I have been fishing now for over fifty years and I have definitely seen some changes with regards to boats, rods, reels, tackleboxes, and of course fishing lures during that time. The changes that have occured are just short of unbelievable! Not only have we seen new products introduced such as GPS, depth finders, graphs and electric trolling motors, but also some new ideas on old products. I can remember going into a local tackle shop with my wife looking for what we called a "Sincere Bait". The term "Sincere Bait" was coined by my wife; if a bait was to be considered "Sincere" it had to look great and maybe stood a chance of catching an actual fish.
I never claimed to hit every nail on the head and it would appear this time I even missed the board. The introduction of plastics to the lure industry is probably the most significant change to have ever taken place and has definitely changed the way we think about lures. Today it is almost impossible to think about fishing lures without thinking about soft plastics. Soft plastics made their initial appearance into the world of fishing by first being pitched to the bass fishermen, but are today taking the pike and musky world by storm. The soft plastic bass baits have been made larger and offer the musky and pike fishermen alternatives they had never previously thought possible. Not only do these baits provide a more life like action, but now are scented and almost feel like actual flesh. Today, soft plastics can make up the entire lure or be added to more traditional baits such crankbaits to better immitate the tail section of a fish. They also provide additional attracting capabilities and bulk up lures when they are added to hooks on spinners, spoons and jigs. They in fact change the look and action of these baits virtually making them into a new bait.
Soft plastic fishing lures provide fishermen with the tools to properly handle about all situations they can be faced with when they are on the water. Whether the need is to fish through heavy cover, on the bottom, on top or somewhere in between there are soft plastics to do the job. I have several favorite soft plastic lures that I use frequently when pursuing musky and pike. They include: The BullDawg, tiger tube, the Creature, Swimm'n Joe, squirrely burt, and the Invader. The latter two are hard plastic/soft plastic combinations. Given just this selection I can fish virtually any situation effectively. My aim is not to advertise or recommend these specific lures, but to explain how baits of varies types can be used in different situations.
The BullDawg and Swim'n Joe are both made of solid soft plastic and are heavy baits to throw. In other words, don't try throwing either of these with your bass casting rod or spinning gear. The BullDawg's primary action comes from it long tail that undulates when it is retrieved or jerked, while the Swim'n Joe virtually immates the swimming action of a sucker. Both of these lures, given their weight, quickly sink when they hit the water and that is one of the advantages/disadvantages to these two lures. While they do sink quickly, both can be fished near the top by quickly reeling fast as the lure hits the water. These lures can also be counted down to any depth, which makes them excellent deep water lures. Both lures work effectively at medium to faster retrieves, but I have caught fish on the BullDawg virtually jigging it off the bottom, moving periodically with the trolling motor. While I haven't caught fish jigging the Swim'n Joe, I believe it would work giving the appearance of a dying sucker. The ability to be fished deep makes both of these lures excellent choices for those times when fish are deeper. Fishing them in jigging style also makes them an option when a slow presentation is called for such as during a cold front. My largest pike (45 inches) was caught on the Bulldawg (see photograph).
Several years ago on a trip to Pipestone with Tim Mead, Tim introduced me to "tubes" for smallmouth bass. To be honest, I hadn't done any bass fishing in earnest for over 20 years so I wasn't up on the tube. I had purchased the Tiger Tube for muskies prior to the Pipestone trip, but really never fished it much. As I found out on Pipestone, tube jigs work fantastically. Given my success with tube jigs on Pipestone, I have come to fish the big brother Tiger Tube much more often. The Tiger tube is rigged slightly different than the tubes we used for bass, in that it has a treble hook in the center of the body near the tail, in addition to a protruding hook out the side, but it works in a similar fashion. I have found I can make this lure even more weedless by cutting off the protruding hook, which makes it excellent for heavy cover. This bait is definitely made to be fished slow and therefore is an excellent bait when fish are negative and not chasing faster moving lures.
The last group of lures is the combination of a hard bait and soft plastics that have become so popular. I mentioned the Invader and the Squirrelly Burt, but there are many, many other baits that are hybrids. These lures use soft plastics to give a traditional jerkbait / crankbait an added attractant. The soft plastic gives the Invader a life-like look of a swimming fish while the tail of the Squirrelly Burt provides an attractive undulation. These lures are fished like other jerkbait / crankbaits that you might otherwise use, but do offer the additional attracting capabilities.
There are a couple of other note worthy things to mention about soft plastics. First, soft plastics feel almost like flesh. That means that fish will hang on to the bait longer without spitting it out. Teeth can penetrate the bait just like natural prey and therefore they are more prone to hanging on to the bait. In addition to a life-like feel, the lure manufacture can actually incorporate a scent into the bait at the time it is manufactured, which can add even more attraction using a different sensory organ. Now your bait can look, smell, and feel real!
There is a downside to soft plastic baits that needs to be recongized, they are consumeable. That means they are not designed to standup to catching multiple fish and still maintain their original shape and condition. Shape teeth, head shakes, and soft plastics don't go together with regards to bait life. This fact is hard to digest when you can pay around twenty bucks for a soft plastic lure such as a larger BullDawg or Swim'n Joe. Soft plasic baits often experience deep cuts or chunks missing after being hit by pike or musky. It is possible to make repairs to the lures if they are not to severely damaged, but it is usually a matter of time before you'll need a new one. Repairs can be made in two ways: first you can use a soldering iron, or a hot piece of metal to melt the plastic and then push it together to fix cuts. The other way is using fishing glue to accomplish the same thing. I have found that baits hit by big fish need significant repair and often glue just isn't a good alternative. Many combination lures like the Invader or Squirrelly Burt offer the ability to buy spare replacement tails, as it is recognized that the soft plastic portion of the lure will be lost or damaged.
In summary, if you think soft plastics are for bass, think again. The use of soft plastics can be the answer in almost any fishing situation.
Click the mailbox to e-mail. Last updated on ... February 15, 2007
