Every gimmick, that thrills the senses of a fish, has been mass produced in soft plastics. Packages of squishy baits come molded into tempting shapes, injected with flavor, marinated in scent or manufactured to be colorful in an iridescent way.

If you make it yourself or buy it off the shelf the end result of fishing with soft plastics should bring a nice catch . . . or so I have heard.

The first time I used a plastic bait I was intrigued. Well, all right confused is the better description of my initial reaction to soft plastics. From the beginning I tried to figure out how to insert the hook through that pliable plastic worm in just the right way. That was difficult to do without tearing it. After struggling to perfect the hooks presentation in the lure in just such a way to fool the fish, I tossed out my line and began to reel in. I could immediately feel an unsteady drag and bounce, alerting me to the error in rigging my set up. It never worked for me until I learned, from illustrations, how to do basic setups like the Texas rig and the Carolina rig.

Once I learned to make those simple rigs it still did not set the hook in the water when it came to actually catching fish with soft plastics. At that point I decided to call a knowledgeable plastics angler. It would have to be someone who would have the low down on the technical stuff and enough common sense to explain the basics of plastics to a soft bait greenhorn.

The first thing I wanted to know about soft plastic lures was the best time for using them in the water. Catching fish is often dependent in the anglers’ timing of using a specific bait. So I pursued an answer from Charlie Case, designer and inventor of the Case MadTom. Mr. Case, now retired was more than happy to share his experience in all things plastic. Charlie proved to be a walking, talking plastics primer. Timing was the reason he sold lots of plastics at a recent Virginia Bass Federation tournament. He says, "Right now the soft plastics are ‘really on’ in Virginia, because it’s really hot here and the waters have already warmed up. People are backing off of point and they are using the plastics with Carolina and Texas rigs."

Rig choice is so important. I took Charlies’ advice when he told me about rigging the end of a hook to come out just behind a plastic MadToms’ dorsal fin, nicking the center of its’ mouth with a knife and shoving an ought two weight into that space. It worked like a charm. The weight caused it to dive slowly to the bottom mouth first and each jerk of my line brought a realistic swimming motion up and to the right or left before diving back to the bottom. I had bites from Bass and Bluegill of every size while they were chasing that plastic MadTom.

That MadTom scenario paints the picture of another important point: Reeling lifelike baits. Dead in the water is less appealing to predatory fish instinct than the struggling, jerking movements and natural diving and swimming baits that attract open jaws.

Knowing which baits to use in entirely different bodies of water takes practice and experience. I still ask the old pros (not the guys on the pro-angling circuit the ones on the water almost daily) or the gals who are reeling in the fish, what kind of bait they are working the water with. Helgamite larvae are a common natural food source of bass, catfish and crappie. Fishing specific authentic looking plastics like the black segmented Helgamite bodies in their native waters or floating any Texas rigged soft plastic worm in deep currents off a point, often will attract the fish that eat them.

Charlie also offered this bit of advice about how to choose a bait for tournament and everyday anglers, "Now if you want numbers of fish, throw a Stick or a MadWorm. If you want to catch big fish throw a MadTom." His experiences of guide fishing on Lake Eerie and angling in the waters of Virginia and Pennsylvania pulls the result of his advice about using soft plastics out of the water with a good catch.

If you’ve got plastics you can rig your own setups and create a different motion in the water for every fish species you want to attract. Building a few of your own favorite rigs and soft bait combos can save time in the moment if you put them together before hitting the water. Pre-rigged plastics prevent wasted time in changing the color appeal or swimming effect in any angling situation.