2008 has been a great year for new soft plastics for bass fisherman. It seems that every where we turn or search, there is a new soft plastic bait for bass that gets our attention. So many baits to choose from and so little time to use them, which do we try?

With the selection of so many soft plastics on the market these days, it pays to find a few companies with products we can each depend on. I have found that I only need a few different products to catch fish on a semi-regular basis even though, the “baitmonkey” is always lurking on my shoulder waiting for something new to appear. I took a little time to reflect on this past year and put together a list of the soft plastics I used this year for LM & SM Bass that really hit the spot, caught plenty of fish and basically did what they are supposed to do, CATCH FISH! The products listed below are in no particular order; each of them works equally well under advertised applications and deserve consideration in my list. When I head out fishing; you will always find a selection of the baits below in my back pack.

Case Plastics: www.caseplastics.com

• Case Plastics has an amazing amount of soft plastic baits to choose from that are affordable, durable and catch both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The Case Magic Stick, Jacks Worm & my wife’s favorite the Hellgrammite have landed more than their share of fish this year. Each of these baits will land LM and SM bass on a regular basis and save you plenty of funds for your next outing with the baitmonkey. I never leave home without my supply of Case Plastics.

Picture Description: Jacks Worm on a jig head – wacky rigged Magic Stick – Case Hellgrammite on a Parasite Stand-Up Jig

JDC Baits: www.jdcbaits.com

• JDC Baits offers bass anglers a great selection of affordable and durable soft plastics also.  The JDC line up of soft plastics are very unique in that most will only be found under the JDC name. The RockCraw is one of the most realistic craws on the market for bass and responsible for most of my early season LM Bass. It is available in multiple sizes, casts like a bullet and flat-out catches fish. JDC Baits “Creek Chub” is a simple bait that worked extremely well for me this season for smallmouth when rigged on a jig head. This same bait will make a great drop shot bait for those that like drop shotting. JDC’s most recent release is the BLR Bomber; a 10″ soft plastic “senko” type bait which I just love throwing. The BLR Bomber landed my new personal best LM bass this season and always seems to get a bigger bass in my hands. Let us not forget the JDC Skip n Pop, the only soft plastic topwater popper that I know of. The ability to fish a T/Rigged popper through pads without hanging up with a load of treble hooks is something many of us are just not accustomed too, and it’s great! Each of these baits landed plenty of fish this season and have become a staple in my ever growing selection of soft plastic tackle. I never leave home without a selection of these JDC Baits products.

Picture Description: Creek Chub on a Parasite Stand-Up Jig – Texas rigged Skip n Pop – Rock Craw rigged on a Title Shot jig head

Rage Tail Baits: www.ragetail.com

• What more can I say, this company took me buy surprise! Every one of their patented Rage Tail baits are unique and has landed loads of fish for my wife and I. The patented tail design has a way about it that just plain works and works well. The rage shad, rage toad, rage craw and rage chunk were my first exploration with this companies baits and each falls into the “amazing” category for me. The Rage Tail line of soft plastics have re-defined action, vibration and the movement with each of their soft plastic baits. The topwater fun to be had with the rage tail shad and toad can’t be duplicated and far exceeds my origianl expectations. The rage chunk is a great jig trailer and also makes a great finesse bait when rigged on a jighead while the craw steps it up on a T/rig. With the recent release of the all new Rage Tail Anaconda (7″ & 10″ worm), Rage Lobster (6″ craw), Rage Lizard and the Rage Spacemonkey (creature bait), the ragetail lineup of baits almost seems complete. We have been lucky enough to aquire many of these new baits and have great luck with them over the last couple months. Rage Tail baits are a steady producer and will always have a place in my pack on every outing to fish.

Picture Description: (Above) Rage Tail Shad, Rage Craw, Rage Chunk & Rage Toad
(Below) Rage Tail Anaconda, Rage Lizard, Rage Lobster & Rage Tail Spacemonkey

Reaction Strike Swimbaits: www.reactionstrike.com

• I had to jump on this band wagon this year and see what the swimbait craze is all about. Finding a paddletail swimbait these days isn’t very hard. Finding just the right swimbait in the size and color your after is a different story. A friend suggested Reaction Strike swimbaits to me and let me tell you, they have just what I was looking for. Reaction Strike has plenty of colors and sizes to suit all the paddletail applications I have considered. This is still a new area of soft plastic exploration for me but, if you look in my bag, you will find a decent selection of these baits for when the need arises.

