I’m a softie for soft baits during the winter.
I’ve long been a fan of soft baits for ice fishing, but the last few years have really solidified my fondness for squishy artificials. I’m about to explain why, but what continues to impress me overall is how certain soft baits have an ability to turn lookers into biters when hard baits fall short.
Soft-bait substitutes
If you only take one thing away from this, I hope it is this — soft baits are good impersonators of live bait. They’re like Hollywood stunt doubles. The good ones deliver a convincing performance, be it a scrumptious minnow or an A-list actor.
Having a supply of soft baits on the ice has paid off when a hot bite caused me to go through my live bait supply faster than expected. Same deal last year when I arrived at a bait shop to be unexpectedly greeted by a “Closed” sign. I avoided catastrophe thanks to my stash of Berkley PowerBait Max Scent Flatnose Minnows. More on this later.
Can’t buy these at a bait shop
In “The Forage Factor” I list several baits with realistic profiles for imitating freshwater shrimp (aka scuds), nymphs, and bloodworms. All are important food for various fish species, but don’t expect to find them in bait shops. Plastics with buggy appendages and other natural features check an important box when it comes to fooling fish into biting.
Enhance hard baits
When it’s not possible to tip a lure with a real minnow head or piece of tail meat, using a soft bait is one option for boosting a presentation’s appeal. To appreciate everything soft baits offer, however, we need to look at them beyond being a live bait alternative.
One of the absolute best presentations I’ve used recently for shallow-water perch, crappie, and bluegills is a teardrop jig tipped with a finesse tail soft bait. I know of no live bait that’s readily available, durable enough to stay on the hook, and capable of delivering the same action of various finesse tails I’ve experimented with, including the Custom Jigs & Spins Wedgee, Lunkerhunt Spade Grub, and Northland Impulse Bloodworm.
Soft baits can also add colour to a lure. A flashy metallic finish combined with a pearl or natural baitfish plastic has served me well for many fish species. Dark colours, like purple, brown, and grey, are also consistently duping panfish on my ice adventures. Glow plastics are my ace in the hole, though. Adding luminescence to a presentation can trigger strikes, especially at night.
Marvellous movement
Whether you’re trying to recreate an actual life form, or using an obscure profile for boosted strike-triggering movement, the fluid action of many soft baits can dupe fish into striking.
Consider the wispy tails of some panfish finesse worms, for example. Some are so good at producing action, I’ve found it’s sometimes better to deadstick the rod on my knee. If it’s in my hand, I might overwork the bait and ultra-fussy panfish won’t strike.
Let’s also not overlook the potent movement of a falling tube jig with its dying-baitfish spiral, which is a reliable trigger for trout, whitefish, panfish, and walleye. Also noteworthy is the irresistible kicking action and body roll of a paddle-tail swimbait, one of the best ice baits for lake trout.
Score more strikes with scent
A soft bait’s smell and taste are other advantages. In my experience, attractant can play a critical role in flicking a switch in an interested fish’s brain. Earlier I mentioned how Berkley PowerBait Max Scent Flatnose Minnows saved my bacon, but here’s the rest of the story. It was during a high-pressure, sunny day. After drilling and fishing some holes using jigging spoons and gliding jigs, my friend and I stirred up some signs of life but fish stayed very tight to bottom and showed little interest in our baits.
I decided to set up the old one-two punch combo, drilling two holes roughly five feet apart.
In one I jigged a rattle spoon. In the other, I dead-sticked a Flatnose Minnow (no real minnow, remember) on a 1 ⁄8-ounce jig. Well, wouldn’t you know it, but soon enough a fish came off bottom and nipped at the jig.
Now, here’s an interesting part. I caught more fish once I put away the rattle spoon and fished the soft bait solo. Key was soaking it and keeping movements very subtle. Every fish I caught stared down the bait for a long time. Anything beyond the slightest movement was counterproductive, so I let the bait — and MaxScent — do the work.
I’ve had similar situations with other scented formulas, like Berkley’s PowerBait, Lunkerhunt’s Lunker Attractant, and Northland’s Impulse.
Fishing soft baits isn’t all or nothing
From my experience, the saying “diversity is security” certainly applies to a tackle collection, but one great thing about picking tackle is it’s not a zero-sum situation. Your collection can have soft baits, hard baits, live bait, and whatever other presentation particulars you desire.
Originally published in the Nov.-Dec. 2023 of Ontario OUT of DOORS
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