SOFT PLASTICS
I can’t imagine going out fishing these days without a selection of soft plastics. Below are a bunch of different types of lures which will cover all kinds of ground and sea conditions.
SAVAGE GEAR GRAVITY STICK MINI (120MM/13G, SOFT PLASTIC LURES)
The new smaller size of Gravity Stick still comes in the three different versions - Paddletail, Pulsetail and Pintail - but the “mini” versions are 120mm long compared to the original 140mm size. These smaller Gravity Stick Mini lures come in packets of six (2 x Paddletails, 2 x Pulsetails, 2 x Pintails) and in a variety of different colours. A couple of purpose-designed 4/0 weedless hooks come in the packet as well (one without belly-weight, one with a 2g belly-weight, also available separately from Veals Mail Order), plus some weight insert spikes and glass rattles. It took us a while to get these smaller Gravity Sticks just right, because I was insistent that dropping down to a smaller lure profile didn’t negatively impact on the water we could cover with them - these lures fly, and they are absolutely deadly for bass as well as pollack and wrasse and who knows what else!
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Gravity Stick 14cm kit (lures, hooks, rattles, weight spikes, in a box): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com or Amazon.co.uk
Everything Gravity Stick related (lures, hooks, weights etc.): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
SAVAGE GEAR GRAVITY STICK (140MM/15G, SOFT PLASTIC LURES)
I have been involved with these three different soft plastics right from the start, and these days I don’t go bass fishing without them. Three different lures - Pintail, Pulsetail, Paddletail - with different actions and various rigging options. It is my profound belief that with these Savage Gear Gravity Sticks we have made some lethal soft plastics which work in so many different ways for our bass fishing. I am beyond proud of these new lures. Specifically designed to be fished with these weedless hooks here.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Gravity Stick 14cm kit (lures, hooks, rattles, weight spikes, in a box): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com or Amazon.co.uk
Everything Gravity Stick related (lures, hooks, weights etc.): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
Savage Gear Sandeel V2 Weedless
Take the Savage Gear Sandeel and then work incessantly on coming up with the perfect weedless version. The new Sandeel V2 Weedless has a different shape jig head to the regular Sandeel V2 which combines a strong swimming action with outstanding “bumpability” along the bottom. Features include the Pro Peg Mount system (so easy!), rattles included and inserted into the lure bodies (easily removable by the way), tough lure bodies with loads of irresistible paddletail action, and this V2 Weedless version now gives me so many more options to use a lure like this. The biggest bass I saw caught on 2021 came on this lure, check here.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Everything Sandeel V2 related (complete lures, spare bodies, jig heads, hooks etc.: Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
Sandeel V2 J-hook bulk buy: Lurefishingforbass.co.uk
Savage Gear Savage Minnow Weedless
Our take on the paddletail/jig head/weedless hook combination (who hasn’t been influenced by the Fiiish Black Minnow “concept”?) A lot of thought and testing and fishing has gone into these lures, from the the simplicity of the Pro Peg Mount system, the way the weedless hooks “click” so securely into place on the Weedless version, the design of the jig heads which combines a strong swimming action with outstanding “bumpability” along the bottom, rattles which are included and inserted into the lure bodies (easily removable by the way), through to the relatively tough lure bodies which have so much movement.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Everything Savage Minnow related (complete lures, spare bodies, jig heads, hooks etc.): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
Bulk buy Savage Minnow Weedless: Lurefishingforbass.co.uk
Savage Gear Sandeel V2
Take the classic Savage Gear Sandeel and make it even better. The Savage Gear Sandeel V2 - slim-profile paddletail lures which are every single thing we could pour into improving a classic. Features include the Pro Peg Mount system (so easy!), rattles included and inserted into the lure bodies (easily removable by the way), and tough lure bodies with loads of irresistible paddletail action.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Everything Sandeel V2 related (complete lures, spare bodies, jig heads, hooks etc.: Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
Sandeel V2 J-hook bulk buy: Lurefishingforbass.co.uk
Savage Gear Savage Minnow
