Fishing soft plastics in the UK

[Newt]

Trying to get a feel for how you folks do things. I'd love to know which hook & rigging style you prefer for pike and for perch and the approximate size of the hook & 'worm' you like for each.

 

1. Standard Worm Hook

 

2. Standard Offset Worm Hook

 

3. Wide Bend Offset Hook

 

4. Hook with worm keeper

 

And do you see any advantage to the red coloured hooks

[Tim Kelly]

I use 4/0 and 5/0 wide gape or standard offset for perch in things like 6" sluggos. Always rigged "texposed" though as burying the point makes hookups even less likely. For pike none of the above are very satisfactory. A fully exposed hook is required, usually on a jig head. Anything from 1/4oz to 2oz head, depending on bait size, water depth etc.

If you are going to try texas rigged plastics when you come over make sure you bring a fast actioned stiff rod. You Ugly sticks will not be nearly adequate for setting the hooks.

 

Looking forward to seeing you.

[Newt]

Thanks Tim.

 

I never use the ugly stik rods for lures since they are good, tough sticks but not well balanced for repeated casting. I am already starting to take your advice on rods too and have gotten a 7' rod that is stiffer and heavier action than I would normally use. It and at least one companion will probably stay in the UK when I leave since they wouldn't get much use on my local bass (more akin to your perch than anything else) and I won't be fishing areas in the US that hold pike.

 

I do plan quite a bit of Texas and Carolina rigging and tex-posed if the area is snaggy or exposed if not.

 

If plastics to 6" with 4/0 - 5/0 are good for perch, how much larger for ole esox? I can certainly fish pig & jig but it isn't my preference if there are other options that might do the job.

 

I'm also curious which style of hook is the most usual for you folks. I know what I like but have no clue what is normal for UK folks.

 

Carolina rigs? I rarely see them mentioned but since AN is not a really hard core lure site, it could be that they just aren't mentioned here.

 

Note to Peter Waller - I've managed to source some 'worm' hooks in 8/0 - 11/0 that might be just the thing for that 17" snake lure you have.

[Tim Kelly]

I doubt carolina rigs are used much here at all. The trace is always what spoils many bass techniques over here. I don't doubt it would work, especially for zander which generally hunt close to the bottom, but most venue I fish either have very snaggy or weedy bottoms which makes the dragging technique used with carolina rigs ineffective. Drop shot, vertical jigging and swimjigs are of more use here generally. You will be dissapointed by the lack of predatory fish here. No rock bass to keep you on your toes or sunfish constantly nibbling at your offering!

Edited January 17, 2006 by Tim Kelly

[Newt]

LOL - Tim, since I have never been around water with a chance of a pike or large perch (my PB perch is probably 4oz and about as big as they get in the local lakes and my PB pike is zero), just the possiblity will be fun.

 

I see our spring UK trip as a chance to meet some folks, to learn some new techniques, and to play with some rigs and lures that I suspect will produce fish but may not. I'm gonna have fun with just trying it.

 

I basically know what I intend to bring and things I want to try and it will be good fun to fish along side some of you folks who are good with the lures just to see how tactics and rigs compare. That's not to say that if you are catching and I am blanking that I won't quickly switch over though. :D

 

I'm sorta hoping this thread might spark some interest in the occasional lure anglers on AN who have pretty much stuck to spoons or hard plastic crankbait/jerkbait rigs. For instance, some of the canals sound ideal for C-rigging.

 

I suspect there are folks reading these threads who either don't know where to start asking questions or who think they are the only anglers in the world who aren't familiar with fishing soft plastics. Maybe some will take the chance to jump in now and ask for information.

[Tim Kelly]

Just looked at you pottery site Newt. Are you going to bring any supersized pots with you like the one you're standing next to? Would love to see the wheel that bad boy was thrown on!

[*Ant*]

In the pics, are they showing that the hook point should be nicked back into the lure?

 

I've got some jelly worms that I purchased a few years ago for a sea fishing trip and have wondered if they would work in freshwater for perch. The reason I haven't tried is because the way I would normally rig them would pick up too much bottom debris, or so I thought.

[jerry weijers]

I use for the worms only a jig head with weight between 3 gram and 25 gram depending of the water [ flow depht ]

Also for shad grubs and the another plastic [ frogs crab crayfish etc ] i make use of a jighead [ eire stand up or swimming head ] also depending of water flow depht and the fish where i'm afhter

 

 

gr jerry

[Ken L]

I have to echo what Tim has said about exposed hook points for pike when using soft plastics. Trying to pull the hook though the lure and into a fish just isnt the same when there are 40 or 50 needle sharp teeth penetrating the lure.

Personally, I prefer trebles mounted on a wire pin that can be stuck into the side of the bait, threaded up to and out of the head and clipped onto the trace. If the lure gets trashed, rip it off, unclip the pin, mount up a new plastic and clip it back on.

Of course, no sooner had I worked this out than Storm brought out their excellent suspending swimshads.

 

Jig heads are the way to go for deeper water because having a bullet weight above the lure places it on the trace and there is a real posibility of metal fatigue causing the trace to let go where it bends against the whole on the weight.

[Paul Boote]

They'll even catch Indian mahseer, too. My first on such a lure was in February or March 1981 on a blue-silver Redgill Pilchard (large, single stainless hook fitted in a slot in the belly - I still have the lure). Proceeded to get a bit cleverer in the years that followed...

Edited January 17, 2006 by Paul Boote