Soft plastics are one of the most versatile and effective lure varieties for targeting inshore saltwater fish. Available in diverse sizes, colors and configurations, these lures allow you to match forage fish and work many layers of the water column.
What follows is a guide to several of the best soft plastics. Also provided is some context for when to choose which type of lure and some general tips for selecting size and color. Armed with this information, you’ll be ready to create your very own soft plastics arsenal.
Soft Plastic Fundamentals
The following fundamentals provide some perspective about when and where to employ soft plastics along with which lure styles might be best for certain situations. These rules are not hard and fast. In fact, as with most things related to fishing, there are nearly as many “tips” as there are fishermen.
This article provides some context for soft plastic rigging and how to use them effectively. For more tips on how to catch more fish on soft plastics, this feature is great.
Match the Hatch
This rule is great and it’s nearly universal. You are always well served to use a lure that mimics what fish are actually eating.
Predatory fish will often lock in on a certain bait when there is quite a bit of it around. When this happens, you’ll need to throw a soft plastic that looks like—i.e. same size, similar coloration— the prey they are targeting.
During the mullet run in Florida, all manner of gamefish stack up to eat mullet. A great strategy for the angler is to find a school of mullet that’s being harassed and throw a mullet-shaped soft plastic into and around the action.
The same goes when fishing dock lights—match the bait. If you’re fishing in an area with lots of shrimp, throw a plastic shrimp. Match the hatch.
Choosing the Right Color Soft Plastic Lure
When you’re going shopping for soft plastics, you’ll notice an incredible variety of styles and colors. Once you settle on the right style and size, how should you choose the right color?
Once again, these rules are not hard and fast, but they are a good starting point. The colors white and chartreuse are about as universal a choice as you’ll find. These colors work across the spectrum of water and light conditions.
If you’re fishing stained water, many anglers will opt for darker colors to create a silhouette. For cleaner, clearer waters many people choose more natural and lighter colors.
If you’re fishing at night or in low light conditions, many opt for darker colors. Again, to create a silhouette that helps fish see and find the lure.
You’ll want to dial in your lure selection to match the fish and the area you’re fishing. Salt Water Sportsman provides a wealth of species-specific approaches in this feature. The exact approach for Florida redfish will be different than that for Massachusetts stripers.
Soft Plastics Scent
The addition of scent can amplify the attractive qualities of your soft plastics. This can be accomplished in one of two ways.
The first involves buying pre-scented lures. The Berkley Saltwater Gulp! Swimming Mullet is a great choice. The scent is built into the lure. You can purchase these in 10 packs or in larger tubs that contain not only lots of soft plastics but plenty of scented liquid for dunking the lure.
The second option is to apply a scented spray to an unscented soft plastic. Berkley Gulp! Alive Saltwater Spray Attractant comes in a number of formulas and can be applied to soft plastics or hard baits.
Soft Plastic Rigging Tips
Rounding out your soft plastic arsenal involves bringing a variety of hooks and jig heads. For jigheads, you’ll want a range of weights. The larger the bait, the more current and the deeper the area you’re fishing, the heavier the jighead you’ll want to use. If you’re sight fishing the flats with a swimtail mullet, you might get by with a 1/8-oz. or 3/16-oz. jighead. The Z-Man Redfish Eye Jighead is a great bet that is available in a range of sizes and colors.
You’ll also want to bring a range of fluorocarbon options. The cleaner the water and the lighter the lure you’re tossing, the lighter the leader you’ll use. You’d be well suited to carry fluorocarbon ranging from 15 pounds (for redfish, snook and speckled trout on the flats) to 40 pounds or so for larger snook, bull redfish and tarpon.
In addition to jigheads, you’ll also want to carry worm hooks of various sizes. These are great for rigging soft plastics to be weedless. This is a must, especially when you’re fishing around mangroves or in marsh grass. The D.O.A. Swimbait Long Neck Hook is a great option.
When shopping for soft plastics, you’ll notice an incredible variety of styles and colors.
Brent Schirmer
Top Soft Plastics for Inshore Saltwater Game Fish
The best soft plastic lures to use depends on where and how you’re fishing. As such, you might approach the concept of best lures as a collection of those that represent the most common bait types.
Top Water Soft Plastics
Topwaters are great for targeting all manner of inshore fish. The ability to rig soft plastics weedlessly opens up all kinds of territory where hard topwater lures can’t go.
The Savage Gear Tough Toad might be more familiar in the bass fishing world, but it can be deadly in saltwater as well. The bait is highly skippable, which allows you to cast it deep into mangroves or marsh grass—places you wouldn’t dare send a popper. You can also put it far back under docks.
The bait’s range and fishability are matched by the amount of water that it moves. Many a snook, tarpon and redfish (and plenty of other saltwater creatures that don’t eat frogs) have been fooled by the churning action of the Tough Toad.
Soft Plastic Shrimp Imitations
Shrimp are a universal inshore bait. As such, soft plastic shrimp are a staple of any well-rounded tackle box.
There are some great options in this category. You can purchase pre-rigged shrimp, with the hooks integrated into the bait or soft plastic bodies that can be put on jigheads. There are also some great, deadly scented options as well.
The Savage Gear Manic Shrimp RTF comes in a variety of sizes and colors. It is super durable, very realistic and prerigged.
The Berkely Gulp! Shrimp is scented and comes in sizes from 2 to 4 inches. It is available in a variety of colors and catches lots of fish. You’ll want to pair it with the right size jighead—remember smaller, lighter heads for smaller soft plastics and shallower water.
DOA Shrimp are deadly around lighted docks and when drifting lures in current. You can purchase pre-rigged shrimp and packs of soft plastic shrimp without hooks.
Soft Plastic Jerk and Twitch Baits
Soft plastic jerkbaits are versatile, deadly, and quite a bit of fun to fish. These baits are great for fishing in the surf, on the flats, or around structure. You can pair with with a jighead and bounce them along the bottom or twitch them through the water column to elicit reaction strikes. They are also ideal for weedless applications.
The Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ is a great choice.
The D.O.A. C.A.L Jerk bait is a great unscented option.
Soft Plastic Swimbaits
The world of soft plastic swimbaits is marked by high performance and ultra-realism. LIVETARGET makes some incredible and effective mullet, sardine and shad swimbaits.
The LIVETARGET Mullet Hollow Body Swimbait is a great option when targeting gamefish that are keyed on mullet. This floating bait is made for twitching, walking the dog and casting into the action.
The LIVETARGET Sardine Swimbait looks every bit the part of a sardine. Cast it, allow it to sink around schools of sardines, and expect all manner of inshore game fish strikes.
Soft Plastic Paddle Tails and Swim Tails
Soft plastic paddle tails and swimtails imitate baitfish. They are universally applicable, and these styles have caught enough fish to justify their presence in tackle boxes around the world.
The Berkley Saltwater Gulp! Swimming Mullet is a deadly, scented, swimming tail soft plastic. Fishing a white or chartreuse 3-inch swimming mullet on a jighead is not only highly effective but very easy. Just cast it out and reel it in steadily. This is a great way to get kids into the action; it’s also a great way to catch lots of fish yourself.
As for paddle tails, the Z-Man MinnowZ is a great option. Paddle tails move water as you retrieve them and their action imitates mullet and other cylindrical baitfish.
About the author: Elliott Stark is a fisherman, writer and marine biologist. He publishes FishTravelEat.com and is the author of “The Book on Travel Fishing.”
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