Soft baits, big results

The greatest gift I received as a kid was access to the water. My dad and grandpa introduced me and somehow, I’ve managed to make a career out of it. My dad fished to bring home dinner, so we often used live bait. My grandpa, on the other hand, had a tackle box full of lures and was happy to catch whatever — usually pike and smallmouth around our cabin on Lake of the Woods. Grandpa’s problems kept him from fishing in his later years, but I know he’d be amazed by how we fish today. Back then, catching a walleye on an artificial lure was a rare feat for him. Now, I haven’t used live bait in years. Whether guiding or fishing for myself, I rely almost exclusively on soft plastics for bass, trout, pike, muskie, and panfish. The biggest barrier for most anglers using soft plastics is confidence. If you’ve only ever used live bait, it can be hard to believe that plastics can be as effective — but they often outperform live bait. Proper rigging is the key. Here’s how I make these rigs work. My drop shot When I started fishing professionally in the US in 2012, I knew that I needed to add the drop-shot rig to my arsenal. Back then I used most of my plastics on jig heads, not having much need for finesse fishing my bass-rich home waters of Lake of the Woods. Over the years I have caught all species of bass on a drop-shot in tournament competition. It is the ultimate finesse rig because you can present baits of all sizes naturally with a light hook and light line. On big water smallmouths, especially on the Great Lakes, the drop-shot is super effective for presenting small baits near the bottom, which they prefer on most days. Competitive walleye anglers are also including the drop-shot rig into their arsenal more often to present small plastic baits (or live bait) in the face of tough-to-catch walleye. Line & hook: I use 8 lb. Power Pro braid with a 12-foot leader of six or eight pound Mastiff fluorocarbon, attached by an FG knot. My top hook for nose hooking is a #1 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Drop-Shot Hook. For threading a bait on the hook, I like a #2 Gamakatsu B10 Stinger. I tie the dropshot hook with a palomar knot, threading the tag end