Slug Soft Bait
Soft plastic lure: how to fish with the best
Soft slug lure is a category of lures worm-like halfway between the design of a worm and a slug. It is used on slender jig heads to fit a narrow shape. The slender jig heads or special worm heads are a perfect match to the small oval head of a slug. They are used for pulling and weightless fishing for sea bass. Designed in the USA for black bass it is a lure that works for zander, black bass, and big perch. Some models have a central slot (ventral and/or dorsal) for a snagless Texas rig hook. We use a slug on a Texas rig taking advantage of the lure's own density to let it sink naturally. It is a great lure for Carolina rig as well. You can retrieve with long glides on the bottom, in a clean area to locate zander. It is one of the best soft lures for zander, bass, and perch, still under-used by anglers!
How to fish with a soft slug lure in the sea?
First of all, we use the slug lure in different ways by selecting various jig heads, which affect its behavior. For example, a curved jig head will give it a wobbling effect, as a swimming fish would. This is an effective technique in keeping the lure in the current for sea bass fishing. It keeps the bait under control, maintaining the slug swimming between kelp and other areas with sea bass. Alternative to fishing with hard baits, the slug is still ignored by sea bass which allows them to easily catch them.
Be sure to choose the right size of hook to avoid bending the lure which would make it lose all its attractiveness! On the freshwater side, on a sabot sinker, you can explore the bottom contour that makes it an excellent lure for vertical fishing. To fish in dense cover in ponds and canals, such as sunken woods and weed beds, the Texas hook is perfect. There is an alternative to the Texan! A straight shank hook, used to rig creatures and craw, is perfect on the slug. You take care to pierce through the soft lure slug by bringing the point on the back. A finesse approach is very appropriate to increase tenfold the very mobile action of a slug lure. For this reason, under-weighing your rigs, within reason, is a good option.
On the saltwater side, it works well in saltwater ponds when fish are chasing on top. To do so, it is used with a weightless texas rig. With this approach, you can transform the slug lure into a soft stickbait! With short twitches on a semi-slack line, you can get submerged walking the dog. It is a versatile lure for sea bass fishing! In short, a soft slug lure also shines when fishing for rocky bottoms and wrecks.
Fishing for zander with a soft slug lure
First of all, the versatility of this soft slug lure allows many applications, zander fishing is no exception to this, on the contrary! All the interest of this soft lure lies in its half worm half forage fish shape. Its slim approach matches well to zander, especially when the latter is inactive, posted on its zone, or "stuck" to the bottom. For summer fishing it is a great tool for quick prospecting with the windo fishing technique. You just have to choose a conical jig head, adapted to the shape of your head. This setup allows you to jerk the slug sideways up the water column.
The result of the jerking action is great. It gives the impression of a panic-stricken forage fish, rising to the surface with wide jerks. With this technique, when zander rises you can locate the depth where the fish are active, in record time! In between high activity periods, zanders will “sleep" in dense cover under sunken timbers. These big fish hotels so to speak are hard to reach without getting snagged. The soft slug lure rigged on a Texas hook, on a drop shot rig, allows us to drop our rig discreetly into the obstacles. This is followed by an animation by shaking the rod tip to give life to the slug, on the spot. This effective approach allows us to insist on the spot, some days there is no other solution to make an apathetic zander "break". To conclude the slug lure is versatile, its under exploitation by fishermen makes it a tool still unknown to zander!
Fishing in heavy cover: which fish to target with the soft lure slug?
To start with a soft slug lure, you can fish heavy cover with a Texas rig, which is a favorite habitat for big fish. In order to penetrate the vegetation cover a 10 gr bullet weight will allow you to enter the weed beds with a high-velocity cast! The lure is then moved forward by a series of pulls to get the big fish out of the vegetation cover. For a discreet approach, we add a tungsten insert on a texas weightless rig. This allows you to cover the best fishing areas without getting snagged. The natural swimming action of the slug is an asset and will attract pike, big perch, and black bass.
For the warm season, the soft slug lure allows you to sight fish for black bass. You may or may not add a tungsten insert for sub-surface fishing if the fish refuses to attack on the surface. A light spinning setup is preferred, rod power 1 - 7 gr and reel size 2000 allow to fish long hours without fatigue. We use an active retrieve with a slug when the temperatures rise. To do so, a light and short jig head allows to jerk the slug. The result looks like a panic-stricken bleak that has no equal on the schools of perch. In conclusion, the slug is a versatile lure that will find its place in the kit of demanding and technical anglers.