Fishing with Soft Baits

Published July 30, 2009 | Saltwater Knowledge


Soft bait fishing has become very popular.
If done right it can be an immensely productive way of fishing.  
Especially in combination with drift fishing from a kayak.

Soft bait fishing requires special tackle.
It is always a good idea to buy the best you can afford, to increase your success.

The tackle used for soft bait fishing is extremely light and easy to handle.

A very light weight graphite rod around two meters in length with line capabilities of around 4-6 kg is standard.
It usually comes with comfortable cork grips which a arranged to allow good lifting pressure.

As for a reel, it should be as light as possible and take up to 200 meters of line. It needs to have a very smooth drag.

The line is normally braided or fused and holds up to 3-8 kg. Nylon or flurocarbon lines can be used as trace. They should have breaking strains of  7 - 15 kg.
Its always better to go for a lighter strain, if the terrain permits it. Flurocarbon is probably the best choice, as it is harder to see and also more abrasion resistant.

The soft baits them self's, normally in the form of colorful plastic tails can be attached to either lead head hooks (jig heads) or worm hooks.

If using lead heads you should strive for using the lightest weight required to cast and to reach the required depth. Especially in shallow water it is important to use light weights to prevent the bait from sinking too quickly.

Worm hooks are great for fishing in very shallow water where we want retrieve our soft baits slowly over the shallows.
They can also be tied to a trace in a conventional way with a Palomar knot and used for deep water fishing.

Soft baits come in all variety's of shapes, sizes and colors. 
Bigger ones will most likely attract bigger fish. But sometimes the small one will get more strikes because
they provide better action since they can easily be manipulated with the rod. Most soft baits come scented with a nice fishy smell and they usually work better then the
unscented ones.

As mentioned above soft baits work best if used from a drifting boat, such as a kayak.
But they can also be successfully used while anchoring.


D.O.A JERK SHAD PEARL FIRE TAIL 4
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