Getting started with soft plastics

By Russell Hood-Penn

As a rock hopping enthusiast l would love to be walking the North West beaches and rocks targeting my favourite species all year round, but unfortunately like most people Im limited to just a couple of weeks per year. So lately Ive been honing my skills with Soft Plastics by targeting metro species, so when I do hit the North West, I’ve got all the right weapons in my arsenal.

Some of the styles of Plastics available

I’ve fished on and off all my life. Growing up in the country most of my fishing memories as a kid are from our annual two week christmas holidays at Moore River, targeting Bream, Tailor and Whiting. It’s only been in the last five years of living right on the coast, that the sport has gripped me big time. From a three month fishing adventure from Perth to Darwin in 2007, to my annual fishing trips to the North West, I’m afraid the bug has bitten big time and my symptoms are only getting worse!

I love the North West and the multitude of species it produces, and if I ever won lotto I’m sure that’s where you would find me a large percentage of the time, but in luie of a crystal ball to gain next weeks power ball results, and due to work and family commitments in Perth, here I am. But that’s not going to stop me refining the skills I need up there, here. So when for a couple of weeks a year I do hit Quobba, Exmouth or even Shark bay and Kalbarri, Ive got the skills to convert time spent fishing, into fish.

When fishing with artificials, the three main types of lures I use are, (in order of first out of the tackle box) Metals, poppers and then minnows. I also use bibless minnows, spoons, slugs, and plugs, but lately the type I’ve been giving the most attention while fishing metro lately, are the ones I’ve had the least success on, Soft Plastics. Being relatively new to fishing with soft plastics I really had to start from scratch and its only over the last eighteen months or so that I have had some consistent success. I believe the reason soft plastics haven’t produced the same amount of fish as the other artificials I use is simple, time using them, and a good of understanding of how to get the most out of them.

So where to from here? Your local tackle shop of cource!

A graphite rod and a reel filled with braid is virtually essential, so in the name of personal progress I’ve swapped my three and four meter glass and composite rods for a two meter, Shimano Raider and my 8000 and 12000 size reels for a Symetre 4000 spooled with 4 kilo braid. This kind of set-up is essential when using soft plastics for ensuring that you have the casting distance to reach reef holes and gutters with very light lures and have the sensitivity to work the lure properly. I also run about a meter of fluorocarbon leader to connect the braid to the jig head. To do this I use an Improved Albright knot which is very simple to tie and will cast through the eyes on your rod without to much fuss.

Although fluorocarbon has been popular with fly fisherman for sometime, it is with the advent of more fishing tournaments that fluorocarbon has really become a common feature with spin fisherman looking to gain any advantage they can. Fluorocarbon leader helps to keep the visibility of the line to a minimum as it has a light refractive index very similar to water. Where standard nylon mono filament line reflects light, Fluorocarbon line absorbs it. This means in theory, fish are less likely be spooked by the line, thus enticing more bites (and hopefully hook-ups) from our quarry. Another benefit of fluorocarbon leader over monofilament leader is its higher abrasion resistance due to a denser, less porous finish to the outside of the line.

Once you’ve got your rod and reel sorted its time to start thinking about plastics. When you first walk into a tackle shop and see the range of plastics available it can be very hard to determine which ones will actually work and which ones just look cool. There are many manufactures of soft plastics on the market with three of the main players being, Berkley, Squidgy and Atomic. These are good brands to start with as they should be easily accessible from your local tackle store and will work with a wide variety of fish. Some of my favourite ones to use are (Berkley) Gulp 5 inch jerkshads, Gulp 4 inch minnows, (Atomic) 75mm paddle tails and (Squidgy) 85mm flick baits.

When selecting your SP’s (soft plastics) its easy to assume that fish will be more likely to strike a lure that looks the most like their natural food source and in some instances this may be the case, but I do find it strange that the soft plastic Ive had the most success on with tailor, is a four inch Gulp Minnow in watermelon neon, but I don’t remember seeing too many fluoro green fish swimming around the place last time I went for a snorkel at my local beach. It has been said may times that a darker lure will work better on a darker day, and a lighter lure on brighter days, but as most of us know, with fishing anything can happen. I would recommend carrying a few of each just to keep all bases covered.

