My first experience with a plastic bait was a 7” Mann’s JellyWorm when I
was 10 years old. It did not come in solid colors but flavors like
grape, strawberry, blueberry, and black cherry. They were hard and
lifeless by today’s standards and were treated with anise oil as an
attractant. Fast forward to today, there are so many “creatures” and
baits of all colors and patterns that mimic anything that is found in
the water. The texture is as life like as can be—soft and pliable to
imitate motion and life. They are scented to smell like worms,
baitfish, crawfish, or salt water shrimp and are targeted toward
walleye, bass, salmon, trout, and saltwater species. The possibilities
are endless.
I tend to use two types of plastics
whose purpose is to cause one of two responses, a reactionary strike or
feeding strike. The reactionary strike occurs when a fish is not really
feeding, but instead sees something floating by and is prompted to take
a bite of it. Keep in mind that most of the time these baits are bright
in color and do not imitate a natural forage item. Many times I use
these colors in muddy water where a natural color tends to blend in to
the background and is harder for a fish to see. I believe the
reactionary strike occurs because the fish sees it and don’t really know
what it is but would hate to have an easy meal go by. A good example of
a reactionary bait is the 4” pink worm commonly used by steelheaders. I
have not found a pink worm in my garden yet—however, I have had success
using it. These baits have the potential to catch a lot of fish.
When water conditions are on the clear
side and the fish can see something coming from a long way off, you must
be more subtle with your offerings. Here a small minnow
grub that floats down with the current, tumbling in the current as if it
is injured, will often get a strike. It looks like a baitfish that has
been a staple of their diet for most of their lives. Don’t be afraid to
“match the hatch” with plastics under these conditions. My favorite
colors are shades of brown for earthworms and crayfish, and silvers,
whites, and blacks for baitfish imitations. The color and shape is not
the only factor, size is very important. Look around in the river you
are going to fish in and observe what kind of forage is there. If the
dominant forage items are minnows, then use a bait like a Berkely Gulp
swimming minnow or minnow grub in a white or smelt color pattern. Is it
a crawfish, then use a tube or jigging grub from Berkeley Gulp’s line in
the “pumpkinseed” color pattern. I like the Gulp line due to the
softness of the baits and the obvious scent of the bait. I am sure there
are others that are out there and trial and error is the only way to
find out which ones are best for your area and the fishing situations
you are commonly faced with.
Often times I like to fish through the
same area after a bunch of guys have drifted a spawn sac through a run—I
then float a swimming minnow grub and typically get a strike even after
a spawn sac got nothing. I personally feel fish can get conditioned to
certain baits if they are constantly bombarded day after day by them.
Just about every type of game fish has fed on smaller fish in their
lives so it should not be a strange occurrence to catch a fish on a
minnow bait or imitation.
By far my favorite brand of plastics is
the Berkeley “Gulp” brand. They come in a zipper package that has the
secret juice—the plastic baits are saturated with this liquid to the
point that if you leave them out in the sun on a hook, they will shrink
and shrivel up like a real worm. There are other smaller bait companies
that specialize in salmon species with scents like anchovy, sand shrimp,
herring, and krill. I have found that after you catch a few fish with a
certain bait, the scent has worn off and you should replace it with a
fresh one. You can rig these baits the same as live bait—I personally
like using a small jighead rather than a small plain hook.
Give soft plastics a try next time you
are out there. There is a plastic bait that can imitate virtually
anything that crawls or swims and then some. I have almost switched to
soft plastics under my floats exclusively.
Brad Caspari -
FLYANDFLOATFISHING.COM
