Fishing Soft plastics yey or nay (share your tips)

[qqc d22]

I was wondering how many of you guys use soft plastics for bait and what sort of results you get. This all started after a fishing drought where i couldn't bag a fish for nearly three months. Mean while every time id run into a mate I had to sit through there picture gallery on there phone of the fish theyd been catching
One mate just kept laughing at me cause i used bait instead of plastics so I folded and bought a bag or 3 of them and set out in the boat.
Another month and a half goes by not even a FU*#ING bite on these undersized condom looking baits, I was pissed to say the least.
Then I had a drink with him again and tried to get some pointers out of him which is like trying to get blood out of a stone. The only thing he would give me was use really light fishing gear.

At this point i hated soft plastics there was no way i was going to dust $300 on a light setup to fail again so I thought stuff it. Off to kmart rod and real combo $21, Spool of quality kmart braid and a spool of fluorocaron grand total was about $40
And Fark me fifteen minutes in bam very reasonable size flatty in the boat Thought ar must of just got lucky lol. another 15mins bam a monster flatty biggest ive ever caught by far.
I was impressed to say the least, I haven't had a chance to get back out and have another go in the last fortnight but i will soon.

Anyway no one probably read that dribble but if you did Id love to know what results people are getting and what gear your using
Cheers Dale

 

[FatBoy89]

I've just acquired some soft plastic lures today and plan to use them on Saturday night and see how i go.
Usually use bait but I wonder if anything will like some soft lures at night.

 

[KraftyPg]

Depends on the water. I use soft plastics most of the time for Flatties down here but less so for Bream that seem to chew the crap out of a plastic in one bite. I use a wooden surf popper on the beach and if I am feeling energetic I'll throw metal lure at the surf or a feathered one if I'm in fresh water but I don't fish fresh water often.

 

[DomHogan]

I dont use bait anymore, except for fishing off the beaches when i used pillies or worms.
I always use soft plastics, poppers and lures now, much better results and hook up rates. (and you''re actually fishing rather then waiting for a fish to eat your bait)

 

[oddkid82]

I have been using soft plastics for years now, they work really well for me. There are a few tricks to the trade, spend a bit of time on google and it will tell you some great techniques.
Just for night time fishing you should use dark coloured ones with a bit of fluro in it. Found it works well for me. There also needs to be a bit moon light around.

 

[qqc d22]

I have been using soft plastics for years now, they work really well for me. There are a few tricks to the trade, spend a bit of time on google and it will tell you some great techniques.
Just for night time fishing you should use dark coloured ones with a bit of fluro in it. Found it works well for me. There also needs to be a bit moon light around.

yeah ive been googling the crap out of them for the last 2 weeks lol. Thanks for the hot tip on the dark with fluoro at night ill have to add that to my list to try

 

[Craig09]

ive always run with bait,got to townsville and started useing live mullet but now im moveing back to NSW where you cant use cast nets im thinking the same thing,never used soft plastics or even hard lures till i moved to townsville and have used them a bit up here with decent results,few weeks ago in a freshwater river i was fishing for ages with bait then decided to try the plastics i had and got 15 fish in about 45m of fishing,it was awsome.i think ill really give it a go when i get back home and see how it goes.if it doesnt go well ill be going back to worms as they have always delivered for me on my home river

 

[Craig09]

gotta say though i love hooking one when im actually fishing,so much better then waiting for a bite

 

[FatBoy89]

Ill be sure to give the ahh plastics a go this time round. Cheers. Good topic

 

[sparra04]

i dont seem to have any luck with soft plastics
but i always carry some in tackle box
gunna try some in the wollondilly river this weekend
ime more of a "set up 3 lines,sit back and wait with a cold beer'' lazy fisherman

 

[KraftyPg]

Whether you're sitting on river bank with a line in the water or on a boat trawling for that big marlin sitting on your arse is as much a part of fishing as catching the fish.

Working plastics can be rewarding but there is nothing better than sitting in the beach, on the boat or on the river bank with a stubby in hand and waiting for fish to hook themselves. Even better on a nice quiet night, full moon, clear sky, light crashing waves and a bonfire on the beach

"There's a fine line between fishing and just sitting on the shore like an idiot."

 

[FatBoy89]

That's how I spent my Friday night, two rods 2 mates and a case of xxxx gold
Mm just how I like it

 

[KraftyPg]

And after a night like that who really gives a **** if you don't come home with any fish? Bringing fish home is just a bonus.

 

[d22dave]

ive always run with bait,got to townsville and started useing live mullet but now im moveing back to NSW where you cant use cast nets im thinking the same thing,never used soft plastics or even hard lures till i moved to townsville and have used them a bit up here with decent results,few weeks ago in a freshwater river i was fishing for ages with bait then decided to try the plastics i had and got 15 fish in about 45m of fishing,it was awsome.i think ill really give it a go when i get back home and see how it goes.if it doesnt go well ill be going back to worms as they have always delivered for me on my home river

Those cast nets are great, we use to use it on the herring under the jetty on Maggie island when I lived there, best live bait in the trevally and mackerel

 

[sparra04]

And after a night like that who really gives a **** if you don't come home with any fish? Bringing fish home is just a bonus.

well said
we are packed up and heading off in morning
gunna spend 2 days at wollindilly river station having a fish and just sitting back sucking it all in
then its off to son of trials plus
are we there yet

 

[Eug]

once you get your first on plastics it gets easier. using plastics (or any lures) for that matter is about targeting a particular species fish at a particular time/moment/tide. mainly when they are ambushing or actively feeding.

for example: if i was to fish for flathead then i'd concentrate on a creek on a runout tide and pepper the area whilst 'hopping' the plastic on the bottom with an appropriately sized jig head. having braid and a good graphite rod will certainly help improve the sensitivity of what the plastic is doing and if something just had a swipe at it.

although the same principal applies to using bait, it is really a case of waiting for the fish to come to you. whereas you are actively trying to mimic bait fish and covering as much ground as possible with plastics/lures.

something with an active tail like the gulp grub (http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/gulp/grub-gulp) is a good start. just remember to 'hop' it along and making sure it 'flutters' back down to the bottom. 90% of the time fish will hit it on the 'flutter' down. mix it up with short/long hops and short/long pauses when it hits the bottom, anywhere from 0.5 seconds to 2-5 seconds.

 

[qqc d22]

sweet sounds like good advice. so whats everyones plastic of choice and for what fish?

 

[Gonzo]

sweet sounds like good advice. so whats everyones plastic of choice and for what fish?

Master card and Flathead Just jokes ... The only time I had any luck was last year when in the NT I went fishing with a local and we smashed the Barra . So the next day I went straight to Rifle and Rod andd got me the exact same plastics ! They sure work on Barra !

 

[KraftyPg]

so whats everyones plastic of choice and for what fish?

Whatever comes out of the box.

Lures catch more fisherman than they do fish so chances are before long you'll have a tackle box full and you'll pick a favourite..

 

[longy509]

the boys around here have a lot of luck with the soft plastics on brown/rainbow trout and yellabelly