Our take on the paddletail/J-Hook jig head lure, via a lot of thought and testing and fishing. The simplicity of the Pro Peg Mount system, the way the weedless hooks “click” so securely into place on the Weedless version, the design of the jig heads which combines a strong swimming action with outstanding “bumpability” along the bottom, rattles included and inserted into the lure bodies (easily removable by the way), tough lure bodies but loads of irresistible paddletail action, these Savage Minnows are everything we wanted to make.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Everything Savage Minnow related (complete lures, spare bodies, jig heads, hooks etc.): Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
Bulk buy Savage Minnow Weedless: Lurefishingforbass.co.uk
Savage Gear Slender Scoop Shad 11cm, 13cm, 15cm
A soft plastic paddletail with the most stunning, slow-rolling kind of action. I really like how different this lure is to the Gravity Stick Paddletail, and I caught my first ever bass in the UK in February on the 13cms version, see here. More details about this lure in a blog post here.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Various sizes and packets: Veals Mail Order or Fishing Megastore.com
SAVAGE GEAR WASHABLE LURE BOXES
A complete no-brainer if you ask me. Your lures won’t end up in a tangled mess and you can simply dunk the box (with lures in it) in a sink of freshwater if you are so inclined - I am! - to rinse your lures down. I can fit two of these washable lure boxes in my HPA bag, and if that isn’t enough hard and soft lures for a bass fishing session then I should be giving myself a thrashing. I carry one “long” box (as per the photo, horizontal slots for soft plastics and hard lures longer than 140mm), and one “short” box (vertical slots, for lures under 140mm long). BOTH THE SHORT AND LONG BOXES SHARE THE SAME EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Z-Man Punch CrawZ 4’’
Surely one of the most lethal soft plastic lures for wrasse fishing that exists, and I am convinced the fact that this Z-Man Punch CrawZ 4’’ is so buoyant and naturally sits upright is a big part of its appeal. I rig them on a 2/0 or 3/0 weedless hook, preferably these very good ones here. Don’t mix Z-Man lures with anything else, keep them in their original packets, they last forever if you don’t snag them up.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Fiiish Black Minnow (various sizes and weights)
Bump it down the tide, swim it like a minnow, vertical jig it, do what you want, bass seem to love it. Oh, and pollack do as well - big time !! These bass here were caught on the Black Minnow - need I say more ?
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
OSP DoLive Stick 6''
I tend to fish the 6’’ version weightless (i.e. no added weight, just a weedless hook around the 5/0 or 6/0 size) and you’ll be somewhat surprised at how well this thing casts. It flies !! The proof is in the pudding – check here. I wrote another blog post about this lure here and here. My favourite hooks for these lures in the 6'' size are the Owner Twistlock Gary Yamamoto Spec, either size 5/0 here or 6/0 here.
Starting to really like these BKK Titan Worm hooks for my DoLives, in size 4/0 or 5/0.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Savage Gear Fix-It Soft Lure Resin
I’ve given up trying to find Mend-It here in the UK, but this cheaper and far more easy to find Savage Gear Fix-It Soft Lure Resin works just as well for mending your soft plastics and getting more life out of them. Give it a little more time to set than Mend-It.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Fiiish Black Minnow - 12g Shore Head/120mm body
I love this weight of jig head and length of body from the Fiiish Black Minnow series for bumping down the current in estuaries etc.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Fiiish Crazy Sandeel (various sizes and weights)
With “Le Crazy”, it’s all about getting that speed right on the lure to get the body undulating - it’s designed to be fished fairly fast. Check out some bluefin tuna fishing on the Crazy Sandeel here, and a report of mine here on the first bass I caught with it. The Crazy Sandeel should be illegal for pollack it's so deadly!
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
MegaBass XLayer (various sizes)
A top of the range soft plastic lure that is does serious damage on the bass. Try twitching the MegaBass XLayer almost like a hard minnow type lure, gently "bounce" them on and off the bottom as you retrieve it, or simply let them trundle down in the current. Bass seriously kill these things.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
Albie Snax 5’’
A simple looking, long casting soft plastic from the US, the Albie Snax in the 5’’ size especially has accounted for a lot of good bass here in the UK and Ireland. I am starting to really like the White Pearl colour for night lure fishing.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):
MegaBass 5’’ Spindle Worm
A killer paddletail in some killer colours. Not cheap, but then MegaBass lures never are. As a paddletail to swim nice and shallow and subtly, the 5’’ Spindle Worm is lethal for bass. These Gamakatsu belly-weighted weedless hooks here fit these soft plastics really well.
Affiliate links (my sincere thanks if you choose to buy via these):