Fine Tuning Soft Plastic Techniques
Some Things I Learned (And Relearned!)
This Fishing Season

By Gene Bourque

“Practice what you preach!” I wonder where that old saw came from? An admonishment to some long forgotten man of the cloth by one of his parishioners after straying from one of the Commandments, maybe? We’ll never know but those are certainly words to live by when it comes to fishing methodology.

Unless you happen to be a total beginner – I mean someone who has barely learned which end of a fishing rod to hold – you’ve probably been in fishing situations where you wanted to convey something you’ve learned to the person you’re fishing with. That person might be a child or a spouse. It could be a long-time fishing partner. The idea is: Here’s something I’ve learned. What do you think?

The hard part is often sticking with that advice. I just get lazy, plain and simple. Fan casting! Yeah, that’s what you should do! Make an imaginary clock face on the surface of the water and put each cast on the next “hour” as you work around the clock. I’ve intoned that advice at seminars and in stories I’ve written, and darn it, sometimes I actually do it (!).

Check your knots and run your hand up the leader to check for nicks after every fish! Absolutely!

I seem to always remember giving that advice to someone as I’m gazing at a cute little curly Q where my hook used to be.

Over the past fishing season I’ve been reminded of the importance and validity of quite a few things technique-wise that bear repeating. So here they are in no particular order.  If you happen to see me out there, feel free to critique because the odds are roughly even as to whether or not I’ll be following my own advice!

1. Vary your retrieve. What makes soft plastics so effective and so much fun to fish is what I call “angler involvement.” With a lot of other types of lures you are pretty much locked into one retrieve, both in terms of speed and imparted action. Not so with soft plastics. Making the lure come alive is what it’s all about – and your job is to figure out how the fish want your offering to behave. Put another way, a long profile soft plastic has the unique ability to look natural and alive if it is moved slowly through the water or ripped, with a steady retrieve (but with intermittent twitches of the rod tip) or stop-and-go. So here’s the point. DO NOT fall into a Zen-like state of cast-retrieve-cast-retrieve, all at the same speed and with little or no use of the rod to make the lure flex. Which gets me to…
   
   
2. The most effective retrieve with the Hogys I usually fish (7” and 10” Originals; 9” Skinnys) involves having the bait swim just under to about a foot below the surface. This produced well again this season when I was fishing in shallow water to depths of about 8 feet or so. Sometimes this was easy, sometimes much harder. Variables include the amount of chop, current and even water temperature (cooler water seems to make the bait swim a bit deeper). What is always key is keeping the rod tip either parallel to or pointed down toward the surface of the water. A slow to moderate retrieve speed is mandatory but there is another factor in whether or not my Hogys swim just under the surface or jump up, which I do not want. How the nose of the bait is angled and the overall straightness of the bait radically affects how it swims. I usually fish Hogys on our Swim Bait Hooks or Owner Offset Worm Hooks, rigged weedless or “Texas style.” (See this video for rigging instructions.) I’ve learned to be extra careful when I push the point of the hook into the bait, making sure it is centered. If it is off center even a millimeter or less the bait will want to angle toward the surface, scoot to the side and turn over or otherwise act in a way no baitfish would. Likewise, it is very important to bend the bait and mentally mark where the hook will emerge through the top so the Hogy is straight and the tip section of the hook lays flat against the bait (my preference) or can be tucked just under the surface of the bait (true “Texas Rigging”). Part of this equation is being very diligent about checking the bait between casts. I know, I know – this is a pain in the posterior if you just want to fish. But time and again I’ve seen correctly rigged baits catch while those that are allowed to slip on the hook and develop weird bends get ignored entirely. Of course if you are fishing a soft bait on a jighead or in the case of our Jiggn’ Hogy, rigged to function as a popper, it’s another thing entirely. I’m just referring to what I consider the most effective retrieve in relatively shallow water.
   
