Soft bait for bass

[hemi57]

What's people's favorite soft bait for bass worms,tubes,or grubs?

 

[Dan]

Put me down for grubs on 1/4 oz jig head.
But they all work -

 

[kunni]

Wacky rigged 4in yum dinger, or if you can find them gary yamoto senko worms. Black, or pumpkin colour there all pretty tough to beat.

Kunni

 

[Thelonious]

Senko's and poppers are all you need for smallies on the island imo

maybe a dropshot or tube when they are grouped up deep

Careful not to set the hook too quickly with wacky rigs, wait for the rod to load then lift and reel.

 

[kunni]

Senko's and poppers are all you need for smallies on the island imo

maybe a dropshot or tube when they are grouped up deep

Careful not to set the hook too quickly with wacky rigs, wait for the rod to load then lift and reel.

Alot of the time you dont even need to set the hook, when I am fishing soft plastics in the 4inch range I will normally use size 2/0 octopus hook, and the fish will normally hook them self, although it is better to try get a hook set so that the fish dont get hooked to deep.

 

[Thelonious]

Agreed

Its a different hookset than anything else. We're conditioned to yank when we feel bites but senko's fish themselves. Sometimes the first tug is violent but until you feel weight, its not hooked.

Smallies are addictive

 

[Mick]

I would recommend a circle hook over the octopus hook, again this is a personal prefence as there is less chance of hooking the fish deep. Also a small O-ring will reduce the amount of senko's you loose. Im looking forward to landing my first island smallie among other fish !!

 

[Rempy]

The best way to know when you have a smallie on your line when using a senko is to throw your line, take up the slack and just let the senko sink on its own. The KEY part is to watch your line. DO NOT wait for a tug, by the time the tug may come you may have gut hooked the poor guy. Watch for your line to start moving sideways. Most of the time they will pick it up softly and slowly start to swim with it. So when your line moves one direction that is shouldn't do on its own then set the hook.

Rempy

 

[Thelonious]

imo you are missing fish and not realizing it Rempy; line watching works some of the time. A taught line and high mod blank should transmit everything. If the line is taught then the rod will load with weight, but not bites - even sunfish can be lipped (might be harder with a spincast?)

I've only gut-hooked one fish - on a tube - but if anyone is worried it's really easy to release a gut-hooked if you are barbless and know how to leverage the hook from the gills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RGTL9RBG2s

I also prefer 2/0 octi's but circle hooks are great, especially for salmon

my 2 cents

 

[kunni]

The best way to know when you have a smallie on your line when using a senko is to throw your line, take up the slack and just let the senko sink on its own. The KEY part is to watch your line. DO NOT wait for a tug, by the time the tug may come you may have gut hooked the poor guy. Watch for your line to start moving sideways. Most of the time they will pick it up softly and slowly start to swim with it. So when your line moves one direction that is shouldn't do on its own then set the hook.

Rempy

Thats another reason to fly fishing for them, with a floating line takes are super easy to spot.

Kunni

 

[Thelonious]

Thats another reason to fly fishing for them, with a floating line takes are super easy to spot.

Kunni

I am going to try swinging a 6 wt with earplug poppers... and gartside gurglers this summer. cheaper than senko's and frogs

Do you toss any big streamers like clousers or just use trout flies?

sorry to hijack, just curious as i'm going to try using my fly rod this year

 

[kunni]

I am going to try swinging a 6 wt with earplug poppers... and gartside gurglers this summer. cheaper than senko's and frogs

Do you toss any big streamers like clousers or just use trout flies?

sorry to hijack, just curious as i'm going to try using my fly rod this year

Heres a few flies that I will be using, popper are alright but I find streamers more productive. For the larger flies I use a 7wt, but I also carry a 5wt for the medium flies, and if I am feeling like it will sometimes use a 3wt, but the 3 is for small flies, and fish averaging below 15in.


Kunni

 

[Thelonious]

Thanks man. Those are big; I'll tie up some bigger profile wet flies. Biggest I've got is around the size of that pumpkinhead.

Quenell lake is really good for topwater bites. Algae blooms and frogs. St. Mary's too, and even Spider. I relegate the senko to a followup bait now unless I'm on Shawnigan, maybe Victoria area lakes are similar to there.

Sorry again to hijack, hemi57.

 

[hemi57]

No worries all info is good info buds new to bass fishing as I am from northern bc and wouldn't mind catching some big ones all the tips are appreciated

 

[Dan]

It also depends on if you're in a boat or from shore....
The lighter stuff aint so good from shore.

 

[mhbradley]

I like to Texas or Carolina rig a Berkeley 3-4" Gulp Crayfish or lizard and look for structure... If I can find structure, the glass beads should make enough noise to draw them out from their hiding spot .

I have found that this set up works especially well when the wind is blowing.

When a Senko or Yum Dinger can't get down, the Texas or Carolina rig will hug the bottom.

 

[Sviflyguy]

My favourite soft plastics are 7" Power worms. Texas rigged
Dingers are great for fishing shallow water for active fish, but are like little sticks when it comes to action...

Tubes are great post spawn, as are lizards.

Although early season I prefer jerk bait fishing on sunny days. Highly productive!