We all use them. Those little blobs of plastic resemble absolutely nothing in the diet of a bass. Why they bite them has always been a mystery to me, and I'm sure you have wondered, too. A bass is a lot like us. We eat things that might not look "normal" to other creatures. But then again, what is considered normal?
The blobs and squiggles of plastic in various forms are probably in your tackle box right now. Blobs like Yamamoto's Senko, Phantom's PHiPhishik, the squiggly Uncle Josh leech, Ripple Wizard, the "jiggly" Honey Comb tube, and the weird, little spider grubs like the Intimidator from Innovative Sport Group with all kinds of legs and fringe on both ends. They work, though. These crazy-looking baits sell like crazy because they catch fish.
There are so many weird-looking baits that it would be impossible to list everyone, but we've all purchased them as fast as they hit the stores over the years. I'm sure you remember many that have come and gone with time. What is impressive, though, is how many have become part of our standard arsenal in the pursuit of bass.
I'm not making fun of or trying to point the finger at the designers of funny-looking baits. All I'm trying to say is, step back and take a serious look at some of the things we used to fish with. Why do they produce bass? Are bass as smart as we make them out to be if such items as these can fool them?
Over the years, many people have stated that they believed certain baits looked like this or that thing in nature. But many of them don't resemble anything bass should hunt to eat. They don't even look like anything living, much less resemble a natural food item.
There are many different reasons why bass bite these baits. Maybe it's just hunger or pure aggression, or they like to try out new things to eat. Whatever the reason, as long as they bite, we don't care.
Take the PHish Stick, for example. This one was around for years before many other blobs came along. It's simple and dramatically resembles a chunk of broomstick made only of plastic. But then again, maybe a shad skipping across the surface looks like a piece of a broomstick to a bass. If a bass knew what a broomstick was. We will never really know what they think when they see these blobs, but they eat this bait, primarily when worked over thick vegetation. I know because they have produced bass for me on several occasions. It, and lures like the Senko, can be fished with or without a weight and rigged several different ways, all of which will catch fish.
Some of the new soft jerkbaits on the market have come long since the original models hit the bait stores. A few years ago, we were amazed at the action of these baits, and they still catch bass like crazy all over the country. Take a look at the Living Minnows that Cabela's is selling. These things are top-notch quality. A few years ago, soft plastics didn't have fancy eyes or little details. They were simply blobs of plastic that caught fish. The creators of soft plastic baits have done their homework nowadays. The baits almost look real. Not that a bass cares most of the time, but the decorations can add a little to your confidence in the bait. To the bass, I'm sure they all must look "real," especially when they go zipping by at a fast clip.
Uncle Josh is a company that has always built top-quality pork baits that practically all fishermen have used the world over. But take a serious look at a piece of pork flesh. It must be beautiful to a bass. The action, feel, and taste make the bass bite and hang on. Uncle Josh also makes an excellent bass-catching bait called a leech. Now, it's just a squiggly-looking blob, but it comes to life when rigged on a plain hook. When rigged on a weedless hook and slowly pulled through cover, the bass can't help but eat it. The new Uncle Josh Honeycomb Tube is mixed together like the leech, plastic, and pork. It sounds pretty tasty if you ask me, a blob of plastic that tastes like pork. I might try one myself.
If you haven't yet, check out plastic squiggles like the wild-looking spider grubs from Innovative Sports Group and Phantom Tackle. They look like mangled blobs of plastic, but they have a killer action when rigged on a jig head and hopped across the bottom or slowly inched down the face of a bluff. Many bass fishermen swear by these odd-looking baits. Out west, in the clear-water lakes, you better have some handy if you plan to catch some bass.
Try fishing any of the blobs or squiggles on a Carolina rig. They will sometimes work when everything else fails. Dragging them along the edge of a flat covered in hydrilla can be highly effective.
At a very young age, I learned that making fun of someone because they are chunking something that shouldn't work is an excellent way to get burned. Just because a bait is ugly, a blob or just a squirmy piece of plastic is no reason to doubt its effectiveness. What you think is just a blob may be one of the best baits you've ever used when given a fair chance.
Talking about blobs and crazy-looking lures reminds me of a few years ago when I was laughing at a spinnerbait my youngest brother Roy was throwing. It had a melted skirt of no accurate color, rusted blades, and it was tied on a rod with five-year-old line. On the next cast, after my teasing him, he hooked an 8-pounder that now resides on his wall at home. I try not to laugh at blobs or goofy-looking baits anymore. The fish don't. And I don't think they even bother to ask themselves what they think it is. They just eat them.
Learn how to use these baits with different rigs, with and without weights, and with beads, rattles, and other additions because they catch fish,d it doesn't matter what the fish thinks the bait looks like.
