There are so many soft plastics on the market these days it can literally be overwhelming. And if you put any of them in front of a school of Redfish they all get eaten. So how do you know what to choose when looking at all these baits in the store? What size? What color? Length?
The short answer is simply not to overthink it. I try to support products made here in the USA and for that reason I’m loyal to Bass Assassin INC. (Saltwater Assassin) out of Mayo, FL, and one of my favorites is the tried and true 4” Seashad. It’s a paddle tail bait and is tournament proven. Especially with a dab of Pro-Cure Bait Scents Super Gel. Different profiles are also available like the Die Dapper, Shrimp Cocktail, etc…
What colors?I keep things pretty simple on my boat and here’s a quick run-down on color and a couple things to remember. The darker the water the darker the color. That means purples, blacks, pinkish baits are what you want. Some of the names you will see on the market for these colors are as follows.
“Opening night” Hands down my favorite for any color water
“Grey Ghost”
“Mama’s Chicken”
“Motor oil”
Clean crispy water, the lighter the color is the rule of thumb. That’s where your whites, bone, nuclear chartreuse and all the rest come into play. Of course, a fish will eat a white bait in water with 6” visibility when placed on his nose, but these couple of rules will get more strikes in the long run, and you need to make every cast count. For the style of fishing I usually do I rig my soft plastics on 5/0 weedless swimbait hooks, weightless for spooky pressured fish, and 1/4 ounce for the rest. I prefer Bass Assassin swimbait hooks, again, they are made here in the USA. Rigging weedless helps a lot when fishing Stump beds, oyster rocks or any structure we encounter inshore.
Honorable mentions
Slayer INC (Made here in the US, great baits)
Z-Man (Made here in the US)
Deep Creek/Salty Bay (Made here in NC, great baits)
Gulp (Deadly on Flounder, made in Iowa)
CAPTAIN ALLEN JERNIGAN
Breadman Ventures Guide Service
910-467-1482