Scented Soft Plastics

There’s no doubt in my mind: over time, you will catch more snapper on scented soft-plastic lures.

Sure, plenty of fish take unscented plastics, too – after all, several other factors help to determine whether a snapper finds a lure attractive or not – but my confidence really soars when using soft-plastics infused or coated with certain ingredients or concoctions.

Some of these plastics are better than others though, with the very best combining tasty smells with flexibility, effective shapes, a range of suitable sizes, and fish-attracting colour schemes.

The most obvious and successful of these candidates is Gulp! This soft-bait brand continues to rule. While some Gulp! colour schemes may appear ‘rather bold’, such is the potency of the ‘juice’ incorporated into the lures and filling the containers they swim in, all of them catch fish. In fact, Gulp! is so good I consider the product to be ‘artificial bait’ – a characteristic I exploit by continuing to fish with Gulp! tails even after a good portion has been bitten off. Experience has shown me that provided at least two-thirds of the body remains – the bulky part – they still fish effectively, even taking wary old snapper over 20lb! (9.1kg). I wouldn’t use other brands that way with any real confidence.

That’s why I largely agree with the Gulp! containers’ claim that the product ‘Outfishes live bait’. While I strongly suspect a decent-sized snapper would far rather nail a suitable live bait over a Gulp! soft-bait if the two were dangled alongside one another (after all, there’s more to the fish-catching formula than simply looking and smelling tasty), Gulp! offers anglers greater versatility and control, which makes up for any shortcomings.

So while arguably less attractive than live bait in a one-on-one situation, a soft-bait can be: selected to reflect current feeding inclinations (i.e. size and colour preferences); quickly rigged to suit the existing conditions; cast well away from the boat, if necessary, to where you want it (without risk of killing or stunning it); allowed to sink to the desired depth; and given various actions on the retrieve to see which movement triggers the most bites.

I’m probably preaching to the converted, though, as most keen soft-plastic aficionados are already familiar with what the Gulp! ‘secret squirrel’ product can do. However, what about the less well publicised soft-plastic brands?

For example, I used Squidgies quite a bit before deciding they weren’t as effective as Gulp!, but this opinion abruptly changed upon smearing them with the S-Factor feeding stimulant later supplied in Squidgy packets. The difference was simply amazing, with tails that had previously been ignored suddenly proving irresistible.

On the downside, applying the greasy substance from the sachets often proved a messy business – and other people must have thought so too, as the 145mm range now comes with a small squeezy bottle instead. Good move, Squidgy.

As for Wave Worms, I perceive them as unsung heroes. Imported sporadically by the Auckland specialist tackle shop, Go Fish, my first experience with them came courtesy of fishing buddy, John Eichelsheim. As anglers know, there’s nothing like a mate doing well with a previously unknown product to catch your attention. Especially when it stinks, is a bright grassy-green and you haven’t got anything remotely like it. What interested me in particular was the packet – more specifically, what was written on it – ‘Molopo infused’, it proudly claimed.

So what the hell is Molopo? Well, it’s the mystery third ingredient added to salt and aniseed, apparently creating a ‘Motion Lotion Potion’ – a potion that obviously works extremely well.

So I went and bought some for myself, including some monsters around 20cm that I thought would tempt kingfish (and even yellowfin tuna if I was lucky).

Sure enough, they were very good, proving effective on the local kings around Rangitoto Channel’s buoys and other manmade structures last season. But what surprised me was how great the big ones were on snapper, too – and not just the really jumbo specimens.

It all started while fishing with Paul Senior off the Coromandel Peninsula in quite deep water. While the fishing had been frenetic earlier, things had quietened down significantly. So feeling in a ‘what the heck’ mood, I attached a big Wave Worm Tiki Shadick ‘Anaconda’ – a bright-orange, red and black creation – to a 4oz Cyclops deep-water rig, and let it plummet down.

Upon reaching the bottom, I was surprised as anyone when the line immediately began to jerk savagely, and moments later I found myself hooked up to a snapper. While not a monster at around 3kg, it was more than acceptable, especially considering the others on board were using various consistent deep-water performers, such as Zman Paddle Tails and Lucanus and Daiwa Pirates slow-jigs, yet for some inexplicable reason these were being completely ignored.

And, even better, I then proceeded to enjoy non-stop action for a further 40 minutes or so, while everyone else just stood around and looked on enviously. Eventually that packet was gone, along with another in more natural hues, but in the process I’d boated several nice fish to 4kg – and one real beauty slipped off the hook midway to the surface.

So while the bright colours possibly played their part in this instance, as perhaps did the larger-than-usual size, I believe the key factor was the strong, rather pleasant smelling Molopo formula.

More recently still, I’ve been very excited by the possibilities offered by the Zman Jerk ShadZ (it’s just a shame my mate Paul Senior brings them in, because it detracts a little from my credibility, but that can’t be helped…). Admittedly these lures don’t look particularly special, but grab one and flick it around. Super-wriggly, right? Next, give it a good pull. Sheesh! Talk about stretchy! Now thread one onto your usual lead-head hook and cast it out – and don’t worry if the leatherjackets are around! I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s very rare to wind a Zman in and find a bite taken out of it, especially when one considers that a leatherjacket can chomp right through thin-gauge hooks! (It sure would be funny to be down there with them, and see the bewilderment as their little mouths repeatedly bounce off these tails…)

The Zmans obviously smell really tasty, too. Straight out of the packet they’re covered in a rather pungent fishy ‘grease’ that attract plenty of determined bites from a variety of species. But as time goes on and some fish are caught (typically around 6-9 snapper/kahawai/trevally), the time between bites abruptly increases. Although it’s possible to simply unhook the tail and pop it back in the pack for ‘revitalising’, I prefer to apply a thin trail of the newly released ‘Secret Sauce’ inside the split section of the lure’s belly. This makes them just as effective as before – but it does pay to reapply the sauce on a regular basis (once every two or three casts or so) if the full potential of these lures is to be realised.

By now you might be starting to realise why I’m so keen to profile this lure’s advantages, especially when used in conjunction with Secret Sauce, S-Factor or similar. After all, they’re: particularly mobile (so the angler can give them plenty of enticing movement); super-tough and bite resistant, meaning anglers commonly go through just one or two soft-plastic tails a day; and you can keep recharging them so they remain attractive to fish throughout the session.

Fortunately for their opposition, these lures are not quite perfect and probably never will be; after all, nearly everything in fishing is a compromise or trade-off. For example, although the Jerk ShadZ’ elasticity is mostly an advantage, it also makes them harder to rig straight on a jig head, and the very mobile tail occasionally gets impaled on the hook’s point when bitten, rendering the lure ineffective afterwards (if not hooked up already).

That said, I often find myself using nothing else, especially when wrassy, leathery, bitie things are present and I want to know my soft-plastic baits are darting and wiggling around intact, all the while smelling like snapper dinner. Just makes scents, really.

	This article is reproduced with express permission of Mark Kitteridge by Mark Kitteridge - 2011 Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited Originally published in New Zealand Fishing News