Are all soft plastics created equal ?

[Jim80]

Every time I am at the store I find myself confronted by a wall of soft plastic baits . Now my question is do you think there is one brand of plastics that stands above the rest or does it boil down to personal choice , and if it is a matter of personal choice what baits do you prefer ?

[WTL]

The baitmonkey has created a sort of suddle mysticism when it comes to lures, and soft plastics are a good example of this.

For the most part, I do not believe that brand makes much difference - or any at all really if we are talking two very similar knockoffs. I do find that I often buy Zoom just because I have had success in the past with their lures and they use a plastic that is a good blend of durability and softness. Maybe if I tried another "fluke" not made by zoom I wouldnt have quite the confidence in it, or it just wouldnt produce as well 1 day and then it would be tarnished in my mind.

On the other hand I also quite often fish senko style lures, and have found the way I fish with them is just as successful whether I am using a genuine Yamamato senko, a kinami flash, a Edge rip off or the BPS rip off.

[Jim80]

confidence in a bait does play into your general demeanor while on the water but if the baits were laided before you on the deck with no name attached , and were all fished with the same technique do you feel there would be a dif in the amount of fish caught ?

[doc]

I tend to gravitate to scented/ flavor enhanced soft plastics. No specific brand.

[Jim80]

That brings another point , plastcs with the scent as oppossed to salted . in my eyes the salt just washes off , how effective can it be ? and i usualy go for the flavored as well

[BigBassin144]

I've never been much of a believer in brand makes a difference, but different brands have different scents, colors, etc. I've found that the YUM LPT doesn't seem to make a difference for me, while the Powerbait does. And recently I became a believe in Gulp worms after trying the turtle backs. I also buy Zoom baits because they are less expensive.



BB

[Jim80]

the only yum products i've bought habe been thier craws in watermelon flake , just because they looked the closiest to the real thing but i have had no complaints about them , and i have yet to try the gulps yet .

[BERKLEY83]

I Go For More Of What Fits My Fishing Style. But I Do Seem To Buy Alot Of Yamamoto, I Guess For The Bait Design And Durability. But Do Use Alot Of Other Brands. I Do Agree With The Confidence In A Bait You Can Throw That Bait At Any Time In Your Mind And Catch Fish.

[WTL]

If you took the baits out of their packages and I didnt know what brand I was fishing, I think the results would all come out pretty close between brands most of the time - there might be a 1 or 2 bass + or - difference here or there, and every now and then on a lake if we tried this experiment many times you might discover a legitimate difference every now and then, but not often. I actually think that most of the time if you can catch them on a spinnerbait, you can get them on a crank or a jerbait as well - not always but often - and the difference between a crank and a spinnerbait is a lot bigger than the difference between a Yamamoto Senko and a Yum Dinger.

[Jigger]

Zoom and Berkley.

[bamabassman]

in my opion, ther isn't any difference in brands either. i buy manns, zoom, culprit and a few others. i look at the color more than the brand. scented versus salted......hmmmm....i tried them both and didn't really notice a difference. except what it does to my box, lol. so tend to go for the unscented and unsalted. i look at he color and shape of the soft plastics.

[basstech]

True WTL, but there is a difference between the yum dinger and the kinami/yamamoto sinko's, and that is the density in the plastic as well as the softness. That truly does effect the action of the bait, so they both have a very different action when fished wieghtless. As for me with that being said the biggest difference is the density/weight of the soft plastic its self. Zoom and Yum are both very soft plastic. I think Bass Assassin just a little firmer, then Mann's and then much denser like the Yamamoto, Gambler (although Gamblers aren't nearly as dense as the yami's). Charlies would be between Bass Assassin and Gambers as well as Lucky Strike. Have no idea what difference it makes to the fish other than how the action is effected. Might wait untill some of the more veteran guys respond though, maybe they can tell ya better when you want to use a softer plastic bait as opposed to a firmer/denser/heavier soft plastic bait.

[Bass'n'cast]

When i choose soft plastics i go with a name brand high quality bait. I have used kinami and i think its a yamamoto interprise.?. But the quality is much different than the actual yamamoto. The kinami is very dense and very dry. When a fish hits it its destroyed. The tiki worm is a great plastic too and many knock offs arent that bad but i tend to go to the more well known brands because i think i gain confidence.

