what are some of the better soft plastics

[004dam]

So im starting to get stuck into soft plastics, i started using some from the berkly range, 2" bannana prawn and a 3" nuclear chicken minnow. so far caught a 20cm trev and 2 flathead 60 and a 25ish cm. thought of maybe trying some of the self swim ones for chasing trevally/jacks/bream/jews ( unlikely) /flathead and whatever else is around. fishing in mostly dirtyish and sometimes clean water near the mouth. What would be recommand colors to look into and what techniques suit? anyone have youtube videos etc that are handy.

[Si]

hey mate. yeah the berkely power scent ones are pretty good. the berkely gulps are pretty good too as they also have a fair bit of additional scent which i like. i like to use 4-7(depending on expected size) inch jerk shads for flathead. i also like to use atomic and bass assassin. Hollow bellies, storm shads and squidy fish are good to use also. colours i like (for flathead mainly) in dirty water are white, pink, pink/white, lime green generally bright colours etc and more natural colours in clearer water. generally though flathead arnt that fussy and the main thing to ensure is that you get the plastic in the water skipping across the bottom but not too fast. i also like to use vibration lures also for bream and larger ones for jacks and other stuff. Retrieve techniques differ between species and anglers. suggest to do search. i read a thread about this the other week with good info provided. happy to help. hope you get a few.

[tunaticer]

For ease of finding in shops and ease of using them to get results, opt for Squidgy Wrigglers and Squidgy fish. If you want to pay the extra few bucks for the scent you can go squidgy pros, but i dont think its warranted for success. Any scent added to a bait will work and a bottle of tuna oil is probably as cheap as you will ever find. Carry a ziplock bag with a half a dozen drops of tuna oil in the bag and every dozen or so casts simply slip the plastic in the bag and give ti a rub for new scent. This way you dont have to smell like bait to catch a fish using scents.
Gulps work ok but their actions are awful so i generally avoid them these days.

[Si]

For ease of finding in shops and ease of using them to get results, opt for Squidgy Wrigglers and Squidgy fish. If you want to pay the extra few bucks for the scent you can go squidgy pros, but i dont think its warranted for success. Any scent added to a bait will work and a bottle of tuna oil is probably as cheap as you will ever find. Carry a ziplock bag with a half a dozen drops of tuna oil in the bag and every dozen or so casts simply slip the plastic in the bag and give ti a rub for new scent. This way you dont have to smell like bait to catch a fish using scents.
Gulps work ok but their actions are awful so i generally avoid them these days.
yeah, thats kind of interesting. do you think the jerk shads are a bit stiff or do you mean the paddle tail ones, cos that has crossed my mind a few times with the jerk shads. i know some people actually boil/heat larger soft plastics to get more 'flutter' for want of a better word. anyway - they are working for me really well on the flathead at the moment. cheers

[004dam]

I will look into the squidgy fish on the weekend do they come in various sizes? suited to more then just flathead?. I will more then likely by a few packs of different things and put some tuna oil in the berkly packet for extra scent and all the lures i can fit in the berkley pack haha.


http://www.squidgies.com.au


any choice in colours for this brand? i will be fishing clear and murky water but i think ill be down bells creek this weekn so merky first priority.

Also im not really sure on sinker sizes? do people make there own to suit there hooks? all the 1/0 etc seem to have big sinkers that would hit the bottom straight away? but i guess casting would be a issue

[Horse]

If you are just starting out on plastics then I dont think you could go past the Gulps. An old stanby is the 2" or 3" Minniow Grub in Punkinseed colour

[tunaticer]

The main difference between the Squidgy shads and the Squidgy fish is the shads are more suited to working deeper waters with heavier heads and working them harder. Squidgy fish are a more finesse style lure that gets a tail beat happening at slower speeds and will operate with less lead.
Personally I use both regularly in the rivers and on reefs.
Another point is that Squidgy fish work better thrown deep into snags for jacks than shads do because they are easily rigged weedless on large worm hooks, Shads are too deep in the body to effectively rig snagless.

