How do you bass fish with soft plastic lures?
Posted by Best Bass Fishing Lures on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
I am no stranger to bass fishing, however I have NEVER fished with soft plastics and it’s kicking my butt in tournaments this time of year. All my experience is on hardbaits like: crank baits, spinners, popper, etc. I have an idea on how to rig the soft plastics (Texas, and Carolina anyway) but what do I do with it once it hits the water? How do I know there’s a fish on the line? Lastly what colors and lures are good under what conditions?
Thanks
Filed in Bass Fishing Lures | 7 responses so far

Grand Master Basser®on 24 Aug 2010 at 3:14 am 1Once it hits the water, with the reel in freespool, let it sink. Once it hits bottom, let the worm sit for a few seconds just in case a bass followed it down. Bounce the worm in very, very, v-e-r-y slow by using subtle movements of the rod tip. You can also reel it in slowly, dragging it along the bottom.
Colors for soft plastics depends on water clarity… lighter colors for clear water, darker colors for muddy or stained water. Black is the obvious color for night fishing.
When you get bit, wait until you feel the weight of the fish before you set the hook.
soundon 24 Aug 2010 at 3:28 am 2I am no bass fisher myself, but this site seems to have a lot of info and tips on soft bait fishing. Hope that helps you out.
http://www.bassresource.com/fish/softbaits.html
Matayeoson 24 Aug 2010 at 4:11 am 3well primarily you will be using worms or shad sometimes crayfish but not much and gulp is the best brand of soft plastics just so you know
worms waky rigged will always out fish any other way to me all you have to do is hook it right through the middle of the worm and jig it look it up on youtube… black chartruse and white are my favorite worms colors and if your fishing deep use darker colour worms the shallower you are use lighter colours
swimbaits are as easy to use as crankbaits and they catch more fish but the best swimbait ive ever used (maybe even best lure if ever used) is this http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_83530_999043516_100000000_100020000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL the best colours are firetiger perch purple phantom and red hot chile all in the 6″ sive i love this lure to death you can jig it to make it look badly injured or you can swim it when fish are agressive to give them a chase
Jasonon 24 Aug 2010 at 4:28 am 4u let it sink to bottom then slowly twitch it back in. u know theres a fish on the line if u feel a tug or if the line starts moving sideways. when the bass are activley feeding a big soft plastic is better, when they are finiky smaller baits work best. in murky water use darker colors such as black and purple. in clear water use natural colors such as green pumpkin. hope this helps.
Sharleneon 24 Aug 2010 at 4:56 am 5There are a ton of resources on this subject, here are 3 that list everything out for you:
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/soft_plastics.html
http://www.fishin.com/articles/tennesseebassguides/plastics.htm
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/articles/fishing/freshwater/steve_vonbrandt_004.html
HTH
-Paro
The Champon 24 Aug 2010 at 5:43 am 6all good answers, just want to add something. Use the carolina in deeper water so you can get some faster sinkage and more fishin action!
34Luke34on 24 Aug 2010 at 6:07 am 7here are some links on how to fish a soft plastic lure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSn0t4f0bnI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4VEVBA3reU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuAUcv8aNR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-2st1ZXqE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9EtpCsG72g&feature=related
1.) when bass fishing at night with plastic worms use dark colors like black, purple, brown, and grey.
2.) in dark water, no visibility in the water or stained water use the same colors as stated above.
3.)in clear water use the lighter colors like yellow, red, green, and blue.
i would recommend you use the texas rig because of its weedless rig.
you will know when a fish is on the line because the tip of your pole will be bending if its big enough, or you will feel a tug on the pole.
the videos above teach you how to fish certain kinds of plastic worms!!!
good luck!!!