THE SOFT TOUCH
Plastic Baits Fool Big Bass Almost As Well As The Real Thing
By Lou Tabory for Saltwater Sportsman Magazine
The first success I had with soft-plastic baits on striped bass came in the '60s, fishing Alou Eeels in Long Island Sound. But it wasn't until I encountered a thick school of peanut bunker about six years ago that I started fishing soft-plastics seriously. The lures were lethal under the bait school, and the way the stripers inhaled them on the drop was a rush.
Back then only a handful of soft baits were made specifically for salt water, and they were usually fished in combination with a bucktail or as a dropper. Nowadays, however, anglers have discovered the lifelike appearance and realistic action soft-plastics have in the salt, and they have become favorites on the beach.
These lures come in countless sizes, styles and colors, but they can be divided into two categories: molded jigs and jerkbaits. Let's take a look at some lure options and how to fish them according ot the surf conditions.
SUPER MOLDED MODELS
The Storm Shad and Panter Martin Swimbaits are good examples of molded plastic jigs - plastic baits "molded" to a jighead - and they fish just like a bucktail jig.
A six- to nine-inch shad bait works well near or below a school of menhaden or herring. Cast and let the lure drop while holding the rod tip high. To get the lure below the bait school, use a five- to ten-count, depending on the lure weight and water depth, before starting the retrieve. I like to hop the lure slowly, following it with the rod tip on the drop. I'm actually "swimming" the lure rather than giving it hard pulls. This action gives the angler a better feel, since most strikes occur as the lure falls.
Small molded jigs, such as a Tsunami Split Tail or a RipTide Crab rigged with a jighead, bounced along a sandy bottom are great when sightfishing along beaches or edges. Once you spot a fish, cast the lure into the fish's path and hop it just as the fish approaches. Lifting the lure off the bottom produces a small puff of sand, which mimics a bait struggling ot hide. If the fish heads toward the lure on the first hop, let it sit. Often the fish will take the lure off the bottom, and in shallow water too much lure movement will spook fish.
Along a rolling beach, let the shad hold in the flow as the wave recedes. Striped bass feed in the first wave, right in the rolling water, so this lure's ability ot hold in the flow and keep swimming makes it evvective. I make long, slow pulls with the rod tip to keep the bait working in the wash. This keeps the lure's tail swimming in even a strong flow.
BASS JERKY
The most exciting way to catch stripers on plastic jerkbaits, such as Slug-Gos and Tsunami Eels, is on the surface. Make short to medium pulls with the rod tip to give the lure a snake-like action, which imitates a crippled baitfish swimming on the surface.