[Lilmoosecountry]

I like zoom products the most. For most part they are cheap. But they are extremely durable. I find my self using just about every soft plastic they make for that reason. I still do not like the way GUL{P dries up. Since i use allot of Bang & liquid lure. Zoom fills the void that in the same way that gulp does. Plus i can leave that bait already rigged for the next day if it's not badly beaton up. I do like Yum's paddle tail worm they just came up with. I could careless about LPT. I still will spray it down with bang before use. Senko baits i have a wide variety. Kinami baits are my favorite in that type.

[keithdog]

Didn't congress pass a bill a couple years ago declaring all baits are created equal? And actually, I think...no...I'm sure I read it in the Bible somewhere that all lures are concidered equal in the eyes of the Bait Monkey. I just know I'm gonna go to hell for that remark.

[Bender]

There are a million different recipes and types of plastics that you can use. Salt is normally mixed into the bait when it is poured or injected to add weight, the salt you see on the baits themselves is generally just so they don't stick together in the bag (at least that is what we use it for). I, of course, prefer our own baits because they are very soft, somewhat durable, and still have the wobbling action of the original Senko. The original Senko is very heavy and falls quickly; there are rumors of them using sand in the mix to add weight but this has not successfully been reproduced to my knowledge.
For me I like hand poured baits because you can custom make the softness, color, flake, scent, etc. Some baits have to be injected though so for those I like Netbait, Yamamoto (DT Hula Grubs, etc.), Zoom (frogs), and a few others.

[zooker]

bender is right. every blend is differant. you can buy 10 differant company's baits in june bug there will be 10 differant blends of the same color..differant textures differant flake mixes.. i there a differnce to the fish? i belive so..

zooker

[Wishing2BFishing]

All soft plastic baits are not equal. I select the soft plastic brand/lure based on the application. Some examples include:

Tubes - If I am fishing a tube with a standard jighead, I will generally go with the Strike King Tubes because they are thick and seem to tear less than thinner tubes. Also, Strike King makes a 4.5" Flippin' tube which I believe is just the right size for most LM fishing. However, if I am going to fish the tube weedless, I will often use a thinner tube such as a Berkely so that way I can set the hook through the plastic.

Stickbaits - If I want to fish closer to the surface, I will use less salted brands such as Yum or culprit. But if I want a worm that will sink (and cast well without weight), then I lean towards the Senkos or Kinami flash.

Grubs - I am a fan of white grubs. I like the powerbait grubs because they are scented and seem to get the smallies to "stick" just a bit longer when I am wading in the rivers. But if I am using the grubs as trailers on spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, I generally will use the Zooms or whatever else is in my bag.

Flukes - I prefer the salted flukes because I like to fish them weightless in the shallows. I don't like the Bass Assassin because I find it difficult to get the hook to penetrate through the plastic.

Just my 2 cents on this topic . . .

[bamabassman]

very interesting there wishing. like that.

[crankybait]

I buy what people on this board tell me to buy when looking for a specific bait. But personally, I beleive the presentation is more important than the bait. And of course the common names are usually trustable (Strike King, Zoom, ect)

[freakyfish]

its not the worm.its how you wiggle it.

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by crankybait

I buy what people on this board tell me to buy....

Buy me something that'll catch me some freakin' fish. Just kidding, of course.

I flipped plastics today for the first time and I used a YUM wooly bugger. The one thing I think about YUM is they are kind of soft. Didn't catch anything either. Powerbait and Gulp are my favorites, you just can't leave GUlp on your rods cause they'll turn to stone.

BB

[bassintxlady]

Originally Posted by freakyfish

its not the worm.its how you wiggle it.

isn't this sooooooooooo true.....
i really don't think it's a big deal about what "brand" you use....i buy soft plastics to suit my own preference's...if i like the color and i like the style i'll give it a go....i do think about the clarity of the water i'll be fishing it in sometimes....i think it's all a matter of thinking like a fish....
"If I were a fish, would i bite that?".......

it all boils down to location, location....and presentation.....

[Lilmoosecountry]

Thatz what makes zoom so good. They make just about every type. The big deal for me is cost. And zoom is more durable!!!

[Fish2win]

I am with Jigger on this. Berkley and Yum. They are not the only brands I throw but they are consistant.