[004dam]

The main difference between the Squidgy shads and the Squidgy fish is the shads are more suited to working deeper waters with heavier heads and working them harder. Squidgy fish are a more finesse style lure that gets a tail beat happening at slower speeds and will operate with less lead.
Personally I use both regularly in the rivers and on reefs.
Another point is that Squidgy fish work better thrown deep into snags for jacks than shads do because they are easily rigged weedless on large worm hooks, Shads are too deep in the body to effectively rig snagless.


thanks for that info as i will be fishing in 2m > and other times ill throw it in 5m>

I will have to learn some rigging techniques for weedles etc. do you use your premade jigheads? they seem to very picky in size hooks to weights. Or is it possible to make up your own by cutting the sinker and clamping it on your size hook you wish to use.

[Damned67]

As a 'catch all', my son uses 4" Gulp Swimming Mullet in Pumpkinseed.
I took an inventory of my soft plastic packets the other week (so that I knew what I had when I was in tackle stores), and excluding Squidgys, I have 106 packets of SPs. Granted, there are multiple packets of the ones I use the most, and yes, I have a bit of an addiction.... Yet my son ALWAYS goes straight for the 4" Pumpkinseed, and typically out fishes me everytime.
Grab a pack of those while you're there.
Cheers, and good luck!

[004dam]

As a 'catch all', my son uses 4" Gulp Swimming Mullet in Pumpkinseed.
I took an inventory of my soft plastic packets the other week (so that I knew what I had when I was in tackle stores), and excluding Squidgys, I have 106 packets of SPs. Granted, there are multiple packets of the ones I use the most, and yes, I have a bit of an addiction.... Yet my son ALWAYS goes straight for the 4" Pumpkinseed, and typically out fishes me everytime.
Grab a pack of those while you're there.
Cheers, and good luck!


cheers for the heads up i shall try them ive heard many good things about this pumpkin seed. what do you fish for generaly flatties ? or anything does he out fish you with them

[Damned67]

He catches everything, depending on where we're fishing.
Plenty of Flathead, Whiting, Pike, Bream (but generally only decent sized bream, the smaller models seem to leave them alone), and countless squire when we're out on the boat. The parrot fish also seem to love them too. I don't think he's ever really hooked a PB on them (perhaps with the exception of Bream?), but he does catch a lot of fish on them.
He's used them from the time he started using SPs, and continues to use them. I'd say they're an excellent choice for the beginner and experienced fishos alike.

And yeah, whatever we're fishing for, he generally out fishes me. If you want to catch a huge flattie, there's probably better choices (I love the 5" Gulp Jerkshads in Watermelon for Flathead, but that's just my preference), but I think the 4" swimming mullet in pumpkinseed are an excellent choice for almost everything, particularly if you're landbased (and he's caught plenty of 50+ cm flatties on them, just nothing over 60cm, and I think the eating quality of Flathead is better in the 45-55cm range anyway).

[stonecold]

When i started out I bought heaps of different placcies.....still got em. After 10 years I buy 3-4 different S.P and thats it, the main weapon is the 4inch swimming mullet for flatties in pumpkinseed or camo. For bream the 2inch gulp shrimp banana prawn or mouldy cheese. For bigger lizzards I will use a 120mm squidgee wriggler in bloodworm.....

[Si]

thanks for that info as i will be fishing in 2m > and other times ill throw it in 5m>

I will have to learn some rigging techniques for weedles etc. do you use your premade jigheads? they seem to very picky in size hooks to weights. Or is it possible to make up your own by cutting the sinker and clamping it on your size hook you wish to use.

mate if you wanted to keep things cheap you could do something like you suggest and it would work fine but i recomend if you want to refine your gear and bypass the effort to make your premade jigheads, for the sake of a few bucks go purchase some 1/6, 1/4, 3/8oz (heavier needed in deep strong current) dedicated jigheads in 2/0, 3/0 size if your just starting out and want to target small to medium flathead.

[Jurkyjj]

It just goes to show the variation of plastics that people use.
I have had a LOT of success with the powerbait 4" watermelon pearl of late.
These have really been going off in the river.
Sometimes it doesn't really matter what you throw at them......if they are hungry, they will hit it.

Good Luck.

Jason.

[Si]

It just goes to show the variation of plastics that people use.
I have had a LOT of success with the powerbait 4" watermelon pearl of late.
These have really been going off in the river.
Sometimes it doesn't really matter what you throw at them......if they are hungry, they will hit it.

Good Luck.

Jason.

yep yep. great colour isnt it! great for snaps and flatties. liking it alot too.

