Soft Plastic Striped Bass Fishing Lures

There are many soft plastic lures that are effective in catching striped bass. Soft Plastic lures come in lots of styles and sizes. Stripers love them. Shown above are the Slug-Go, the Pencil Worm, and the Fin-S Fish.

About Soft Plastic Fishing Lures

For simplicity, softplastics are divided into two categories. (1) worms and eels, and (2) baitfish.

Worms and Eels

If you fish for large-mouth bass in fresh water, the single most effective lure is a purple rubber worm. In saltwater these also work for striped bass, but a longer version is often used called a pencil worm. These can be fished without weight if you don't have to cast very far to reach fishable water. Slide them on an offset worm hook. As unweighted plastic worms slowly sink and are jostled around by the current, bass can't resist them. If you have to cast further, slip them on a jighead. The jighead lets you cast them further, but you may have to impart some of the action during the retrieve.

There are larger plastic worm-type lures that look more like real eels. The Slug-Go is a prime example. Fish it the same way, with or without a jighead, depending on how far you have to cast.

Baitfish

Soft plastic baitfish come in all sizes and many colors. Determine what baitfish are around and choose a size and color to match. Fishing them unweighed using an offset worm hook is also a good choice for soft plastic baitfish, as a more natural presentation can be achieved. However if you have to cast further slide them on a jighead. Choose a jighead to also match the size of the baitfish you are trying to imitate. Usually the smaller the better. Most soft plastic baitfish imitations, like the Fin-S Fish, have forked tails that give them some swimming action. Heavy jigheads can ruin the action.

Another very good soft plastic lure is the Zoom Super Fluke, especially in pearl white. This lure is effective in catching striped bass, freshwater striped bass, hybrid striped bass, and largemouth bass.

More recently soft plastics made by Berkley Gulp and others look just like the more conventional soft plastics, but also emit a baitfish odor in the water. The Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet is especially good.

Soft Plastic Jerk Baits

Some fishermen refer to these type lures as Soft Plastic Jerk Baits, because they use a little jerk to give the lure some action. Whatever you call them, they are very effective lures for striped bass.