Soft plastics vs Vibes

[sashkello]

Hi All!

I've started using soft vibes and blades recently, and so far I enjoy it a lot. Less mess and tedious work than with plastics, they spend more time in water, pretty much no downsides so far from my limited experience. Due to this, I didn't use soft plastics in past couple of months at all. However, this raised a question in my head. Were there situations when I should have used plastics instead? Because in theory, vibes are just prerigged soft plastics with inbuilt vibrating action, so what is the possible reason to not use them exclusively?

What are the situations when you'd use soft plastics instead of vibes, or vibes over soft plastics? Does it depend on the fish you're targeting or fishing location / conditions? Share your experience and fishing wisdom please!

Cheers!

[Little_Flatty]

One reason I can think of is snags. Your typical vibe or blade is rigged with trebles which are inherently snaggy. In snaggy territory this could become an expensive exercise.

Jigheads are more snag proof and plastics that are rigged with an EWG hook are more snag proof still.

[sashkello]

20 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

One reason I can think of is snags. Your typical vibe or blade is rigged with trebles which are inherently snaggy. In snaggy territory this could become an expensive exercise.

A lot of vibes are rigged with trailing hooks though, i.e. most squid and prawn ones. Fish-shaped are indeed very snaggy, true that.

[faker]

I use 5-7 bucks blades so losing one is not a big lost. Generally when I need distance and fishing deeper water blades are my go to. 

But I can use them in shallow water too

[sashkello]

26 minutes ago, faker said:

I use 5-7 bucks blades so losing one is not a big lost. Generally when I need distance and fishing deeper water blades are my go to. 

But I can use them in shallow water too

Yeah, I love blades for casting distance for sure. The only downside is that they sink quicker than soft vibes, so require a bit more work and sometimes you do benefit from the lure being inactive for longer. But other than that, that's exactly my point. And while the price difference is big if you compare 1:1, plastics get destroyed very quickly, which makes up for some of it... you pay the rest for convenience.

[lhan]

Besides the snag reason @Little_Flatty mentioned, if I need finesse presentation plastics are still the default option for me. They offer great flexibility combining with different weights and rigging techniques so you can cast it accurately and customise sinking rate as you wish. You won't be able to skip cast a vib/balde and hover strolling it for fish hidden in the structure.

But honestly I rarely do this when fishing estuary, it's mostly open water and benefits from further casting distance.

[faker]

1 hour ago, sashkello said:

Yeah, I love blades for casting distance for sure. The only downside is that they sink quicker than soft vibes, so require a bit more work and sometimes you do benefit from the lure being inactive for longer. But other than that, that's exactly my point. And while the price difference is big if you compare 1:1, plastics get destroyed very quickly, which makes up for some of it... you pay the rest for convenience.

 

45 minutes ago, lhan said:

Besides the snag reason @Little_Flatty mentioned, if I need finesse presentation plastics are still the default option for me. They offer great flexibility combining with different weights and rigging techniques so you can cast it accurately and customise sinking rate as you wish. You won't be able to skip cast a vib/balde and hover strolling it for fish hidden in the structure.

But honestly I rarely do this when fishing estuary, it's mostly open water and benefits from further casting distance.

It's more to fact we are all time poor. So i need to cover larger bodies of water fast

[bluefin]

Ha I have just been talking about Vibration frequency and how it attracts and triggers fish to bite. Sp's can be fished slower and kept in some zones far longer than a Vibe.

Also the profile of an SP can trigger a bite!  Steve Morgan Loves the Aquagear prawn. It has no action. Just its looks !   

3 things to remember. Vibration, Life like movement, and Profile. What it looks like!.   Plus Taste!   Scent !   ( Sax Scent. Holt Prawn juice is my favourite )

Aqua Prawn. Profile Lure !  

Actually I have never used one !.. Watch Steve Morgans Videos!

[slowjigger]

I haven't had much success with vibes compared to soft plastics. Though there is probably a fair bit of confirmation bias at work.  

