Does soft baiting work???
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Soft Bait Fishing
Forum Description: Anything to do with this latest and greatest way of catching our favourite species
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73357
Printed Date: 10 Jun 2026 at 8:46am
Topic: Does soft baiting work???
Posted By: ollie007
Subject: Does soft baiting work???
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 8:48pm
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I've been fishing 3 days straight. All this time fishing i've decided to use soft bait for the first time. Where we went there were lots of fish. My mate decided to anchor up like usual and use bait. The 3 days i got out fish terribly. My mate caught all the fish and i caught bugger all. I suppose i was doing everything right e.g using the leftys knot, fluro leader, scented soft baits, light reel and rod, the right worm hooks and jig heads. The only thing that i wasn't doing was drifting, but if the fish were there why wasn't the soft baiting working. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had much success with soft baits,
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Replies:
Posted By: ponty
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 8:53pm
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Me being new to it, i never picked up any fish while anchored the key is to drift. My mate seems to always pick up fish when anchored. Best 3 fishing trips soft bait only trips in past 2 weeks and i have had my boat for a year |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 8:59pm
If you have to anchor do what I did one day, drop a curly tail or paddletail down on a 3/4 ounce jighead on top of the berley bomb and see what happens. Before the gulp craze I did that on a mates boat and picked up 2 nice John Dories and 2 x 2kg snappers easy as! Only time I ever tried it though probably a fluke.
Otherwise tell your "mate" to up anchor and drift for a while. But I still believe if the fish were there you gotta make sure you try and get the fish on the drop and should still have a go at the softbait on the way down.
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Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 8:59pm
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we gave up the smelly stuff 4 years ago..much more success with soft baits... Look for birds,drift with a drogue. Only missed out about twice a year when I suppose we should of had the smelly stuff !!! We have caught some awesome fish..and no mess ! Before we fished with baits and weren't doing well so decided to try soft baits one day as had them tucked away...Wammo....we were in and havnt changed since..practice, patience,observe.its a technique to to be learned
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Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:02pm
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why is drifting so critical, if the fish are there, i've heard that the soft bait should work. And where do you drift anywhere or beside structures and workups. |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:07pm
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Next time out, sneak the anchor off the boat when hes not looking! I've always found softbaiting on anchor to be tough going and much better on the drift. The beauty of the drift is that you cover off a much bigger area. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:09pm
| so if your forced to anchor up due to weather or something, you are saying that soft baits are kind of useless. |
Posted By: skidoggg
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:16pm
| when drifting your line tends to be out the back and more angle on it therefor the bait action tends to swim forward if your at anchor your soft bait will just be twitting up and down and doesn't really look too realistic . you mite still get a fish but it's not really the correct way to fish soft baits |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:18pm
| Ive found soft baiting at anchor useless..much better on the drift ,,saves the pain of pulling up the anchor as well..least we catch fish on the drift |
Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:19pm
| Thanks for that, if i do soft baiting next i will definitely have to drift. Lets hope the weather is good. |
Posted By: Fishing Addiction
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:20pm
| the key with the drift Is 2 fold, cover the ground to find the fish, but most importantley it makes the presentation a lot more more natural. Less tension on the line means that it can flutter down. The exception is weighted paddle tails which can work at anchor with good current. Make sure you watch the line on way down as it should get smashed on the way down |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:20pm
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So next time he anchors and berley use your strayline rod and if he drifts take the softbait gear and make a fair scrap for the fish
I think everyone on here will 100% confirm softbaiting works but you have to use the right technique and drifting is a big part of doing it right.
