| When I first began fishing for Striped Bass one of | | | | few of the others offering rigged soft plastics to |
| the annual rituals we had was greeting the first | | | | fit almost every facet of salt-water fishing. |
| arrivals of the spring run at our favorite early | | | | We're not just using these types of lures for |
| season spot. We would start making the effort | | | | early spring schoolies but throughout the season. |
| sometime late in March during the milder years | | | | The swim-shads are now available to match all |
| and by mid-April if winter had been slow to give | | | | different sorts of baitfish patterns from the |
| in. In either case those early season outings were | | | | smallest silverside to the largest bunker - Storm |
| never very warm, with the water temperature | | | | Lures offers a swim-shad in it's Wild Eye line that |
| usually hovering just below fifty degrees and the | | | | is nine inches and rigged with double hooks. They |
| most favorable condition for catching fish being a | | | | have also started offering rigged eel imitations in |
| southwest breeze over it. Some days it was like | | | | ten-and-a-half and thirteen-and-a-half inch lengths. |
| ice fishing minus the ice. | | | | You will also find these rigged soft plastics to |
| Our method consisted of casting lead-head jigs, | | | | imitate the prey of many of your other favorite |
| often tipped with grub tails. We used small stuff, | | | | salt-water game fish. Shrimp, crab and lobster |
| mostly less than one-half ounce, and would often | | | | patterns are all available, as are a number of |
| tie in a teaser fly up higher on the leader that | | | | patterns designed for targeting southern species |
| was not much more than three or four hairs tied | | | | like redfish and snook. |
| on a hook. Some guys liked to use single tail | | | | All of the lures I've mentioned so far are available |
| twisty grubs, some preferred the double tails, and | | | | rigged. If you don't mind rigging your own the |
| some of us were using the smallest rubber shad | | | | possibilities only expand further. There are literally |
| bodies we could find. | | | | soft plastic imitations of every kind of bait in |
| Then something came along that revolutionized | | | | every different size you can think of available |
| salt-water fishing. Around 1999 or 2000 Storm | | | | today. |
| Lures started making very realistic swim-shad | | | | Additionally, many lure manufacturers are starting |
| lures with a keel-weighted salt-water hook molded | | | | to offer hybrid lures - a combination of the |
| right into them. The lures were available in a | | | | realistic appearance of soft plastics and the |
| variety of sizes and colors and their action was | | | | realistic swimming characteristics of a conventional |
| incredible. Most of us put away our lead-head jig | | | | stick-bait. |
| molds and were total converts in no time. | | | | If you're a hold out and haven't really given any |
| It wasn't long before other manufacturers started | | | | of these "new generation" lures a fair try there |
| targeting the market and at this point there are | | | | couldn't be a better time. You'll find an array of |
| endless variations on these lures. Tsunami, | | | | soft plastic lures to compliment your fishing |
| Berkley, Offshore Angler and D.O.A. are just a | | | | arsenal no matter what type of fishing you do. |