Striper Fishing With Soft Plastics
'The stripers usually hit when the lure is falling'

by Tom Hughes (Article for Brandon White's ChesapeakeAngler.com - 1999)

There are times when crankbaits, stickbaits, spoons, feather jigs and bucktails will not fool a striper. When this happens I go to soft plastic lures, which come in a large variety of shapes, sizes and colors and are easy to use. But the most important thing they do is catch stripers! I have used the ones listed below and they are all good producers. They are ideal for someone just starting to
striper fish who likes using spinning tackle.

LURE RIGGING

When using a Bass Assassin, White, 4" Saltwater Sea Shad remove one from the pack, hold it in your left hand with the stomach and tail facing down. In your right hand you will have a 3/8 oz. round head jig with a 3/0 hook. Place this jig head next to the Sea Shad so you can see where the hook is to come out of the plastic body. Hold the hook stationary and slide the Sea Shad over the hook point onto the straight section. Let the point of the hook come out about 1/2 way down the bait. The most important thing is to have the bait on the hook straight. If is not straight, it will not run right with the proper action needed to catch stripers.

When using a Nature's Own, Smoke/Pearl Shad, 3 1/2", Tender Tube, remove one from the pack, hold it in your left hand with the head facing down. In your right hand you will have a 3/8 oz. tube jig head with a 3/0 hook. Shake the bait and make sure no tail pieces are in the way as you slide the jig head down into the tube bait until it bottoms out at the head of the bait. Then push on the hook eye and it will come out of the tube. After catching quite a few stripers, the opening where the eye comes through the tube might elongate. When it does, just push in on the tube head, roll it around and push on the hook eye until it comes out of the tube again. These lures are easy to work with and last a long time.

When using a Mister Twister, White, 3", Sassy Shad remove one from the pack and rig it the same way as a Bass Assassin Saltwater Sea Shad. The only difference is the hook size on the round head jig. Use a 3/8 oz. round head jig with a 1/0 hook.

RETRIEVE & LURE ACTION

Jigging Method
With lures such as Bass Assassin, Saltwater Sea Shads & Saltwater Shads, and Bass Pro Shops Nature's Own Tender Tubes, I use a jigging action. After casting the lure out I use the countdown method to put the bait in the strike zone. These lures drop approximately 1' per second. When the bait is at the proper depth I lift my spinning rod from 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock. While dropping the rod back to 9 o'clock I take up the slack line. The stripers usually hit when the lure is falling. When you start to lift the rod back to 11 o'clock you will feel some resistance. Set the hook! Then, get ready to play the fish. The Bass Assassin lures fall in a straight action looking like wounded bait fish. The Tender Tubes fall in an erratic action which also looks like a wounded bait fish.

Stop & Go Method
This method works well with Bass Assassin, Saltwater Curly Shads and Mister Twister Sassy Shads. Cast the lure out, count it down to the desired depth. With the rod tip even with the water, start the retrieve. Run the lure at the same water level without jigging it. Now start applying the stop & go method. To do this, after every 5 cranks on the reel handle - stop cranking for 1 second - then start cranking for 5 cranks and so on all the way back to the boat. Stripers usually hit when you stop cranking. When you stop cranking and the bait falls it gives it the wounded minnow look. Run the bait at different speeds until you find out the speed the striper wants. The speed is just as important as the action. This method is especially good when the stripers are feeding. When this isn't producing fish try the jigging method as stated above. Side note: This method also works well with crankbaits and stickbaits.

This is only one of the many methods used to catch striped bass.

NOTE OF INTEREST

Tackle & Set-Up
I use a 6' MH spinning rod and a 2500 series spinning reel with a long cast spool that holds 165 yards or #8 test line. I have it spooled with Berkley FireLine, 14# test, with a 6' quality 20# fluorocarbon leader.  This line set-up is sensitive and strong. I use a double uni knot to join fiber line to leader.  The leader has a double surgeon loop to connect the lure. I use jigs with round heads and tube heads which are made with Mustard hooks. You do not have to sharpen the hook or clean out the hook eye before you start using them. These jigs are good quality. Use quality v-shaped jigheads for all other plastic lures.

Tight Lines,