Making sense of plastic bass baits
Posted: Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Plastics are among the most important lures in your bass box. Minnesota bass fisherman John Laub caught this nice largemouth from a Mille Lacs Lake reed bed on a six-inch Senko rigged without a weight. (Staff photo by Larry Myhre)
When soft plastic worms hit the bass fishing scene years ago, the sport was changed forever. A bass fisherman's arsenal in the 1960s consisted of crankbaits, spinners and the newest bait sensation, bucktail jigs.
Then came the worm.
And then came revolutionary ways of rigging the worm.
Other plastic baits followed, some imitating other forms of bass forage, others suggesting several types of forage.
There were four-inch worms, there were 10-inch worms and every size in between. Black, purple and natural were the three original colors. Today there are too many to count and the number just keeps growing. Most soft bait companies will offer hundreds of colors and color combinations.
All of this is available in tubes, craws, lizards, spider grubs and creepy crawlers of all descriptions.
How is the fisherman supposed to make sense of all this? Many don't. They just buy some of everything and end up with enough plastic to fill a suitcase or two or three.
I know most of you are just like me. I have plastic grocery bags filled with little plastic bags full of plastics. When I go fishing it often takes me longer to find and put together the baits I think I might use that day than the actual time I spend on the water.
But, one can always hope.
If you are new to bass fishing the subject of plastic baits can be intimidating. Let's try to bring some order into chaos.
We'll organize our selections by type of lures and then try to narrow down the selections to the bare minimum for fishing in the upper Midwest. Categorize them like this: worms, soft jerkbaits, stick worms, soft jigs and trailers and creature baits.
Worms: There are endless varieties and colors of plastic worms; but, basically two types: those that are shaped just like a worm and those that have some type of curly tail which will spiral out when pulled through the water. You'll need some of each in two colors, black and purple with purple being the most consistent bass attractor. You'll need some 4-inch curly tails to tip 1/16 to 1/4-ounce jigs. The jig worm is dynamite on most of our water. You'll need some 6-inch worm-shaped worms for Texas rigging and some 7-inch twister tail worms also for Texas rigging.
To rig the 6- and 7-inch worms you'll need some worm hooks in size 4/0 and 5/0. These hooks have offset shanks and you rig the worm by first sliding a worm sinker (pointed lead sinker with a hole through the middle) on the line, then tie on the hook. Thread about 1/4-inch of the head of the worm onto the hook and slide the head to the eye of the hook. Then insert the hook into the body of the worm and push the barb through. Slide the head of the worm over the eye of the hook and on to the line a ways. The hook point can then be pushed back into the worm to make it snagless or left exposed if snags are not a problem. Thing is, when rigged the worm should hang perfectly straight.
Soft Jerkbaits: These are minnow-shaped baits like the Zoom Super Fluke or Berkley's Power Bait Minnow. Rig them weedless with the same hooks that your rig worms. They are best fished without a weight and twitched to imitate a dying minnow or shad. Use them over shallow cover or weedy flats or where ever bass are shallow. Have some in white, chartreuse, black and crawfish colors.
Stick Worms: These are similar to the soft jerkbaits but offer a different look or action. These would include the Senkos, Zoom Trick Worms and others. They come in four and six inch lengths and are rigged just like a worm. In shallow water don't use a sinker. Use the same colors as soft jerkbaits.
Soft Jigs and Trailers: These have kind of replaced the jig 'n pig lures. The bait has a plastic collar consisting of many legs and a body usually with one or two twister trailers. Sometimes called spider grubs, these lures have been around a long time and they are excellent fish catchers. Fish them slowly along the bottom with twitches to imitate a crawfish. Darker, crawfish colors seem most effective.
Creature Baits: These are plastic imitations of lizards or crawfish. They can be rigged on worm hooks or jigs and are especially good in the spring. Use the same colors as the worms. Another I place in this category are the tube baits. Most of the time I fish them by sliding the bait over a jig head designed for the tube. Have the special heads in weights from 1/16 ounce to 3/8 ounce.
This sums up most of the plastic bait categories available for bass fishermen today. They are all fish catchers. Although crankbaits, spinnerbaits and top water all have a place in your bass fishing arsenal, more times than not you'll be reaching for the plastics first.