Picture Description: The Fathead, Jr. shown in 3″, 3.5″, 4″…. also available in 5″, 6″ and 8″ lengths

I hope you enjoyed my list of proven soft plastic baits. Feel free to comment or add a few of your new favorite soft plastic baits used this past year. You can add a comment below or visit the forum to dicuss it more here: Top Soft Plastic Tackle 2008

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My Second day fishing the Bomber was another successful day with the CPR of one fish and another lost.

My third day out was a life long memory in the making! The combination of a JDC Baits BLR Bomber and Some CB’s Hawg Sauce “shad” gel landed my new personal best largemouth bass after 20 years.
I can only begin to describe just how excited I was to finally best my personal best LM.

Returning to the place where my JB custom bass rod got broken is a moment of stupidity, I searched for the elusive fish which caused me to act in such a way. My Bomber was tattered and torn, it was now 2 inches shorter than it started but, the Parasite Clip kept it in place and allowed me to continue using this huge bait without a problem.

Imagine that, three trips to the water fishing for hours with the same bait. The Parasite Clip can make any bait last longer.

Tossing the Bomber to every hole and point in and around the weedbeds, the “round 1″ search for a big bass was looking very bleak, to say the least. I quickly realized that I never added any CB’s Hawg Sauce gel to mask my smell and up my odds. I quick dig in the bag and the addition of CB’s “Shad” gel and “round 2″ was on. I began working all those points and holes in the weeds again and to my surprise, it took just a few casts and the fight was on. I knew I had something big on the line but, I never dreamed it was to be my new personal best LM Bass. I was holding a 6lb/10oz largemouth bass in my hands after more than 20 years thanks to two great products, the JDC Baits “BLR Bomber” and CB’s Hawg Sauce “Shad Gel“. As you can only imagine, the smile didn’t leave my face for the rest of the night and quickly returns with the thought of my recent catch. I have a couple pictures below to share.

Sideways:

Lengthwise:

If you are interested in any of these products, here are a few easy links to get you there.
JDC Baits BLR Bomber: http://www.jdcbaits.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=49&osCsid=6809da239730d74e4b60976c52896f8c
CB’s Hawg Sauce (Shad Gel): http://www.cbshawgsauce.com/order.htm
Parasite Clips: http://www.parasiteweights.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=28

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This bait has a great action when fished texas-rigged, the fall is nice and it can easily double as a soft jerkbait with its “walk the dog” action. For all the Wacky Riggers out there, the BLR Bomber has an amazing wiggle on it’s way to the bottom and will put a meal in front of that big bass you have been targeting.

I got my first order of them yesterday and went to my favorite lake to see them up close and personal. I Texas rigged the bomber with an 11/0 Owner hook and used a large Parasite Clip to keep the bomber from sliding down the hook and threw it on a heavy action rod. If you are gonna texas rig this bait, big hooks, Parasite clips and a heavy action rod is what I suggest. Here is a picture of another average bass I caught yesterday.

JDC Baits offers this great bait in green pumpkin only for now but, with any luck, we will see a few more great fish catching colors in the coming months. For more information and to order some BLR Bombers, please visit:http://www.jdcbaits.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=49&osCsid=6809da239730d74e4b60976c52896f8c
You can order Large Parasite clips here: http://www.parasiteweights.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=28

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• Online Bass Tournament Progress

For those that like to compete against others for bragging rights and some prizes. The Angling Centers online bass tournament has much more to offer the winners. Some of the great prizes being given away are; A couple of custom bass rods by JB Custom Bass Rods (valued at $250.00 each), products From Parasite Weights & Clips, Case Plastics, The Scroungers , JDC Baits, Mojo Lure Company, KVD Line & Lure Conditioner, CB’s Hawg Sauce and The Flip Clip. Each of these products is as unique and is sure to be an asset to the anglers competing in this online bass tournament.

Registration for this bass tournament is open till May 31st and the tournament will run for 2 months (June & July) with prizes being handed out for all kinds of things. You can see the guideline for this tournament and register to participate in the Angling Center Forums.

Don’t miss your chance at winning a custom rod and some other great prizes like the Scrounger. Online Bass Tournament Guidelines

If you think this is cool, tell your friends and pass on this information.

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