by Bob Jensen
Summer has arrived in fishing country. This time of year, the fish are doing two things: They’re eating, or they’re looking for something to eat. If you can put a bait in front of a fish, they’ll probably eat it. An outstanding way to present a bait to a fish right now is a plastic bait of some sort. Plastics come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they will all catch fish. Here are some ideas for catching fish on plastic baits now and for the next couple of months.
A plastic bait rigged on a jig-head will be very productive much of the time. Some jigs are made for plastic baits. The best jigs for plastic have long-shanked hooks and keepers that prevent the plastic from sliding down the hook.
Most of the time it works best to just thread the plastic on the jig. Put the point of the hook into the nose of the plastic and slide it up to the jig-head.
Fish can be color fussy at times, so try a jig-head of one color with a plastic of another color. By doing so, you’re showing the fish two different colors and doubling your odds of showing them the color that they want. This seems to be particularly important with walleyes and crappies. Experiment with different color combinations until you hit on the right one.
In many bodies of water the weedline is where the fish will be, so that’s a good place to throw your bait. All sorts of fish species travel along the weedline, and a jig and plastic will appeal to them all. Go smaller if panfish are the quarry, larger for walleyes, bass and pike.
An eighth ounce jig will usually be good, although there are times when the sixteenth ounce or three sixteenth ounce size will be more productive. Eight or ten pound test line will do the job best much of the time. Vegetation can be hard on line, so use line that is abrasion-resistant.
We’re going to concentrate on the deep weedline. Much of the time you’ll be able to visually see the edge of the weedline. On clear lakes it will be deeper than in lakes with stained water. The deep weedline often sets up in seven to fifteen feet of water depending on the lake. Position your boat within easy casting distance from the weedline and fire away. You’ll find most of the fish gathered in pockets and points in the weedline, but there will be some roaming randomly along the weeds. Watch your line closely as the bait sinks. Fish will often hit on the fall. If the line does anything out of the ordinary, set the hook.
Plastic baits come in all sorts of shapes. A no-frills plastic like an Ocho Worm is often favored in clear water. A Rage Craw or Rodent has appendages that create vibration and action and will often be more productive in stained water. When the bite is on, go with larger, bulkier plastics. If you’re just wanting to get bit, a Rage Grub catches’em all.
Plastic baits stay on the hook well. They don’t rip off as you pull them through the weeds as much as live bait does. Live bait is a great option when the bite gets really tough, but plastic is a very good place to start this time of the year when you’re just looking for some fish to catch, and, most of the time, when we go fishing, that’s what we’re doing: Just looking for some fish to catch.
PHOTO CAPTION: A jig/plastic combo will take summer walleyes on a deep weedline.
