When you think of plastics and bass fishing, you think of worms, grubs, and soft plastic stick worms. But for some time coming, bass fishing has been going to the creatures. It all started many years ago when the first plastic lizards came busting onto the bass scene. I remember the black and yellow dotted creature in my tackle box, and from time to time, these guys would go for a swim. But it wasn't until my Carolina rigging days that these creatures earned a place in my heart and my wallet as well.
Like it or not, creature baits are here to stay and should be a part of your plastic arsenal for catching bass. Let's look at a few of the most popular baits on the market now and how to fish them.
Lizards
Lizards are a natural enemy of the bass, and I have found through my years that bass will go out of their way to strike and take a lizard out at any cost. That, in a nutshell, is why this bait is popular and catches bass. There are three different ways to rig and fish lizards.
One is rigging a 4" lizard on a jig head ranging in size of 1/16-ounce to 1/4-ounce. I generally fish this rig on loose rocks or the weed edges. I'll fish this rig on a spinning setup with either 6-pound or 8-pound mono.
Texas rig is probably the most common way to rig and fish a plastic lizard. When Texas rigging a lizard, I use a Bullet Weight Screw In Weight to keep the sinker pegged to the rig. The bulkier bait comes through the weeds a little bit better if the sinker is pegged to the bait and helps keep the bait up on the hook. I'll fish this on a 7' heavy-action baitcaster with a matching reel spooled with 15-pound P-Line Fluoroclear line. Fish the lizard like a plastic worm with slight hops or drag the bait on the bottom.
Carolina rigs are the bread-and-butter of lizard fishing for bass. I'll use either a 3/4-ounce or 1-ounce torpedo sinker, followed by a plastic bead, and then a swivel on my main line. The main line is 15-pound P-line Fluoroclear. For the leader, I'll use 12-pound or 14-pound Fluoroclear. The length of the leader will depend on the water color that I'm fishing. If I'm fishing in dirty water conditions, I will use a 2- to 3-foot leader, and if I'm fishing clear water conditions, the leader length will be 3- to 6-feet. On the end of the leader, I tie an Eagle Claw L098RG 3/0 hook, and on that, I'll Texas rig a Bass Assassin 6" Pumpkin/Chartreuse Tail Lizard. I fish this on a 7 ½' flipping stick with a matching baitcaster reel. The beefed-up rod gives me better casting distance and better control of the 1-ounce weight.
Pigg
When it comes to doctored-up plastic worms, Outkasts Tackle's Pigg gets my vote. This bait has a creature written all over it with flaps and curly appendages that make this bait look like a creature from a horror movie. But the truth is it catches bass and big bass to boot. I'll generally rig the Pigg in two different ways one is a Texas rig, and the other is on a Touchdown Jig Head.
Texas rigged Pigg are great baits when it comes to a flipping and pitching situations. When rigging a 6" Pigg, I prefer to peg the weight to the plastics. I'll use a 1/4-ounce to 1/2-ounce Bullet Weight Screw In Sinker fished on a 7 ½' Flipping stick spooled with 20-pound P-Line Fluorocarbon line. If the bite gets tough or I'm fishing during tough cold front conditions, I'll downsize to the 4" Pigg and use a 3/8-ounce Bullet Weight Screw In Sinker to give the bait a slower fall. This tactic has saved the day more times than I can remember.
I like to use the Pigg for one more tactic when the bass are on deepwater rock areas. In combination with using a Carolina rig, I'll throw a Touchdown jig rigged with a Pigg into the mix. This presentation seems to catch a few extra fish that won't take the Carolina rig, which is often the bigger, wiser bass of the school.
Yomama
Yomama is the newest creature kid on the block. The Yomama comes in two sizes, 4" and 3". I rig the Yomama in two ways that closely follow how I rig and fish the Pigg.
Texas rigged is the most popular way that I fish the Yomama. Once again, I'll use a 1/4-ounce to 1/2-ounce Bullet Weight Screw In Sinker to keep both the sinker and bait locked in place. I have also started to use the Yomama as a trailer bait on bullet head jigs with excellent results.
If I need to downsize and go finesse, I'm rigging a 3" Yomama on a small weedless jig head with and without a skirt. I'll fish this on a spinning setup with 8-pound mono. This is an excellent presentation on the outside weed line that is fast catching on and catching bass.
Creature baits are here to stay. You're missing out if you're not making them part of your bass fishing. The sample that I gave you is just scratching the surface of what is out there. It's your turn to see what your bass want in your area. Lizards, Piggs, and Yomama's will catch bass day in and day out and are a big part of the plastics offer that I carry.
