Solid hook-ups in the dead centre of the upper jaw or the roof of the mouth are a pretty good indication that you’ve nailed the rigging process.
SOFT PLASTIC BASICS Rig ‘em right and reap the rewards. Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling explains how.
Fishing News - Page 14
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ith our weather rapidly improving and the days noticeably lengthening, fishing options are rapidly expanding on every front. The next couple of months are a fantastic time to be alive — and to be out and about on Tasmanian waters! During this period, a lot of hopeful anglers will be trying out new things for the first time: including (for many) soft plastic lures. But whether you’re an old hand with plastics or a new chum, there’s much to be said for focusing on the absolute fundamentals. By now we all know that soft plastics are absolutely deadly lures, capable of catching just about anything that swims in any aquatic environment: salt or fresh, deep or shallow, north or south. Yet, in my experience, lots of anglers still seem to struggle with the absolute basics of effectively rigging and using these highly
effective lures. Believe me, getting this part of the equation even 10 per cent wrong can reduce your catch rate by as much as 90 per cent! Which is where this article comes in. In it, I plan to go back to the core, underlying fundamentals of successful soft plastic fishing by focussing on what is arguably the single most important aspect of all: rigging your softies properly on a standard jig head so they swim well and hook fish. With the exception of some pre-rigged soft plastics and those with built-in, integrated weights and hooks, these lures are mostly based around a modular system consisting of different components (the soft lures or “tails” themselves, and the jig heads, weights, hooks or other delivery vehicles required to turn them into fish-catching tools).
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