Looking back over many years of fishing for bass and panfish species, I recall the start of my quest for bass. This was about 60 years ago, and there were very few soft plastic lures on the market for bass or panfish. I did, however, come upon a soft plastic worm lure that had three hooks along the body, connected by what was called a “worm harness” with a small propeller at the head of the worm. Over the first few years of bass angling, I managed to catch some decent-sized fish—just enough to keep me trying.

After my first few years of bass fishing, more brands and types of soft plastic worms arrived on the scene. Tom Mann’s Jelly Worms came in 4- and 6-inch sizes and had no built-in hooks, so they had to be rigged either on a jig head or Texas-rigged. Black and purple were popular colors. As far as I know, they are no longer made, but I still occasionally use them. Now, I rig them with a small, 3/32- or 1/8-ounce jig head—either a Draggin’ Jig Head or H2O, both by Custom Jigs & Spins.

The Creme Co. was another manufacturer of soft plastic worms. Around 1970, the Mister Twister Co. came out with the Curly Tail Worm, and this new style soft plastic lure took the fishing world by storm. This was probably one of the most innovative lures to come along, well proved by numerous anglers who reported outstanding catches of not only bass but walleyes, saugers, white bass and crappies.

The earliest Mister Twisters were 3 and 4 inches in length. Eventually, other brands of curly-tailed lures came along—some as long as 6 inches. Custom Jigs & Spins makes a dandy 4-inch Ringworm under the AuthentX brand, plus a 5-inch curly-tailed K-Grub. Their lures work well on either the Draggin’ Jig or the H2O head.

Another brand of soft baits I’ve relied on in recent years are under the Natural Forage label. This is a small, relatively new company with a wide variety of baits, all with Natural Forage scent which has proven its worth. I like all their bait types, but two in particular: the 4-inch worm in brown or black, and the 4-inch Stick Worm in Bubble Gum (pink). I do a lot of light tackle fishing, and the 4-inch worm fished well on the H2O in the 3/32-ounce size. I rig the Stick Worm Texas-style with either a 2/0 or 3/0 Tru-Turn hook.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention soft plastic trailers in this article as they are an integral part of bass fishing. My biggest bass ever, just a tad under 7 pounds, fell victim to a rubber-skirted jig tipped with a plastic crawdad. They work well as spinnerbait trailers, too. Most soft bait manufacturers carry good selections of plastic trailers.

Swim baits are another category of plastic lures that came along a couple of decades ago and have proven their effectiveness under many conditions. I’ve used various brands and sizes with mixed results. One I really like is the Pulse-R in the AuthentX brand. I especially like the 2.45-inch model in either black or oyster colors. I fish these on 3/32-ounce H2O jig heads. Besides bass, the smaller sized Pulse-R is not too big for panfish. Natural Forage also carries a great swim bait in a small size which makes another versatile option.

In the category of soft, scented plastic baits, I must mention Berkley PowerBaits. This is another outstanding line of baits that covers the whole gamut from small grubs and assorted lures all the way up through larger offerings for bass and walleyes. PowerBait scent gives these great lures an added edge in attracting various species.

I’ve covered soft plastics regarding bass, but I don’t want to omit how soft baits appeal to panfish. I’ve caught some of my biggest crappies, as well as big bluegills, on small, curly-tailed baits, A good example of a great small plastic lure for panfish is the Micro TRD by Z-Man. It’s not unusual to catch 15 or 20 crappies or bluegills on one Micro TRD as the ElaZtech construction makes these lures extremely durable. I like to fish the Micro TRD on a very small Shroom jig head.

As far as rods and reels go, for my plastic lure fishing, I go with the B‘n’M brand. Even though most of them are listed as panfish rods, several models do well in quest of bass. One is the 6’ 6” Uncle Bucks model in ML action. This is one of my go-to rods for lures in the 1/8- to 3/16-ounce category.

Another good model is the 7’6” Richard Williams model. It is a great rod in longer length, with some backbone, but still sensitive and a good choice for working a variety of baits and when more casting distance is required.

For great, light-tackle angling, I go with the TCB (Trout, Crappie, Bluegill) ultra-light rod, also under the B‘n’M label. This rod is ultra-light at its best, and on my last outing, I caught several bass in the 13- to 14-inch range using this rod. Granted, they were not big fish, but on this rod, they made great sport. I seldom use rods shorter than 6 feet, and most of the time they are 6’6” models, except for the 7’6” model. Rods in the 5’ to 5’6” class are okay if that’s your preference, but I’m a shore angler, with longer rods being more helpful in covering more water.

My smallest reel is matched to the TCB rod, and the one on the 7’6” rod is also ultra-light with 4-pound mono. My other reels fall in the mid-size range—probably 7 or 8 ounces. As for brands, I like Mitchell and Pflueger. In the line category, I like Trilene and Stren; another good brand is Gamma line by Black Knight Industries.

I hope you’ve benefited in some way from this article. Most of all, try to keep your tackle light to get the most from your fishing. And whenever you get a chance introduce a new angler or anglers to the sport, the joy on their faces when they land their first fish is a reward in itself.

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