Soft Plastic - Discerning Bites

[Elkw]

Recently went on a fishing trip in the parramatta river trying to learn soft plastics and was having some difficulties discerning between actual fish bites and what I think was movement of the water.

When I first arrived I immediately hooked into what I think was a small bream which came off quite close to the rock wall. Later on while I was fishing I kept feeling a sudden pressure on my line and setting the hook into absolutely nothing. At first I was pretty confused since these occurences happened while I was letting the lure drop and thus couldn't have been snags, but eventually I came to the hypothesis that these 'tugs' must have been from the water rebounding off the walls.

Since I felt pretty silly setting the hook into nothing over and over again I started to be come more hesitant to do so and this later resulted in me missing two fish (I could tell they were fish not just the water as after retrieving my lure I saw that it had been pushed down the jighead). 

Overall it was pretty frustrating knowing I had lost at least three fish and possibly more, but I guess it is an improvement seeing that I've finally been able to improve my technique enough that fish are actually willing to hit my lures. 

Does anyone have any tips on how to tell a fish bite from current or snags and also when and how hard I should be setting the hook? 

[Elkw]

Also on a side note does anyone fish around deepwater park? Seems like an interesting area but I'm also worried about snags and whether the area is any good at this time of year, not to mention some of the more unsavoury rumours about the place. 

[dirvin21]

Are you using braid?

Once you start feeling hits you'll soon be able to tell the difference 

A fish hitting is usually a sharp tap, 

Also let the plastic sink on a loose belly of line and watch it for twitches

[Elkw]

52 minutes ago, dirvin21 said:

Are you using braid?

Once you start feeling hits you'll soon be able to tell the difference 

A fish hitting is usually a sharp tap, 

Also let the plastic sink on a loose belly of line and watch it for twitches

Yeah, using braid with 6lb leader.

For the taps are they just really light taps?

I’m not sure where I was told this but whenever I have light taps on my line I wait to feel the weight of the fish rather than just setting the hook immediately. 
So normally if I feel light taps of my line and nothing happens I assume it’s just small bait fish messing with the lure.

[Aussie_fisher]

its like a quick sharp tap. Like something literally 'hits' your lure. Once you catch a few fish on soft plastics and your mind will automatically understand the feel and you'll be able to distinguish. I started fishing with plastics around a year ago and it took a little while to get used to. I don't actually think small bait fish mess with plastics too often (apart from something like ajing plastics) unless its tailor. 

[Elkw]

29 minutes ago, Aussie_fisher said:

its like a quick sharp tap. Like something literally 'hits' your lure. Once you catch a few fish on soft plastics and your mind will automatically understand the feel and you'll be able to distinguish. I started fishing with plastics around a year ago and it took a little while to get used to. I don't actually think small bait fish mess with plastics too often (apart from something like ajing plastics) unless its tailor. 

Makes sense thanks.

I guess the problem is that I’ve caught a grand total of one fish on plastics :p.

So would you say it would be more conductive to just try and set the hook whenever I feel a tap?

[big Neil]

Hi Elkw. What you are experiencing using soft plastics is what most of us have experienced during our fishing careers. It is not as easy as it appears in videos. Much of the skills you develop using soft plastics are about learning what is happening to your lure under the water. I assume you are using suitable fishing tackle. I see that you are using braid and a mono leader, what rod are you using? You don't want a rod that is like a broomstick. One of the most important requirements of soft plastic fishing is to make sure that your lure is getting down to where the fish should be. The best way to ensure you are on the bottom is to cast the lure and wait until the line goes slack and sits on the surface. From here start your retrieve, vary how you retrieve and include plenty of pauses. A bite will usually be a decent tug on the line, indicated by feeling it on the rod or seeing the line tighten. No need for massive yanks on the rod, tighten the line and keep it tight. Usually best if you don't lock the drag up on the reel, more fish are lost by not being able to run against the tension of the reel.