Larry Myhre is editor of the Journal. Reach him at (712) 293-4201 or email at: larrymyhre@siouxcityjournal.com
Then came the worm.
And then came revolutionary ways of rigging the worm.
Other plastic baits followed, some imitating other forms of bass forage, others suggesting several types of forage.
There were four-inch worms, there were 10-inch worms and every size in between. Black, purple and natural were the three original colors. Today there are too many to count and the number just keeps growing. Most soft bait companies will offer hundreds of colors and color combinations.
All of this is available in tubes, craws, lizards, spider grubs and creepy crawlers of all descriptions.
How is the fisherman supposed to make sense of all this? Many don't. They just buy some of everything and end up with enough plastic to fill a suitcase or two or three.
I know most of you are just like me. I have plastic grocery bags filled with little plastic bags full of plastics. When I go fishing it often takes me longer to find and put together the baits I think I might use that day than the actual time I spend on the water.
But, one can always hope.
If you are new to bass fishing the subject of plastic baits can be intimidating. Let's try to bring some order into chaos.
We'll organize our selections by type of lures and then try to narrow down the selections to the bare minimum for fishing in the upper Midwest. Categorize them like this: worms, soft jerkbaits, stick worms, soft jigs and trailers and creature baits.
Worms: There are endless varieties and colors of plastic worms; but, basically two types: those that are shaped just like a worm and those that have some type of curly tail which will spiral out when pulled through the water. You'll need some of each in two colors, black and purple with purple being the most consistent bass attractor. You'll need some 4-inch curly tails to tip 1/16 to 1/4-ounce jigs. The jig worm is dynamite on most of our water. You'll need some 6-inch worm-shaped worms for Texas rigging and some 7-inch twister tail worms also for Texas rigging.
To rig the 6- and 7-inch worms you'll need some worm hooks in size 4/0 and 5/0. These hooks have offset shanks and you rig the worm by first sliding a worm sinker (pointed lead sinker with a hole through the middle) on the line, then tie on the hook. Thread about 1/4-inch of the head of the worm onto the hook and slide the head to the eye of the hook. Then insert the hook into the body of the worm and push the barb through. Slide the head of the worm over the eye of the hook and on to the line a ways. The hook point can then be pushed back into the worm to make it snagless or left exposed if snags are not a problem. Thing is, when rigged the worm should hang perfectly straight.
Soft Jerkbaits: These are minnow-shaped baits like the Zoom Super Fluke or Berkley's Power Bait Minnow. Rig them weedless with the same hooks that your rig worms. They are best fished without a weight and twitched to imitate a dying minnow or shad. Use them over shallow cover or weedy flats or where ever bass are shallow. Have some in white, chartreuse, black and crawfish colors.
Stick Worms: These are similar to the soft jerkbaits but offer a different look or action. These would include the Senkos, Zoom Trick Worms and others. They come in four and six inch lengths and are rigged just like a worm. In shallow water don't use a sinker. Use the same colors as soft jerkbaits.
Soft Jigs and Trailers: These have kind of replaced the jig 'n pig lures. The bait has a plastic collar consisting of many legs and a body usually with one or two twister trailers. Sometimes called spider grubs, these lures have been around a long time and they are excellent fish catchers. Fish them slowly along the bottom with twitches to imitate a crawfish. Darker, crawfish colors seem most effective.
Creature Baits: These are plastic imitations of lizards or crawfish. They can be rigged on worm hooks or jigs and are especially good in the spring. Use the same colors as the worms. Another I place in this category are the tube baits. Most of the time I fish them by sliding the bait over a jig head designed for the tube. Have the special heads in weights from 1/16 ounce to 3/8 ounce.
This sums up most of the plastic bait categories available for bass fishermen today. They are all fish catchers. Although crankbaits, spinnerbaits and top water all have a place in your bass fishing arsenal, more times than not you'll be reaching for the plastics first.
Larry Myhre is editor of the Journal. Reach him at (712) 293-4201 or email at: larrymyhre@siouxcityjournal.com
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