[JonD]

I love using plastics but never had any luck and any kind of vibe, so gave up on them.

[Steve0]

I hate the lobbing cast required for a vibe. I also hated swimming to retrieve when the vibe went into instead of adjacent weed where I expected it to land.
All those bitey treble ends swinging freely are a danger.

[dirvin21]

I prefer plastics for shallower areas, and casting around snags

Vibes are definitely my go to fishing any deep water

[DerekD]

Hi @sashkello,

Nice topic. To answer this one properly I'm going to go back in time and going to separate vibes into two classes. The ones with the trebles and the ones with the assist hooks. I started with the treble ones years ago but found out that they were extra snaggy and on the light gear I was using for them I was more likely to lose them. At $10 to $20 a pop I put them aside for a long time. Then later on I discovered the ones with the assist hooks such as the Ecogears ZXs and learned how effective they could be. Great casting distance allowed me to cover ground and they were effective on the bread and butter species and a few surprising catches (e.g. Peacock Gurnard). A few years ago a mate fishing with me pulled out a Samaki Vibalicious with the trebles and caught 3 bream during a short fishing session. It was at that point I started to give those more of a chance.

If I don't know an area I start with plastics. I'd rather lose a $1-2 soft plastic than a $10-20 vibe. As I work out if an area is relatively snag free I bring out the vibes with the assist hooks and then the ones with the trebles.

Another area where I prefer plastics is the minnow type chasing the pelagics in the harbour. I've worked out how to do a darting retrieve which imitates a baitfish separated from its school. It triggers an attack response and I've found it very easy to work the full water column relatively quickly. I can't do this with the vibes. This is the retrieve:

 

Edited November 28 by DerekD

[sashkello]

2 hours ago, DerekD said:

Another area where I prefer plastics is the minnow type chasing the pelagics in the harbour. I've worked out how to do a darting retrieve which imitates a baitfish separated from its school. It triggers an attack response and I've found it very easy to work the full water column relatively quickly. I can't do this with the vibes. 

Derek, 

Thanks for your thoughts. It sounds like, if losing a lure is not a consideration, and water is deep enough to create proper action, then vibes in your experience outfish plastics? Or there are species which strongly prefer one or another. 

And yes, sure, I understand that certain plastics have unique action which you can't really match with the vibe, and jerky minnow is one of those. 

[DerekD]

2 hours ago, sashkello said:

Derek, 

Thanks for your thoughts. It sounds like, if losing a lure is not a consideration, and water is deep enough to create proper action, then vibes in your experience outfish plastics? Or there are species which strongly prefer one or another. 

And yes, sure, I understand that certain plastics have unique action which you can't really match with the vibe, and jerky minnow is one of those. 

Hi @sashkello,

While I kind of wish that was true it doesn't seem to work out that way. Sometimes I'll work an area with a white 4" soft plastic wriggletail in search of a flathead and get nothing but as soon as I switch to a vibe I get interest. The thing is I've had the reverse work too. These days I switch between both to make sure I've covered the options.

When I mentor I like to use vibes at some stage during the lessons. Firstly, I try and get people to work out how they can be fished by moving it left to right and up and down through the water in visible distance. The oooh moment when they realise it vibrates is gold. They are simple to use and can be very effective and that vibration at the end of the line keeps them engaged. It is an easy way to start lure fishing. These days with all the inexpensive knock-offs it is a way of getting fishing success without breaking the bank.

Edited November 29 by DerekD

[bluefin]

My go to lure if I want to search a flat is the Ecogear xz. Covers a great distance.

Single hooks, no trebles  a big plus. Small lifts, back to the bottom and pause. Pause is critical.

The other vibe that has a legendary status is the Samaki Viblicious twin tail. Especially the white bait colour

.A must have in May when the Bream are schooling around the break wall and bridge. Let it drop down the wall onto the sand. Often 4 to 5 meters of water. Then work it back to the boat. Long draw, double hop, experiment to see what they want. Pause in between, again very important!

