There are many different styles of soft plastics, including curl tails, paddle tails, jerkbaits, frogs, worms and crustaceans. Selecting the right soft plastic, style and colour can seem confusing with the very wide range of styles and colours available. However fishing with soft plastics in both fresh and saltwater applications can be very rewarding.
Some of the earliest soft plastics were designed with curl tails and they are still popular today, due to their lively action and ease of use. An excellent plastic for beginners and deadly in the hands of experienced anglers, curl tails will swim on the drop and respond to a simply slow retrieve, or one punctuated with pauses or hops. In the water curl tails can be used to imitate baitfish, worms and crustaceans.
Popular curl tail plastics or worm lures consist of a slender body resembling a worm and can also sport a curly tail that flutters or vibrates when the plastic lure is moved through the water. The Maxcatch Curly 61mm is a good example of a very successful curl tail plasic lure with a swimming action that immitates the action of worms of small bait fish and will attract the attention of target fish. Curl tail plastics are available in a range of sizes, shapes and colours and are normally rigged with a jig head hook. Jigs heads can be selected with differing weights and configurations to control depth of the lure and anti-snagging.
The soft plastic shad body or paddle tail is very popular for both fresh water and salt water tfishing. These soft plastic lures are a very straight-forward bait to fish with and will catch just about any fish species that swims. Although there are some variations in style, shape and size, Shad or Paddle Tail bodies can range in colour from translucent to solid white or solid black, to any variation or mixture of colours in between.
Paddle tails get their name from a tail that moves from side to side - 'paddles' - as the soft plastic is cast and retrieved. The paddle tail profile mimics baitfish, with a variety of sizes and profiles available to match the hatch, including smaller profiles to large lures around 8" or bigger. Paddle tails are less popular when targeting fish in deeper water and faster currents offshore as the tail action slows down the sink rate of the plastic lure. Bream, flathead, bass and trevally, will respond well to the smaller style lures while mangrove jack, barramundi, tailor and salmon will take a medium sized lure and larger Paddle Tails or Shad are also ideal for mulloway, barramundi, Murray cod and other larger predators.
Some paddle tail soft plastic lure will come fitted with hooks such as the Truscend Soft T Shad 90 or the Truscend Soft T Shad 120 while others such as the Maxcatch RY 18 Paddle Tail can be rigged with your favourite jig head depending on your stye of fishing and target species
Jerk bait style plastics have little action of their own, hence the 'jerk' required to get the plastic to dart around like a wounded or fleeing baitfish. Generally slender and baitfish shaped, jerk baits don't have a curl or paddle tail to create action, so the bulk of the action needs to be imparted by the angler. The softer the plastic jerk bait the easier it would be to get movement or swim action from the lure, so small twitches and hops will see the tail working seductively and likewise a stiffer plastic lure will require the angler to impart more action in the plastic lure to get a similar response. Jerk baits also lend themselves to high speed retrieves as they track well, rather than spinning or 'blowing out', with the straight tail vibrating to attract predators. Jerk baits have also long been a go-to plastic for offshore anglers as the lack of action means a faster sink rate. Check out the Maxcatch RY112 Grub for a great all round grub plastic lure that will attract many fresh and saltwater fish.
Crustaceans such as yabbies, cayfish and other smaller shell fish are part of the diet of many fish species and it makes sense that you can imitate a crustacean with a soft plastic. The Truscend Soft Craw is the perfect size at 100mm and is built using a tough degradable soft plastic material ready to take on multiple hits. The realistic shape of this plastic perfectly represents many small crustaceans such as prawn, shrimp, crab, insect or yabby which are on the menu of many fresh and saltwater fish.
Vibration and flutter are created by the legs and body profile and with just a little jerk on the rod, this soft plastic craw lure will appeal as an enticing meal for any hungry fish. Whether you are fishing reefs, rock walls, deep structure or shallow under pontoons the Truscend Soft Craw will become your go-to soft plastic. The Soft Craw has a body design which allows it to be easily rigged with jig head or worm hook.
All Fish Inc Lures come pre-fitted with heavy duty Owner hooks. All of the lures from GT Lures are available in a variety of colours providing you with a selection to target specific fish and the water conditions they were designed for.
We also have a range of soft plastics including grubs, paddle tails and curl tails. Each one comes in a number of colours to suit water conditions and baitfish the target fish are feeding on.
New to the GT Lures range are a selection of lures from Noeby Fishing Lures featuring stickbaits, vibes, minnows and surface lures.
Check out our range of Spinning Reels and Fly Reels for fresh and saltwater use. Our new VM Salt Water Fly Reel series are 100% sealed which make them ideal for saltwater fly fishing.
They feature a Multi-disc drag system, quick change V shaped spool for increased line capacity and efficient line retrieval. They also come complete with Noeprene bag and are available in Black or Gunsmoke colour.
New to GT Lures is our range of Flexfit sports caps. Caps and hats in a range of styles and colours. See Fishing Apparel