   
   
3. Fish Big. Fish Hogy. That is our motto and while I am primarily a light tackle fisherman using gear that just can’t handle the heavy baits, “big baits for big fish” was proven to me again this year, and not just once or twice. Last June we happened upon a short stretch along one of the Elizabeth Islands that held some very nice stripers, fish in the 20- to 30-pound range. We went back again and again right through September and every time caught at least one 20-pounder. This year at least, it has been a bonafide “hot spot.” However, it was usually Mike who caught the fish on those first few trips. This was because I stuck to my Old Faithfuls, the 7” and 10” Original Hogys. I did catch a few respectable fish in the low to mid teens but those 20-plus pounders were only interested in what Mike was throwing: 14” Original Hogys rigged with our Swim Bait Hook – and he even took a couple fish on our new Soft Circle Hook, which is designed to be rigged entirely outside nose of the bait on the Hogy Screw Keeper, which is attached to the shaft of the hook. This proves without a doubt that big stripers take baits and lures head-first, but that is a subject for another story. I may be crazy but I’m not stupid so eventually I did start throwing bone colored 14” Hogys and the results were impressive. In fact, those were my best trips for stripers this season. I know this is not some earth-shaking revelation – that big fish prefer big baits – but to see it proven without the shadow of a doubt certainly got my attention. I guess it comes down to whether you want more action from smaller fish, or are willing to catch fewer but much more memorable specimens.
   
   
4. Change it up – sometimes, often. My friend Jim Bowen and I were fishing off Key West with Hogy-endorsed master guide Aaron Snell last April. After a getting frustrated by tarpon for a while (angler ineptitude on my part anyway, without a doubt!) we proceeded to a place we fished with Aaron the year before, a little channel between the flats that holds an amazing variety of fish. Places like this are one of the reasons I’ve come to love fishing the Keys in the last few years. You wouldn’t even know this channel is there unless you happened upon it as it’s only about 50 or so feet wide and almost indistinguishable from the surrounding flats. But it is quite deep and I think many of the fish that roam the flats must use it as a highway. Anyway, we were targeting grouper, which we caught there the year before. Not the huge goliaths but feisty gag grouper in the 8- to 15-pound range that act just like the stripers back home and will hit a 7” Hogy. We started casting and both of us were on almost immediately. Another couple fish and suddenly the action ceased – no hits, no follows, no fish. Then I remembered something from the year before. I took off the bone colored Hogy and put on an amber – wham! Another couple fish. Meanwhile, Jim had switched from bone to bubblegum with the same results. Then – nothing. OK, I get it. Switch to red wine. Another couple fish, then silence. We rested the spot for a few minutes and then went back to our original colors and the fish responded for a few minutes. This went on for about an hour, with some real excitement compliments of a jack crevalle of about 15 pounds that gave Jim about all he could handle on the light gear we were using. Finally the fish seemed to figure out all the Hogy colors and we called it a day. Just like going through the annoyance of checking knots and how the lure is sitting on the hook, changing up your colors if the fish suddenly stop hitting is a pain but well worth the effort. In fact, I’ve come to the point that wherever I’m fishing, if I run into this scenario I will change colors with the same Hogy that’s been catching rather than changing size or style. It usually works.
   
   
5. Braid and soft plastics: a happy marriage. OK, I thought the day would never come. For the last decade I’ve made the occasional jump into using braided lines, always with results ranging from disappointing to downright awful. Wind knots, line spinning on the spool, sliced fingers, not being able to attach mono to braid, yes – I’ve lived all those and more. I hated the stuff! This, after trying four brands and quite a few pound-tests. But last year at the end of the season I bought a new rod at a local shop and during the sale they were giving away spools of Power Pro 50-pound test braid with any purchase over $100. The stuff sat in my garage for most of the season but at Mike’s urging (after he had witnessed me losing big fish more than a few times using mono) I figured what the heck, the stuff didn’t cost me anything so why not give it one more try. Those who are reading this and use braid are smiling and nodding about now. Yes, after getting used to the feel of the Hogy swimming on it and the feel of a hit and how to set the hook, I am officially a convert. Braid has even more value with soft plastics I think because with zero stretch you can work the bait with subtlety that is impossible with stretchy monofilament. If a fish even kisses your bait you know it instantly. It took me a little while to not try to rip the lips off a fish when it hits but now I have that aspect down too. If you’re like I recently was – disgusted with the stuff after bad experiences – give it one more try. I did and I’m not looking back. And oh yeah – no wind knots, no tangles, no problems – yet.

I’m sure that are a few other things I learned this season and I could probably come up with them if I thought about it.  Old dog, new tricks, you get my drift. I guess all I’m really saying is keep an open mind and be sure to take your own advice. At least you can trust the source, right?!