Those of us who have fished a long time have seen many changes and advancements in the equipment and baits that we use when trying to catch a fish. One huge change is the development of plastic baits. It wasn’t so long ago that many fishing guides or walleye tournament contestants who had to catch fish were adamant that live bait was the ticket. Today, that’s changed. Plastic baits have become very popular and are often effective for putting fish on the end of our line, for several reasons.

Plastic baits offer many advantages over live bait. Live bait requires care. Modern aerated minnow buckets do a good job of keeping minnows lively, but nonetheless, effort is required. There are times when some species of minnows or leeches are hard to find, and some states have rules regarding minnow transportation. Plastic bait doesn’t require special care. It will be useful for many, many days on the water.

Plastic bait comes in a large variety of shapes, colors and scents. Live bait doesn’t. Access to a range of shapes and colors is a big advantage. There are times when a particular color or shape will be more productive.

In addition to the variety offered by plastic baits, they last longer on the hook. A jig/minnow/leech/’crawler worked along a weed line in summer will certainly catch fish but will also be attacked by panfish. So will a jig/plastic combo. The difference is that the jig/plastic will withstand frequent panfish pecks. And live bait won’t stay on the jig nearly as long as plastic when snap-jigging through and around vegetation. The jig/plastic allows for a lot more fishing and a lot less re-baiting.

Walleye anglers have learned that, in summer, a spinner rig tipped with a plastic ‘crawler, trolled behind a bottom bouncer, is an efficient way to catch walleyes. A spinner rig and live bait will do the job, but perch and sheepshead will frequently rip the live bait off. Again, with plastic, your bait is in the water more of the time. Additionally, there are times when an orange or chartreuse plastic ‘crawler will be much more productive than the real deal.

For just fish catchin’, a Rage Grub on a 3/8-ounce jig head fished with a slow, steady retrieve will catch any predator fish. White, chartreuse or green pumpkin grubs worked around mid-depth structure or along a weed line will catch bass, pike and walleyes. Plastic baits enable you to present a bait to a bass in virtually any situation: Deep water or shallow, heavy or sparse vegetation, spring, summer, fall and winter.

Plastic baits, like any bait, won’t catch fish everywhere, all the time; but they will catch fish anywhere, most of the time. If you want to catch more fish, you should include plastic baits in your fishing toolbox.

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