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Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:20pm
| Any one had much success with soft baits, pictures would be great |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:21pm
| you dont drift with your soft baits out the stern... drift and flick them well forward.. as they hit the bottom, lift and lower ... |
Posted By: skidoggg
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:25pm
| have a look at the soft bait hall of fame at the top of this forum if you want pics there's 40 pages of em !! |
Posted By: Fishing Addiction
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:26pm
| agree with muppet. For the last year and half only used bait on handful of time, softbait regularly gets the first nod. But on an achored boat I would stray line with bait and just be better at it. More important is to have fun and enjoy the fishing |
Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:30pm
| I will do that then, and have check out the soft bait hall of fame, bloody big fish there. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:31pm
One days fishing softbaits only
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Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:37pm
| what soft bait were you using?, and great catch too. I've only caught about a third of that but all on bait. |
Posted By: mowerman
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:43pm
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Posted By: Fishing Addiction
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:46pm
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common catches that one, especially this time of year. Soft baits can pull them in quickly, especially as you can shuck the soft bait straight back in the water once unhooked and ikied the fish |
Posted By: AndyK-22
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 9:54pm
| IF you have to anchor... you should try switching to some slow jig lures. Bounding them on the bottom should do a bit of damage (however, i do also find they work best on drift - But have also worked when anchored as well). |
Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2011 at 10:01pm
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I don't know about the rest of the boys mate but they all catch fish and lots of them, me personally I will use soft baits and in the last few weeks have done so and yes done very well with snaps to 15lb, nothing big but a lot of fun, the info and help came from the boys freely giving you the info right here, I really enjoy using them and get a blast out of catching fish on light tackle which I would have only used for catching bait. some great info in this thread, keep it up boys awesome. ------------- Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland |
Posted By: John_Ra
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 12:33am
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Anchored!!! horrible thought.... But.... What you can try is flick your softbait well out the back & slowly twitch it up let it drop & reel in very slowly. So reel twitch drop etc or slowly retrieve. Same principal when drifting your sb is moving forward..... Also another trick is, if you got burley going use only a worm hook, put a sb on & let it drift slowly back in the trail..... But like others said, drifting is better..... good luck
------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: green guy
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 7:16am
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Drifting is the key the only time i fish with bait is with jack macs when we are hunting big suckers with a by catch of kings and dory but in the last 3-4 years i have used nothing els don't get to caught up in the fundamentals of it 0.find the fish with ur sounder 1.drift 2.cast a head of the drift 3.stay in contact with ur bait at all times the smallest bite's can b the biggest fish 4.dont take bait with u out softbaiting leave it at home it is comeing into spawning time ware the fishing gets a lil slow so dont give up give it a good smash in the end of jan threw feb march when the snapper are eating every thing ------------- http://www.facebook.com/hauraki.hillbillys |
Posted By: PJay
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 7:26am
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No, no, they've all got it wrong. Softbait fishing is a passing fad, fed by the tackle industry to suck us all in until the next big commercial thing. All these pics of regular big fish caught are photoshopped from the same 1.5kg snapper. Stay with handlining off the wharf. ------------- PJ |
Posted By: Potty
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 8:13pm
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Bang on P Jay, the less people softbaiting the cheaper the softbaits will be. Na it doesn't work - yeah rite. ------------- Love fishing, love my job. It's a bloody shame that they clash. http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Catchelot
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 8:31pm
Don't listen to Pjay he lies like a flounder ------------- "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau |
PJay wrote:Posted By: "Scooter"
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 8:56pm
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I've caught good fish on softbaits in every situation I've used them,,,bar one,,an that was out wide off the west coast,,,,and I believe that was simply because there where no fish where I was at that time. I've also used them on the drift,from anchor,over burley,cast in every direction other than straight up,jerk shads,swimming mullet,curly tailed grubs,Gulp for a short time and now Zman exclusively,,,because they last a longtime so their cheaper. But I also still use natural baits and burley a lot. Fishing the Manukau I like to sit at anchor over a burly bomb with mullet baits on the bottem directly under the yak while I flick a softie around the place. When the carrots show up I'll sometimes start bouncing a grub up an down directly under the yak,,the carrots love em'. I think something that should never be forgotten,,,is some people are good at catching fish,,,and some ain't,,,those of us that are good at it,,,we don't need to know why,,,it's like being good looking,,,we just accept it  |
Posted By: tightlines2
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2011 at 9:22pm
I hope you were kidding, if not try looking here http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=18112&title=the-softbait-hall-of-fame - http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=18112&title=the-softbait-hall-of-fame ------------- Remember it's not the number of breaths you take that is important in life, but rather the number of times that life takes your breath away. |
Posted By: Jet_ski_fisher
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 3:19pm
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Me and me mates have caught lots of fish anchored and drifting. with anchoring cast ahead and jig it back towards you. then to the side of the boat cast out jig it back. drifting works a treat essp for you jaffers cause you have billions of snapper :)
------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> MH... Catch measure release...<*))))< |
Posted By: back2black
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 7:20pm
This pic from our 5th time soft baiting and thanks to some awesome gurus on the forum we are hooked! 
There are snaps kahawai and a couple of kings in that shot! ------------- Auckland Blasting Services Ltd Multi Media Blasting - Automotive/Marine/industrial/Residential Ph: 0225278968 ( 02BLASTYOU ) |
Posted By: frenchay
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 7:45pm
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Na bro softies dont work. At all ever. Except for sometimes.
The one big exception I have found where softies are really outfished by bait is fishing around the muddy shallows like kawakawa bay, or around mussel farms, where I have really struggled with softies and then cleaned up with baits (id love to hear anyones suggestions to fix this.) In 20m+ i have really cleaned up with the softies drifted out the stern, especially when moving very slowly. However in general drifting and casting ahead of the drift and working the bait back will attract the most bites.