[Horse]

yep yep. great colour isnt it! great for snaps and flatties. liking it alot too.

Another vote for that combo here. Still the best starter lure is the Gulp Minnow Grub or Swimming Mullet (same shape) in Punkinseed. You will be amazed at what you will come across on them. Start with TT or Nitro Jigs before you start making your own

[004dam]

mate if you wanted to keep things cheap you could do something like you suggest and it would work fine but i recomend if you want to refine your gear and bypass the effort to make your premade jigheads, for the sake of a few bucks go purchase some 1/6, 1/4, 3/8oz (heavier needed in deep strong current) dedicated jigheads in 2/0, 3/0 size if your just starting out and want to target small to medium flathead.

Yeah i will have a good look tomorrow some 2/0 would be fine anyway. i shall see what i stumble upon tomorrow!


so natural looking clear fish for clear water, bright colors for dark works a treat?. i was looking on youtube before and they were saying darker colors for dark water?

sorry for the noobness trying to get it right the first time :P

[Jurkyjj]

My theory is......(and I am not trying to create a forum argument) is the more the plastic looks like the bait in the area......the more likely you are to catch fish.
I have fished plastics of many different colours sizes and shapes.....but have ALWAYS found that the colours and sizes of the bait in the area, work the best. Yes, I have caught fish on the nukechook, vader, etc, but always come back to pumpkinseed and watermelon pearl for safe guard.

Hence why I mentioned the watermelon pearl colour. These reflect a small baitfish and the 4" is a perfect size for all fish in estuary conditions.

Not trying to force my opinion, just voicing it.

Cheers.
Jason.

[004dam]

My theory is......(and I am not trying to create a forum argument) is the more the plastic looks like the bait in the area......the more likely you are to catch fish.
I have fished plastics of many different colours sizes and shapes.....but have ALWAYS found that the colours and sizes of the bait in the area, work the best. Yes, I have caught fish on the nukechook, vader, etc, but always come back to pumpkinseed and watermelon pearl for safe guard.

Hence why I mentioned the watermelon pearl colour. These reflect a small baitfish and the 4" is a perfect size for all fish in estuary conditions.

Not trying to force my opinion, just voicing it.

Cheers.
Jason.


your opinion is very much needed :) i know the bait in the area be mullet and herring and yabbies is the area i plan on going on sunday. so i will be getting a mix bagged, i was thinking that something different might be more appealing colourwise, but yeah its good hearing various opinions then i can go decide and see how it works for myself.

[Jurkyjj]

Good luck!!
Let us know how you go and with which plastics you catch the most / best on.
Hope you do well.

Jason.

[Damned67]

Based on this thread, go for pumpkinseed and watermelon, in the smaller sizes (3-5", in various shapes) and you'll be right on the money, so to speak.
Also, if you're targeting Flathead, I've also had a lot of luck with the 5" Gulps in Nuclear Chicken too.....
So many options, so little time.... when it comes to SPs.
Good luck and keep us up to date with your success!

[004dam]

so i went shopping today ended up buying 80mm shaky shads in pumpkin seed, 70mm squidgie fish in silver fox and black and gold some 1/0 hook and jigheads. and a gladiator popper see how that goes because there seems to be a bit of surface activity on where i plan on going tomorrow and there are some shallow flats.



i bought some tuna oil to chuck in the squidgee pack to give it some smell. Would it mess with the berkleys if i throw a few mills in that pack too?

http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac244/004dam/IMG_0438.jpg

[Jurkyjj]

The berkley gulps have already got an attractant in them, so I would probably say don't......but.....happy to hear other people's opinion's.
As for the squidgies, I would give it a go.....you can buy these with the "S FACTOR" tube in the pro range. maybe try those next time.

Good Luck.

Jason.

[004dam]

The berkley gulps have already got an attractant in them, so I would probably say don't......but.....happy to hear other people's opinion's.
As for the squidgies, I would give it a go.....you can buy these with the "S FACTOR" tube in the pro range. maybe try those next time.

Good Luck.

Jason.



yeah i saw them with s factor scent but thought i would try the tuna oil. I wanted some anyway so al is good. i throw some in my old berkley nuclear chickens but not the new pack yet as a trial. I best start loading up the boat!

[004dam]

not much luck with the sp's today but got a bream on the popper and a small flatty hopefully theyll grow big and strong for next time.