What Soft Plastics Should I Buy?

A question that haunts the casual fisherman when they decide to embark on the journey of soft plastics fishing is what soft plastics should I buy?

A fair question indeed considering that there are multiple companies making them and each has numerous patterns, sizes and colours to choose from. Let’s go through the brands.

Berkley Gulp

The Berkley Gulp is the most well known brand due to the fact that they are stocked basically everywhere. Big W, K-Mart, petrol stations, your local tackle store, your local fish and chip shop, the video rental store, everywhere seems to have them in stock. There is a reason, and that is that they are effective!

Pros

The gulps come pre scented with a fish attractant that is proven to work. So proven in fact that they don’t actually have to be jigged. These soft plastics can be used as static baits and still get hook-ups. They are also one of the most environmentally friendly brands because their products bio-degrade if you are bit off or get cut off by a snag. As I mentioned they are easy to find and they are usually the cheaper brand you can buy. They have the largest range of size, pattern and colour.

Cons

The fish attractant stinks and can get on your clothes which is not nice at all. Despite the fact that they bio-degrade, if you are bitten off and the plastic remains inside the fish it won’t be digested, but instead bio-degrades inside the fish, with causes unknown but it cannot be good having goop in you. The packaging leaves a lot to be desired, and many times I have bought packs that you have to destroy the zip-lock to get into. This leads to them drying out and getting really smelly and rotten. They do go off if not kept in a cool environment. Their patterns are a bit unimpressive but they tend to get the job done so who can complain?

Squidgy

Designed by Steve Starling and Kyle Busch and distributed by fishing giants Shimano these soft plastics are as close as we have to being the original design. Starlo and Buschy are well know Aussie fishos who know what fish want and their designs reflect this. They have a range called Squidgy Pro Series, that has more intricate patterns and come with Squidy S-Factor fish attract in a tube that is easy to apply.

Pros

They have a large range but not quite as large as Gulp. They are cheap, but not quite as cheap as Gulp. Their patterns are better however, with their fish shapes being particularly enticing. The inclusion of S-Factor in a tube for their pro-series improves on Berkley’s method of stuffing the bag with scent that gets everywhere. They are tried and tested by serious fisherman in Australian conditions. They don’t dry out like gulp and their material seems more pliable.

Cons

Their patterns are still rather basic compared to brands like Atomic Plazos and Z-Man and their basic range have no real scent to them though claim to have some kind of scentless attractant which may or may not just be spin. Their associated range of jig-heads pale in comparison to stuff like the Nitro series, with an archaic pin system that simply destroys soft plastics. They don’t bio-degrade at all though.

Atomic Plazos

The Atomic range have recently underwent a marketing change with the ripperz/guzzlers and the like being replaced by a uniform brand called Plazos. They are all the same lures with more and are capitalising on the fact that they are probably the best soft plastic on the market.

Pros

The Atomic range have a reasonably harmless scent to them but it seems to be really effective, albeit quite sticky. Their range may not be huge but it covers just about every fish you may want. The prong pattern is simply deadly on Flathead while their grubs slay the Bream. They have the best shads on the market. Their material is nice and pliable and they don’t dry out. They are much tougher than Gulp and Squidgy but not quite as tough as the Z-Man range.

Cons

Not too many to be honest. They are relatively new so they can be forgiven to having a limited range of products. They are maybe a bit expensive and their scent a bit ungainly to deal with. Their packaging suffers from similar problems as Gulp but is streets ahead. I would like to see them in more stores though that’s for sure.

Z-Man

The Z-Man range are Aussie made and tough as nails. You can only find then in dedicated fishing tackle stores but they are built for toothy species such as Flathead and Mangrove Jack.

Pros

Extremely tough and durable. You can use the same plastic and catch multiple fish, whereas the Gulp and Squidgies will be destroyed by a Mangrove Jack or a Tailor with ease.

Cons

Hard to find and a little expensive. Their range is somewhat limited and their durability comes at the price of being pretty much permanent fixtures at the bottom of a river if they go missing from the end of your line somehow.

In Conclusion

They all have their pros and cons and I obviously just went through but to me the best is Atomic. Unfortunately you can’t always find them. For Jacks and Tailor use Z-Man every time. Use Gulp! and Squidgies if you can’t get your hands on the others or if you find a fire sale. Of course there are other brands but these four are the ones I am most familiar with and likely to be the ones you will be recommended by shop clerks. Experiment with them all, but I find it hard to go past Atomics.