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Posted By: Bigfishbob
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 8:45pm
Too right, soft baiting biggest waste of time since master baiting. Your grandad was right don't use anything other that liver soked in kerosene. Worked for him it will work for you.  ------------- www.waikatosportfishing.co.nz |
Posted By: marx
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 10:40pm
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Drifting definitely best but you can catch them anchored up. Use a 1/4 ounce jig head or go even lighter with a wormhook and splitshot. Cast as far away from the boat as possible, let it sink to the bottom then very slowly wind, twitch, stop, wind, twitch, twitch stop et etc Experiment a little. ------------- Science for the mind and Art for the soul. |
Posted By: zukman
Date Posted: 15 Dec 2011 at 11:36pm
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I softbait at anchor & do quite well.Last time out four of us fished off Hamiltons Gap in 16 metres anchored.I was the only one softbaiting & caught just as many fish as the others.Snaps & carrots.Softbait of choice that was Gulp sandworms. So give it a go but try different types of softbaits & keep then moving.
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Posted By: Mr Plastic
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2011 at 8:07pm
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Casting down a good burley trail works with softies but ditch the anchor and watch things come alive. Havnt used my anchor in the last fiveyears. Jigging, softbaits,livebaits, stickbaits are anchor free sports!! And i dont miss it a bit.. ------------- Synit Prototype bender |
Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2011 at 11:03am
| Interesting |
Posted By: funandfunction
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2011 at 8:11am
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When I saw the title of this post I thought someone was joking! But I see it's serious.
Agree with all of the above advice. Definitely a lot harder anchored but even when drifting, sometimes a wind against tide situation will effectively "anchor" the boat so I see 0.00Kn on the gps. Can still catch fish like this but I will always add or remove the drogue to try and get the boat moving again.
I find drift speeds of 0.5 to 0.8 Kn are ideal and if I see speeds over 1 Kn I'll always try and slow down. Having said that, when it's windy I still catch fish moving at 1.5 or 2 Kn but need more weight to have a reasonable time in the stike zone. Get a medium size drogue and big one or maybe two medium size ones and use them both at times. When it's windy the drogue can't be too big. The boat sizes the sea anchor manufactures use in their recommendations are way optimistic. I reckon a 16' boat could use a drogue recommended for a 22' boat for example.
I think most people struggling to catch on soft bait are probably fishing where there's no fish so if you'r finding them that's half the battle. Keep at it. sucess is round the corner. ------------- There are two types of people in the world: those that divide people into two types and those that don't. http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: green guy
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2011 at 12:36pm
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do soft baits work yes two nights out over 40 fish all on softie in 18mtr of water ------------- http://www.facebook.com/hauraki.hillbillys |
Posted By: donnyboy
Date Posted: 22 Dec 2011 at 3:04pm
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got myself a shimano sienna set yest, and hope to go out tonight for a softbait session been out on a mates kayak softbaiting before, a whole alota fun  lets hope its a good night
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Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 22 Dec 2011 at 3:26pm
| My soft bait works well - a piece of pilchard, fish love it. |
Posted By: brmbrm
Date Posted: 22 Dec 2011 at 7:37pm
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I'm still new to this. I try with some modest success, but maybe I am comparing daytime sps with dusk bait. Is that fair? Questions. Color -does it matter? How often should I xhange the sp to try to find what is catching? After 2drops? After 20? How much weight and does it matter? And what about sp type? If they are there does anything work and how long do you give it if you are not catching? Must admit catching even moderate snapper on. Light gear makes it worthwhile |
Posted By: Deli23
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2011 at 7:52am
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Can get allot of answerts to your questions here: http://www.fishing.net.nz/snapper/ - http://www.fishing.net.nz/snapper/
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Posted By: ollie007
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2011 at 9:27am
| Hey i'm just wondering how deep you can fish soft plastics effectively? |
Posted By: kaveman
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2011 at 9:32am
Ive caught snapper in 100m no problems, different s/b's work well on hapuka/bluenose to 400m, so very versatile way of fishing edit. just make sure you are getting to the bottom, no matter what depth you are fishing. ofcourse the deeper the more weight needed(trial and error) -------------  www.kavemantackle.co.nz
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Posted By: brmbrm
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2011 at 9:17pm
Sleep tomorrow please..............
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Posted By: JoshW
Date Posted: 31 Dec 2011 at 8:02am
Drifting isn't critical. fishing softbaits, hard bodies, flies or any lure for that matter from a stationary point down a burley trail works well. In an anchored situation try less weight than you would use drifting and fish it slow.
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Posted By: zukman
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2012 at 5:36pm
| I use softies most of time when anchored.They work just as well as cut baits.Just keep them moving. |
Posted By: Men In Black
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2012 at 6:49pm
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Soft baits don't work... never have never will ...it's just a fad and will never last... a ploy by the multitude of softbait manufacturers backed by Green Peace to save the millions of Pilchards, Anchoives, Mullet and Squid that get caught each year for bait......softbaits will never take off....
These were some of the things being mentioned 7-8 years ago.. well maybe not the Green Peace bit... Truth is they are well established... they do work and you only need to adapt to the area's you would normally fish with bait to get the best out of them. ------------- www.synit.co.nz |
Posted By: Jet_ski_fisher
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2012 at 7:32pm
------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> MH... Catch measure release...<*))))< |