Fishing with ” soft bait.”

I do enjoy casting for bass, mostly using stick baits and square bills.
I have tried the soft bait for about every shape and form but either I am doing something wrong or have no luck or confidence in them.
I have a lot of different shapes, sizes, and colors, but it seems that nothing seems to work for me. I have tried the wackie rigs, the Gamatsu weedless hooks and this seems like it has no takers.
I use small jigs with minnows for panfish, this works good for me.
Stick baits seem to work good for me like the various kinds of Rapalas.
I am wondering if there is some special techneques that I am missing as I see so many using soft baits with at least some success.
Maybe I need to study some DVDs this winter,and bone up on em so that I can try some better tactics come spring.
I don’t do winter fishing as I am diabetic and I get cold very easily, don’t like to freeze me A** off.

Any ideas or reccommends are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Iowa Roger

Pick up the in fisherman series for bass and get your read on this winter. Don’t know how many parts are to it but I’m finishing up the 3rd book in the walleye series and by far the most informative collection I’ve read to date. Gives you something to do during the cold. They are about $15 a pop but considering how much we spend on equipment and bait its a drop in the bucket.

Depending on the type of water and structure you’re fishing is going to determine the best method of delivery and the type of bait used. Without that information, it’s hard to give much help. one thing I can tell you is don’t get yourself too caught up in the myriad of color options available and stick with the more natural ones to start with. If there’s any sort of clarity to the water you’re fishing, green pumpkin can be tough to beat.

When my boat doesn’t float I quit fishing.Where to start on soft bait fishing? you need to fish the heavyest weight nessesary to feel the bottom at first ,I peg my weights w a bobber stop on the line to help with feel. pick a couple of styles of baits. start w a 6″ worm & a beaver style ,in junebug and green pumpkin. this should cover most colors of water. use a 3/0 wide gap for the beaver and 2/0 straight hook.here’s my favorite ones http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Worm_Hook/descpage-VMCWH.html // http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Wide_Gap_Hook/descpage-MVCWGH.html ,I like the bend on top by line tie it keeps the baits up on the hook. use a quality rod MHEF OR MHF clear water 10# or 12# ,dirtier water U can use 14# 15# I prefer floru carbon! When U work your bait throw it out and hold your rod at 10 oclock and watch your line fall to the bottom,look for unnatural line movement. how long it takes to get to the bottom, less this time than last or still going when it should have hit down,set the hook !!!! when it touches down engage reel and reel some slack up move the bait only with the rod !!! the reel only stores line when bait hits bottom reel up the slack and repeat . Drag,Hop,Swim , let the fish tell you what they want. When you go fun fishing,only fish pastics don’t break down and fish something else,it won’t take long to figure it out or call a buddy that catches fish on plastics and go with him. Or I’ll take you out next year if it works out. My brother and I 2 weeks ago caught 30 bass on a jig w/twin tail chompers and I caught all of my fish on a fappn hawg ,black blue flake caught my bigger fish we had 1,5# & 5 over 4# the rest were 3’s down to 13″er, I hope this helps any question fire away and I’ll try to answer.Here’s 1 from last Dec 3rd a lttle over 3#s on a beaver I don’t think there’s going to be open water this year up here.

Stan

I’m guessing at least partly a confidence issue. A couple years ago I had no confidence in wacky rigging and couldn’t believe a fish would hit just a dead stick sitting there floating with no action in the water. I guess I’m just too type A and something has to be fluttering or swimming.

I kept at it and experimented until I caught at least one…then there was two, three, etc. Couldn’t wait for the next time out. Now I love to wacky rig and have a better feel for what works at least for me. But if you can talk to a guide or someone that has had success with whatever application you want to get better at, go with them, watch, experiment, ask questions.

Here’s a great article by Larry Nixon on plastic worm fishing ,southern worm fishing uses bigger worms than up here ,I feel 6″ and 7 1/2″ are best.
Stan

http://www.wired2fish.com/10-worm-fishing-secrets-you-may-not-know/

I’ve been fishing with soft plastics for the last five years. Once you learn how it opens up a whole new realm of bass fishing. Line watching is key…and practice makes perfect. These two hogs were caught on weightless texas rigged senkos.

As FryDog62 said, confidence is key. At first I would make a few casts and give up. Then I decided to pick up a shaky head rig and give it an honest try. Once you catch a couple of fish you will know what to feel for and your entire mindset will change. I found that starting with lighter jigs enabled me to have more control and feel. I introduced my buddy and my son to wacky rigs a couple of years ago and now it is there go to that they feel they can catch a fish anytime on it. It is all about confidence in this game.

Quote:

---

As FryDog62 said, confidence is key. At first I would make a few casts and give up. Then I decided to pick up a shaky head rig and give it an honest try. Once you catch a couple of fish you will know what to feel for and your entire mindset will change. I found that starting with lighter jigs enabled me to have more control and feel. I introduced my buddy and my son to wacky rigs a couple of years ago and now it is there go to that they feel they can catch a fish anytime on it. It is all about confidence in this game.

---

Some good replies here;
Since I fish a great variety of lakes as a Guide and occasional Tourney fisherman I think your plastic choice per season is important…early (pre spawn) season, scale down and slow down…smaller, compact offerings like finesse jigs/craw and grubs, shaky heads…longer, softer action rods for longer casts and sensitivity… braid/fluoro leader. Tubes/Senkos are a must in your arsenal because they are so effective.
As the season progresses your offerings and tackle can get more aggressive to match the intensity of the bite…
Rod quality for these tactics is more important than any other “contact” style of presentation…Brand is up to your personal favorite… I favor a 7-7’4″ Med/XFast early … switching to the same type rod in a Hvy/XFast for the remainder of the year.
Loomis, St. Croix, Dobyns,Powell, Denali, Shimano etc…all make plastic specific bass rod designs with the “softer” upper section to enhance your presentation.

I think the posts already up are great. Let me tell you how I learned to fish plastics. Go fishing with some one who is a good plastic fisherman but before you go make certain that your rod is the best sensitivity you can afford.If you are catching fish on hard baits pay attention to the depth and speed that is working, then try to duplicate both of those factors with plastics and keep at it.One thing I think is the biggest “light at the end of the tunnel” is the fact that as you start to see some success the learning curve quickly goes up.Good luck!