Fishing with soft lures may seem at first glance a simple and relatively basic thing. Once armed, we might quickly believe that all we have to do is cast and retrieve. But to catch fish, you need to know how to adjust the animation ideally to trigger attacks.
Whether it's for tracking pike, zander, and all other species of predatory fish, there will be subtleties. Indeed, you will not perform the same movements whether you are fishing on the surface, the descent or even in deep waters from a boat. The collection of soft lures that we offer is extremely rich and varied, hence the need to distinguish the different ways of fishing:
- Top water practices, which are regularly used with a texan hook
- Linear practices, for versatile practice for all anglers
- Vertical techniques or jigging during the cold season
The type of lures offered to the fish will lead to different animations. Depending on the shape, you will indeed opt for such or such assembly to always gain in efficiency.
Finally, don't forget the other external aspects. Thus the color of the water or its temperature should make you evolve in your presentations. Vibrations will also be more or less well accepted, this will depend on the pressure of your sectors. To help you choose the size and type of lure you need, follow our guide Top 10 best soft lures. It will help you better understand the choice of experienced anglers
Once you have a good handle on this advice and settings, you will need to make the right choice in your line and your rod to be able to quickly enjoy and touch fish.
Animations for Top Water Practices
This might be the least common practice of the 3 we are going to explain to you. But, it turns out to be a formidable weapon when it comes to approaching congested sectors rich in vegetation.
Depending on the model of lures you use, you will be able to animate in a linear way, as with a shad. This will produce a buzzing effect on the surface, which we like to use in overcast weather, where activity is important. In mounting, surface fishermen make movements quite similar to fly fishing. Although the rod and the line are totally different, there is a certain similarity between these two throwing techniques.
You can also use, with floating lures, the stop-and-go. This consists of bringing your lure in a linear way and making pauses. The micro vibrations then emitted can easily trigger the attack of the fish. Don't hesitate to make your lure twitch with your equipment at these times.
Another possibility, in the manner of a stickbait, you will be able to animate a soft jerkminnow or a worm with small rod-end knocks. This will tend to swim the lure in Wolking the dog, an action that we know is ultra effective on many predators. Also here, do not hesitate to make more or less long pauses and preferably use a texan hook.
Finally, some soft lures are totally intended for this use and will offer you varied and often innovative swims. The animation will then be, most of the time, already designed in the swim itself. You will only need to cast and retrieve linearly.
Linear fishing
This is certainly the most used technique because it does not require any particular knowledge. All you need to do at first is know how to cast and retrieve. The objective is to evolve your lure in the water, without getting hooked. As you use it more and more, you will eventually choose the swimming depth at which to evolve it.
Now that you have grasped the concept, you will have to choose a lure and make it swim. And as you can expect, the animations vary greatly depending on the shape, your choices and sometimes its size.
Shads or swimbaits will be the most popular. Their opposing tail will greatly facilitate your learning. Indeed, it will go into action all by itself, by the simple retrieval of the line. You will then understand that a simple recovery, at a constant speed, can prove to be a real weapon. Of course, you can vary the speeds, make sharp accelerations or on the contrary make pauses to let it descend to the bottom.
Grubs also have the same tendency, even if they vibrate at different frequencies. You will be able to target perch as well as pike without any problem, but also make interesting fishing trips at sea.
You can also turn to softs Jerkminnows or fineness. These models produce minimal oscillations. The small movements of the tail can be a solution in difficult waters. You should then not hesitate to jerk them, twitch them to make them twirl like a fry taking flight.
Animations on the bottom
This is the last part of the water that we have not yet explored. The deep waters are full of secrets to properly animate your soft lures. The descent phase or even the proposed color will not fail to be really important elements in your decision-making.
Generally, these techniques are practiced from a boat or another type of craft. This allows for the use of a sonar and the ability to properly prospect the targeted or already known area.
You can then turn to vertical practice. This involves placing the lure on the bottom, lifting it off and letting it operate almost on its own thanks to the immobility of your rod and the natural action of the drift. You will come to make your assembly tap on the bottom several times, and you will reposition yourself.
The first few hours are a bit difficult, but the violent touches of the zander will quickly make you enjoy these minimalist movements. Prefer the cold season for these animations, the fish seeking the warmer water of the bottom at these times, but also a fine line and the advice of a regular to quickly find the most productive areas.
With this information, the anglers, that you are, will be able to perfect their technique and quickly push back the size record of their fish, both at sea and in freshwater.
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