MUNCH. PLASTICS CLAIM ANOTHER
SATISFIED SNACKER. PHOTO: JERRY MCBRIDE
[SCHOOLE D]
THE SOFT TOUCH T
THE SEDUCTIVE ALLURE OF PLASTICS BY RIC BURNLEY
hey jiggle, they wiggle, they even squiggle and squirm; soft plas- tic lures come in a menagerie of shapes and colors that fool ev- erything from skinny water slobs to deep water leviathans. While the variations may be limitless, three styles are most popular: paddle tail, curly tail and fluke. Three pro ‘yakers explain how they use a favorite.
PADDLE TAIL When it comes to fishing for striped bass, Virginia ‘yak addict Rob Choi (
www.angling-addict.com) chooses paddle tail soft plastics. “Paddle tails make more noise and offer a larger profile,” he says. Choi believes that the thumping of a big paddle tail triggers the fish’s lateral line. Then, the larger profile makes it easier for the fish to find and key in on the bait. “This is especially important in stained water or at night, two of a striper’s favorite conditions,” he adds. Striped bass love structure such as bridge pilings or rock piles, so Choi uses 20-pound braid and a medium power rod to horse these fish to the boat. “Striped bass are aggressive and reckless,” he says, “so I use beefy tackle to match.”
FLUKES At first glance, the no-frills shape of a fluke-style soft plastic doesn’t look like much. “Flukes don’t impress me,” says California kayak ma- ven Sean White (
www.westcoasthighliners.com), “but they sure do impress the fish.” For West Coast rockfish, White’s favorite fluke- style lure is a 5- to 7-inch Hogy on a 3- to 5-ounce jighead. “I can work it off the bottom, let it sink slow, or rip it across the surface to cover the water column.” Of course a tail is nothing without the head. “I’m looking for a jighead with a good, strong hook,” he says. White loves jigheads that use a spiral screw to affix the soft plastic to the hook. “A jig that isn’t correctly threaded on the hook loses its mojo. The screw system is foolproof,” White says.
CURLY TAIL
Florida kayak diva Cheryl Little (
www.captainroy.com) waits un- til winter to break out her curly tail jigs. “During the warm months, baitfish peck at the tail making it impossible to use curly tails,” she explains. In the winter, when the smaller fish have moved to warmer water, Little relies on the extra action of a curly tail to entice lethargic gamefish. “The wiggling tail seems to pique the fish’s interest,” she explains. Little likes 3-inch D.O.A. C.A.L. curly tails in rootbeer and gold glitter on a matching 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jighead. She casts the lure into the sandy potholes she finds on the grass flats. “The fish wait on the edge of the sand for a bait fish to swim out into the open,” she explains, “then they attack!”
www.kayakanglermag.com… 29
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