It is very easy to be fooled into thinking that fishing and catching fish with soft plastics is simple. You need to put the time in and never be afraid to try something a bit different. The fish are attacking what they believe is a bait fish, all you need to do is present the soft plastic to look like a bait fish.

 Soft plastics are a great way to cover a lot of water and catch a variety of different species.

Good luck with your efforts.

bn

[dirvin21]

4 hours ago, Elkw said:

Yeah, using braid with 6lb leader.

For the taps are they just really light taps?

I’m not sure where I was told this but whenever I have light taps on my line I wait to feel the weight of the fish rather than just setting the hook immediately. 
So normally if I feel light taps of my line and nothing happens I assume it’s just small bait fish messing with the lure.

Strike when you feel or see a tap, of you wait to feel the weight most of the time the fish will spit it out

You'd be surprised how subtie a big bream will pick up a plastic

[Elkw]

Sounds good dirvin, thanks for all your help.

1 hour ago, big Neil said:

Hi Elkw. What you are experiencing using soft plastics is what most of us have experienced during our fishing careers. It is not as easy as it appears in videos. Much of the skills you develop using soft plastics are about learning what is happening to your lure under the water. I assume you are using suitable fishing tackle. I see that you are using braid and a mono leader, what rod are you using? You don't want a rod that is like a broomstick. One of the most important requirements of soft plastic fishing is to make sure that your lure is getting down to where the fish should be. The best way to ensure you are on the bottom is to cast the lure and wait until the line goes slack and sits on the surface. From here start your retrieve, vary how you retrieve and include plenty of pauses. A bite will usually be a decent tug on the line, indicated by feeling it on the rod or seeing the line tighten. No need for massive yanks on the rod, tighten the line and keep it tight. Usually best if you don't lock the drag up on the reel, more fish are lost by not being able to run against the tension of the reel.

It is very easy to be fooled into thinking that fishing and catching fish with soft plastics is simple. You need to put the time in and never be afraid to try something a bit different. The fish are attacking what they believe is a bait fish, all you need to do is present the soft plastic to look like a bait fish.

 Soft plastics are a great way to cover a lot of water and catch a variety of different species.

Good luck with your efforts.

bn

Thanks so much for the tips and encouragement Neil. Right now I'm using a Sienna Viper combo at 7 foot, 2-5kg.

[DerekD]

Hi @Elkw,

I usually don't fish high current areas with light plastics but I do help people get into soft plastics fishing. While I'd have to see your approach to see where improvements can be made I suggest the following.

Firstly, try and keep in contact with the lure as much as practical. At this point slack is not your friend. I prefer a rod tip down technique (the majority of the time) for several reasons. It is easier to see the braid on pretty well every day no matter the light (now try holding the rod overhead and see how difficult it can be to see depending on the light direction). There is less line out for the wind to grab and to create a bow and slack. I am a little more in contact with the lure because there is slightly less belly in the line.

Most of my hook sets are on the twitch of the lure rather than seeing them hit it. If you are in contact with the lure it will usually set itself. If I see the line giving a twitch when it is dropping through the water column I can throw in an extra flick but most of the time I don't need to. So typically I cast out, have rod tip down, wait for line to belly out when it hits the bottom, a couple of short sharp flicks, stay in contact with the lure when I wind the rod back to my starting position, wait for the line to belly out indicating the plastic is on the bottom and then repeat. Small hops or bigger hops is up to you.

You don't need a huge flick to set the hook. Due to braid having such little stretch even a flick of 10 to 15 cm will do it with the rod tip taking up the shock.

As you get more advanced you can learn to do this with soft plastics and this is the technique I use for pelagics for the full water column.

It is done with a minnow profile and a TT bullet style jig head. I'm not moving the rod from side to side but pulsing it away from the lure and using the slack to let it run a bit further.

Edited 23 hours ago by DerekD

[Elkw]

Thanks Derek! 

The part about holding the rod tip down was very thought provoking and I'll definitely give it a go the next time. I've \been holding the rod in a more upright fashion and definitely have had difficulties with all the things that you've mentioned like seeing the line and having a lot of slack.