The first is a Zoom watermelon candy shakey tail worm rigged with a 1/16 oz bullet sinker and a 1/0 Gamakatsu G-lock hook, but my #1 recommendation is this: A watermelon cream laminate Senko rigged weightless on a 2/0 or 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG (extra wide gap) hook. Rig it just like you do a Texas rig but with no weight. Cast it out and let it sink. This bait is heavy enough to cast it a pretty long way without weight and you really can't fish it wrong. It is most effective on the fall, so to get confidence it it just let it sink to the botto then reel it back in and cast again. Hits usually come on the fall. Sometimes you feel them, sometimes not. If your bait feels "heavy" set the hook! It is hard to describe the feeling of "heavy" but you will develop a feel for it. the other way to rig it is to wacky rig it. Take the bait, bend it into a horseshoe shape and hook it right in the middle so it looks like a moustache. I do not know why it works so well rigged like that but it does.

One other bait I really like is called a flick-shake. It is a particular brand of worm you fish wacky rigged on a 1/16 oz jighead. I have had it prodouce when nothing else works.

Keep your color selection simple-in addition to the 2 colors mentioned above watermelon red flake, green pumpkin, and watermelon will all produce well. If I had to choose one color it would be watermelon candy.

Most importantly, though, keep on throwing these baits. You WILL eventually get bit and you will gain confidence in soft plastics. Keep us posted on your success!
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Old 09-08-14, 09:57 AM   #21
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Curly tail grub on a leadhead,fluke and or senko unweighted hard to beat.
That can of dried peas can come in handy sprinkle liberally on bank near fish,when one jumps out to take a pea,grab him
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Old 09-11-14, 09:29 PM   #22
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Try a drop shot
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