Anytime that you can gain an advantage in fishing, you should take that opportunity, since there are few advantages in the overall game itself. As fish become more pressure and chased each and every day, they can get sly and warry of many of the artificials that are tossed their way. Once they've seen the same popper or same swimmer, over and over again, is it any wonder that thye shy away from eating it?
That is one area when fishing soft plastics gives you an advantage, especially when chasing striped bass.Soft plastics tend to have different actions and looks than more hard baits. When each one is made it comes out of the mold just a bit different than most of the others in some way, shape or form. This is probably due to the way the plastic is injected into the mold, the rate of cooling, the amount of plastic, and a lot of other reasons. Did you ever use let's say a 7-inch Fin-S Fish or some other bait and killed the fish with it, then replaced it with one exactly alike and didn't get as many hits? You probably did as it has happened to me an awful lot of times. The reasons are likely many, but one reason is that new bait might have smelled a lot more than the previous one you just had on.
When you open a new package of big Slug-Go's, Fin-S Fish, six-inch shad bodies or other soft baits, you immediately get a whiff of PVC (polyvinyle chroride) the chemical used in making all soft plastics regardless of the manufacturer. If you can smell it, so can the fish. As you use it some of the stink gets wisked away but that may take all day or even two days before it looses its awful smell.
That's when using some type of scent on your lures can really make a big difference. I use it not so much as a fish attractant but more to hide the smell of the plastic itself. It also hides any oder on your hands that might spook the fish from rigging the bait to begin with. If you use glue you have gotten some on your fingers and transfered it to the bait, or maybe you just filled your gas tank that morning and added oil as well. These smells stay on your hands for a long time if you don't wash them immediately.
During the winter months when I'm doing seminars at most of the sportsmens show in New England, someone always asks me what type of scent do I like to use or which one do I think is the best. The answer is two-fold. One, almost any scent that is placed on your soft plastic baits is better than no scent at all. Simply because it masks that PVC smell. As far as attracting fish, I'm not so sure about that one but many claim that it does help in this area to get more strikes.
The product that I find that works the best for me is Smelly Jelly. This scent is a paste-like compound similar to vasiline protroleum jelly. It is highly water resistant, stays on the lure or bait for a long time, and doesn't come off after repeated casting or time in the water. The other good thing is it stinks! And stinks bad! During the summertime make sure you put any baits that have been rubbed in Smelly Jelly back into a plastic Zip-Lok bag; if you don't the smell in your car, boat or truck will be awful if it gets really hot outside.
When the fish can't smell that PVC or smell that odor on your hands that you've passed on to the bait itself, you'll wind up catching a lot more fish. It only takes a few seconds to do this but the results can be amazing when you are fishing. I've even used scents that were made for salmon and trout fishing and worked as well. Try some scents this season and watch your catch ratio rise.
One of the more effective baits for striped bass the last two or three years has been the Hollow style shad baits. These baits are usually long, slender, have a bigger paddletail in the rear and are hollow on the inside. But not all of these new baits are created equal so knowing which ones to use is critical for your success.
A few of the ones that I have found to be good are the Berkley Hollow Shad, the Strike King Shad, YUM's shad and the Smash-It shads, (which are actually a solid bait but molded in the same fashion as the hollow baits.) Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
One of the first things to realize is, these baits need to be matched with the correct size hook or jig head for them to work properly. If you don't the bait will tend to twist and turn on you when you reel it in. Some of them also tend to be better fished slowly and others are better when fished fast. The exception to this has been the Berkley Hollow Shad and the Smash-It shad. Both can be fished at both high and low speeds without much of a problem at all. The Berkley models tail tends to stick-up slightly giving it superior swimming action and the Smash-It shad is solid so the weight of the bait is more evenly distrubted along the lures length as in other solid shad baits.
When using a single hook, choose one that has a wide-bite as well as a weighted keel on the shank. This type of hook helps to stabilize the lure when in the water. Since the hollow shads are "hollow" fish tend to hold on to them longer since the bait can collaspe when a strike occures, exposing the hooks point for easy, or easier hook-ups. The hollow shads also lend themselves to putting some type of scent on the inside to make the lure smell more natural. The Berkley shad already has this as its made in the Power Bait line of soft plastics and has scent already built into it.
Jig heads should be the proper size and shape for the body of the bait. The better the nose of the bait fits up against the head of the jig, the better it will swim. I like jig heads with a wide-gap hook to them as well as a strong hook. Jigs from Owner, Kalin, as well as a few others have thinner wire hooks but are extremely strong. They tend to stick-out and away from the lure once rigged allowing for a better hook-set when a strike occures. The rounder or more oval the jig head is the better. The arrow type heads are best left to other types of shad baits for which they were designed. The nose of most hollow shads are rounded. Getting the proper fit so there is little space for the water to get inbetween the head and bait is better. If you've ever used a Fin-S Fish bait on the wrong style jig head then you know what happens when it doesnt fit correctly. That's the reason a lot of anglers cut a small piece off the head to make it fit flush with the jig head. Use the wrong style jig head on a Fin-S Fish, and it will twist and turn your line into a coil in no time. Just watch it closely when you reel it in. Instead of darting and jumping like its supposed to do, it twists and turns over in a very un-natural manner. An awful lot of fisherman have given up on that extremely effective lure just for that reason. Hollow shads can and do present the same problems.
Hollow Shads gained their popularity in the freshwater bass tournaments out west. One if the first, if not THE first hollow shads was one called the Bass-Trix. This four-inch bait made a huge impression when it was first introduced to the tournament circuit out west. It became so popular that bags of these lures were going for as much as $40 a bag on some Internet sites because they were so scarce. The company just couldn't keep up with the demand. So what happend next was Amercia being Amercia. The larger lure manufactures saw the popularity of this new style bait and began making their own to fill the void. The result was a large or much larger selection on the market than there was before. The down side was they were made quickly, just simple copies really with not much regard for testing to see if they would swim correctly or properly. So we would with a lot of shad baits that didn't work like they were supposed to and frustrated an awful lot of anglers when they didswim correctly. Photo Berkley
Now a few years later, these hollow baits have made their way into the saltwater area and are working extremely well. (As long as they are rigged correctly) and accounting for a lot of stripers for those who have learned how to rig and use them. The action on these baits is simply amazing when rigged properly.
When fishing these baits its a good idea to use a rod and reel that is a bit stiffer than you'd normally use. Something in the medium, to medium/heavy range. As the strikes are vicious with these baits, you need the power to get a good as well as a quick hook set when a strike occurs. Because this bait is usually fished close to the surface you can get away with braided line. But anytime that I'm fishing them in or close to rocks I'll go to mono line. Braid and rocks just don't seem to go together well and sharp rocks will easily part the braid like its thread. If you do go with braid, use a pretty long leader of flourocarbon leader material so you have some space between the lure and the braided line.
If you haven't tried these new lures yet, you owe it to yourself to get a few and toss them around next season in your favorite striper hang out. You may be surprised just how effective these lures really area.
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