Soft bait

[lily]

Have a odd question. I have pondered this a long time and have done it a couple of times with marginal results wondering has anybody ever trolled unwaited soft baits paddle tails. Any jig body's behind a flasher. Seems logical that it could be done Like cut bait/ trolled like a flasher fly. They come in so many sizes and shapes colors. Just seems like it could be another weapon for the arsenal

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[Big Spoon]

Interesting idea.  May even be worth fitting a soft bait into a meat head and running it behind a big paddle...

[bandrus1]

they sell plastic strips that look like meat

[ioiosoiwork]

I have fished Berkley smelt paddle tails in Big Weenie small bait heads, good luck for lakers, I've also used this jig mold http://www.barlowstackle.com/Do-It-Gary-Yamamoto-Swim-Jig-Mold-P230.aspx with again Berkley smelt paddle tails behind grease traps with good luck ..........but then again this "experiment" was played out on Keuka, where you can't throw a rock without hitting a laker  

Marty

[lily]

Was a thought I've pondered. Price wise can't be beat. Seen some pretty interesting jig body's and All ways thought about it but never heard of anybody doing it. Salt water jig body's are bigger in size. Thinking about for salmon

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[Paul Czarnecki]

Interesting idea. May even be worth fitting a soft bait into a meat head and running it behind a big paddle...

You mean like Rockets?

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[Big Spoon]

You mean like Rockets?

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Yea - may help put a little spin on them

[Paul Czarnecki]

Rockets have their own roll. They don't spin. They are designed to "roll" like natural cutbait.

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[ReelDeal]

I tried it several years ago on Lake O - and used a cut herring strip imitation that is to be used in the bait heads - I think it was Berkely - but don't remember - but never ever had a hit ever - I thought it would save the hassle of cut bait and could even be reused - but the experiment that I did on and off over various times and trials didn't work for me...I thing it could be done - I just didn't get it done!

[J.D.]

Put a squid body in a JDF bait head, and add your favorite scent.

 

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[Sk8man]

I made up some a couple years ago and these work good on lakers but I haven't had a chance to test them yet on kings. The bodies come with paddle tails that I modified and cut off the heads of the things to fit in the meat head and they are glued in place. I then inserted a section of copper wire inside them so I can bend them as I wish for action.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Sk8man

[lily]

That is a lot what I was thinking similar to that but with out the meat head. Didn't think of that. Why did you remove the paddle tail. Always thought would add some turbulence for enticement.

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[Sk8man]

It really wasn't for any "scientific" reason   I just felt it was a little too big and bulky and liked the looks of a forked tail instead. Kind of like a "lady" thing I guess I went for form over function . The main purpose of the meat head is to control the line with the hooks on it so it can be adjusted (cinched up or loosened). The main thing you want (as in with actual bait) is not necessarily "turbulence" but rather a spinning of the bait in the water behind the flasher or cowbells and that is the purpose of the stiff copper wire inside. You bend it (which in turn bends the bait) to achieve the action you desire. The nice thing about it is that is is quite durable  unlike the real baits (which I also still use). I spray the the thing with shad scent (spray bottle found in places like Walmart whose name I hate to mention here but it is convenient for most folks ). The unmodified bodies are also sold there.

[skipper19]

Throw the rubber squids or jig bait in a tub of Berkeley gulp juice. Do like Les said with the wire and bend it to roll (corkscrew) not spin at a cadence of about 2 to 3 rolls per second. Bait heads have an angle on the leading edge for roll. No gulp....stick hands in gury in cooler and massage yer catch (requires spoon caught fish ) then rig it up!

[Sk8man]

Mark makes a real good point in differentiating between a "spin" and a roll or "corkscrew". He is correct in his terminology and it is specifically what I meant and an important distinction . If the bait is truly "spinning" it usually doesn't work properly. The bend determines the way it comes through the water and it often takes some experimenting to get it right and it appears "wounded" rather than just spinning in a rhythm behind the attractor.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Sk8man

[lily]

Never thought of the wire. Figured the paddle would give it enough action.

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[Sk8man]

It really isn't mainly as much a question of enough action it is more of the "right action". The attractor serves the main purpose of  the "action" part of things (e.g. making a commotion in the water) so once you have the fishes attention he needs to be fooled into thinking he has something "vulnerable" or "wounded" that appears to be a meal. Sometimes scent helps this along considerably too.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Sk8man

[lily]

I'm folowing yyou with the motion but now wondering why standard meat works or even a fly.

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[lily]

Fly works because of the material flashing and stalling but gets its action from the paddle. Other wise all you have is a streamer. Maybe I'm over thinking it

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[Sk8man]

I don't truly pretend to know why any of these things work   but after being able to fool them somehow you keep doing whatever works. Colors are a good example of this.....who knows for sure whether fish (trout and salmon in particular ) actually distinguish between specific colors but when you catch one you send it back down to hopefully catch another on that same spoon or fly or stick and if you do you assume that it was the color that did the trick. Problem is it may have been that particular spoon or its action or its proximity to that particular fish (or many other variables) that accounted for the success. We make a lot of assumptions in this "game" and some of them may not be true some or all of the time.  Some of the things are kind of like human "superstitious" behavior too. The lure manufacturers are masters at creating this illusion and I am a prime example of someone who has fallen for it time and again

[skipper19]

Superstitious impulse buying at the tackle shop.....that's it! I went in to buy a spool of flouro (opposit side from spoons flies etc,) then unconscious I meander to the wall with all the "bling " and like a fish...or human thinking like a human thinks a fish thinks....i grab two of each lure I already have 6 of. That's called repeatability, and Dennis knows this so he puts the baits right at eye level.

[Sk8man]

:lol:

[Big Water]

A friend was running rubber flukes in a whole bait head a month ago while I was running meat and MC Rockets on my boat. He was taking more fish and hits than me. He did that because he didn't have any cut bait but uses that rig for stripers at a local lake.