Another trend I have noticed that is worth mentioning is that pelagic species like Australian Salmon and Tailor, will bite more readily on more natural single coloured SP’s, while demersals like Snapper and Spanish Flagg seem to be more attracted to bright, multi coloured versions.

Now we’ve selected some plastics to use we need to match them with appropriate jig heads. Jig heads are basically a sinker and a hook moulded into one. Sometimes with better quality jig heads like Berkley Nitro’s, they will be shaped to look like the head of a baitfish and may even be painted to suit a particular soft plastic. They will also be manufactured with better quality hooks. These jig heads really look the goods and present the jig head and plastic beautifully, but if you’re fishing snaggy ground you may find that it can start to get very expensive very quick. A good alternative if you’re just starting out may be something like Wilson’s range of jig heads. They represent good value and will allow you to put the extra money into better plastics and more of them. Jig heads come in sizes ranging from ultra light 1/40th ounce heads right up to 1 ½ ounce monsters fitted with 8/0 hooks. Because I primarily fish in the ocean rather than river or estuary I tend to fish a heavier jig head. Any where from 1/4 ounce to 1 ounce will be sufficient and hooks in sizes from 2/0 right up to 7/0 long shanks for the bigger Jerkshads and Flick baits. If your planning to target smaller species like whiting and herring you will have to scale this right down.

Styles if Jig heads

Now you’ve got your weapon of choice sorted and you’ve selected the ammunition, its time to get fishing. If your targeting surf and reef species, I would begin with areas around where you live, so even if you’ve only got an hour or two in the afternoon you can still get in a bit of practice. Starting with your local fishing holes should give you a good head start with regard to the structure in the water and the species you should find there. Although before making your first cast you will need to check the weather. Factors such as wind, tide, swell and clarity of the water will play a part in your success. Light winds up to about 10-12 knots are fine and I have actually had more success when there is some wind as opposed to dead calm conditions. Weed is also something that you may have to contend with but with a little effort you should be able to find some holes that are relatively free of weed all year round. If you are planning on walking onto reefs just be sure to use common sense and spend a little time watching the swell and which way the water is moving off the reef. More and more people are investing in a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) and I would highly recommend one if you are not a confident swimmer or the conditions are rough, especially when wading out onto reefs.

The most important thing I find when I’m fishing with soft plastics is to keep moving, you have to be confident that when you find the fish they will strike, and the more area you cover the more chance of finding fish in good numbers you will have. Try and fish around structure and don’t be afraid to fish skinny water. Since I’ve been using soft plastics Ive pulled good size tailor and salmon from metro reef holes no more than a meter deep.

When I’m working the plastic I find that I get more hits with an exaggerated jigging motion on the retrieve. Even if the plastic drops in the water column for a couple of seconds quite often this is when a fish will hit it. If the ground you’re casting over is particularly snaggy, try a quicker more constant retrieve and use a slight twitching motion to simulate a fleeing bait fish. The other thing I find helps is to allow some slack in the line when the plastic first hits the surface so it sinks right where you cast it, buy doing this it gives the fish a good look at it and by the time you start to twitch it, the fish is committed and is spurred on even harder buy the thought that its breakfast may still have the strength to escape.

You never know when a hungry fish will steam out from a reef and absolutely smash your little soft plastic that is fluttering away like a wounded or dying fish. It’s amazing just how hard fish strike when there is a sense that the plastic may escape or be snaffled up by another fish. Some metro species that you are likely to encounter most of the year are Herring, Flathead, Tailor, Skippy, Whiting and Tarwhine. Less common captures would include Salmon, Yellow tail kingfish (rats), Samson fish and Mulloway but as the saying goes, “You have to be in it to win it.” Most of all just like me, keep experimenting and have fun!

Russell Hood-Penn