Central Pennsylvania Fishing

I was pondering how I could help anglers who are interested in fishing for smallmouth bass but have questions about where to start. I decided the easiest way to help newbies to smallie fishing would be to come up with a top five soft plastics baits list.

Any time you list “top” baits its going to be at least a little controversial. I’m not a big believer in top bait lists but I am a believe in using the right lure at the right time. The top five list I’ve developed is really aimed at listing an arsenal of soft plastics that can cover a wide range water conditions, structure, and depths to ensure you have the right bait for the right conditions.

And the drum role please….

1. Soft Jerkbait - Soft jerkbaits are my go to baits. I’ve written a couple other articles on this site that go into the detail of how to rig the bait. These baits are excellent at imitation the erratic action of a fleeing or injured baitfish. Being soft baits, the fish tend to hold onto them longer after the strike. Typically these baits are fished in the first three feet of the water column therefore the most common rig used is texposed with no weight. Many times the water is clear enough to see the bait and the strike. This just adds to the excitement! Soft jerkbaits can be fished deeper if you Carolina rig the bait or add internal “nail weights” to the bait.

Suggested Colors: white, pearl, rainbow trout, gold shiner

Suggested Baits:

• Lunker City, Slug-go
• Zoom, Super Fluke
• Berkley, Jerk Shad
• Berkley, Realistix

2. Straight Worm - I refer to soft plastic worms that have no real defining parts, twists, or turns as “straight worms”. Some examples of this type of bait are Yum Dingers and Senkos. Straight worms can come in a variety of lengths from 3″ up to 7″ or more. These baits are extremely versatile and can help you address a variety of water depths and situations. If you want to stay shallow you can fish the bait “texpose” or “wacky” rig the bait with no weight. If you want to go deep you can slap a jig head on the bait and fish it around deep structure such as rock piles and ledges. If you are fishing in weed beds..no problem, just Carolina rig the bait and drag it through the weed bed. By now you probably get the idea. This bait is versatile!

Suggested Colors: pumpkin, pumpkin/chartreuse, camo, motor oil, black, black/chartreuse, green

Suggested Baits:

• Yum, Yum Dingers
• Gary Yamamato, Senko

3. Tube Bait - These are great fish catching chunks of plastic! Tube baits are great when fished on an internal jig head or texposed rigged with an internal weight. This bait can be crawled on the bottom to imitate a crawfish which happens to be a river smallmouths favorite food. When fishing the bait on the bottom darker colors that come close to the various crawfish colors are really good choices. Colors such as motor oil, camo, pumpkin, motor oil, or variations of dark green will do the trick. Tube baits can also be “swam” through the water like a baitfish at various depths and speeds. When swimming the bait try to match the color of resident baitfish. Many times lighter colors are in order such as white, pearl, fire tiger, and lighter shades of gray or brown.

Suggested Colors: camo, watermelon, green, pumpkin, chartreuse, black, white

Suggested Baits:

• Yum, Garret Mega Tube
• Zoom, Big Tube
• Strike King, Bleeding Bait Tube

4. Curl Tail Grub - The curl tail grub has been the trusted bait of many smallmouth bass fishermen over the years. Grubs are very similar to tube baits in the way the can be fished. The action of the twister tail when retrieved through the water puts one in mind of a baitfish hastily making its way, trying very hard not to get gobbled up by a hungry predator. Most often twister tails are fished on a jig head with an exposed hook. This is great for increasing you hook set ratio but can be a little frustration when trying to fish the bait around wood or vegetation. Nonetheless the bait is well suited for fishing slowly along the bottom, off rock ledges, or even swam around fallen trees.

Suggested Colors: yellow, chartreuse, purple, black, white, motor oil

Suggested Baits:

• Mister Twister, Twister
• Yum, Muy Grub
• Kalins, Lunker Grubs

5. Plastic Worm - What list would be complete without this old stand by. You can texpose rig it or texas rig a worm. You can even throw a jig head on a worm. Plain and simple, this is a versatile bait. There are worms with curl tails, paddle tails, tapered tails, and the list goes on. Plastic worms can range from 4 inches to a whopping 16 inches for custom hand poured worms. Most smallie fisherman will stick with the 4″ to 10″ range. You can very rarely go wrong with this category of baits!

Suggested Colors: purple, motor oil, junebug, pumpkin/chartreuse

Suggested Baits:

• Berkley, Original Power Worm
• Chompers, Drop Shot Worm
• Manns, Hard Nose

If you have comment or want to suggest other baits that have worked for you, please feel free to tell me about it in the “comments” form below.

Tags: Fishing, Fishing Tackle, Pennsylvania, Smallmouth Bass, Soft Plastic Baits

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