 

 

They say lures catch fisherman before they catch fish, Well this one has caught me ! Have never used it . but have the 2 smaller ones ready! 

 

 

[savit]

I use blades mostly for bottom fish at snaggless areas . Sometimes I change trebles for doubles if in new area. But the hookup is still more reliable on SP/jigheads. Rarely use soft vibes as they are quite expensive comparing to other two.

[Green Hornet]

All good advice above. 
In terms of chasing bream, while it’s hard to beat a well presented soft plastic on active fish, I’ve found blades particularly effective on inactive, schooling fish in deeper water. 
I think blades tend to arouse a bream’s curiosity and they’ll hover closely over a blade resting on the bottom, then with a short sharp lift you’ll hook the fish. 
That’s just my opinion as I tend to jag a lot more fish around the head, rather than in the mouth. This is why razor sharp hooks are essential, particularly on blades and vibes.
Flathead, more hooked in the mouth, but still plenty of fish are jagged. 

[bluefin]

4 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

All good advice above. 
In terms of chasing bream, while it’s hard to beat a well presented soft plastic on active fish, I’ve found blades particularly effective on inactive, schooling fish in deeper water. 
I think blades tend to arouse a bream’s curiosity and they’ll hover closely over a blade resting on the bottom, then with a short sharp lift you’ll hook the fish. 
That’s just my opinion as I tend to jag a lot more fish around the head, rather than in the mouth. This is why razor sharp hooks are essential, particularly on blades and vibes.
Flathead, more hooked in the mouth, but still plenty of fish are jagged. 

I wonder if its your technique that is the cause ?  I tend to lift slowly even my double hops aren't real quick. I talk about Vibration frequency a lot, Varying your vibe speed alters the frequency. I find a slower vibe most effective. Trial and error !  

[Green Hornet]

14 minutes ago, bluefin said:

I wonder if its your technique that is the cause ?  I tend to lift slowly even my double hops aren't real quick. I talk about Vibration frequency a lot, Varying your vibe speed alters the frequency. I find a slower vibe most effective. Trial and error !  

Probably is my technique. Just I tend to hook a lot more fish with the fast hops. Only short lifts of about 30cm.  
As I said, this method seems to work best around inactive, schooling fish. It’s really the only time I’ll use blades, other than slow rolling ZX’s over the flats.

[faker]

1 hour ago, DerekD said:

Hi @sashkello,

While I kind of wish that was true it doesn't seem to work out that way. Sometimes I'll work an area with a white 4" soft plastic wriggletail in search of a flathead and get nothing but as soon as I switch to a vibe I get interest. The thing is I've had the reverse work too. These days I switch between both to make sure I've covered the options.

When I mentor I like to use vibes at some stage during the lessons. Firstly, I try and get people to work out how they can be fished by moving it left to right and up and down through the water in visible distance. The oooh moment when they realise it vibrates is gold. They are simple to use and can be very effective and that vibration at the end of the line keeps them engaged. It is an easy way to start lure fishing. These days with all the inexpensive knock-offs it is a way of getting fishing success without breaking the bank.

oddly enough if the fish are there on blades i normally get them. if they are not interested they won;t even touch my plastics

[sashkello]

39 minutes ago, bluefin said:

They say lures catch fisherman before they catch fish, Well this one has caught me ! Have never used it . but have the 2 smaller ones ready! 

Funny that! This is my favourite vibe so far. Vast majority of fish I caught on vibes was exactly that color/model.

[sashkello]

Another question to the commenters: do you use scent on vibes or blades? 

[faker]

5 minutes ago, sashkello said:

Funny that! This is my favourite vibe so far. Vast majority of fish I caught on vibes was exactly that color/model.

i am trying to use up my jig stock pile over summer before buying more

[Green Hornet]

10 minutes ago, sashkello said:

Another question to the commenters: do you use scent on vibes or blades? 

Always, I use scent on all my lures except higher speed metals these days.

Might not help, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. So why not?

Edited November 29 by Green Hornet