Hard versus soft baits

[sagalout]

I hear conversations about soft baits being better than hard and vicky verka, but I don't understand how a fish can tell the difference until they have taken the bait and then hopefully you've caught it.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Which do you prefer and why?

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Generally fish take soft baits better than hard baits but as with most things in fishing it isn't a fixed rule. You ask any match angler or regular commercial angler and he will tell you that different days (and sometimes times) require a different bait. Because Fred caught 80lb using a paste doesn't mean that if you go to the same swim and use the same bait you too will catch 80lb you might even blank. Not only do the fish switch between hard and soft baits they will also switch to completely different baits and ignoring the commonly used bait that has always worked.

It is not without good reason that match anglers and regular anglers take a variety of baits, they have learned to suss what the fish want on the day and also the way they want it presented.

Fish are a bit like women really - fickle.

 

[jcp01]

Fish are a bit like women really

Not true. Flowers will always catch a women off guard no matter how many times she's been caught out in the past.

 

[The Bone Collector]

Ard...........well ard.

 

[Stealph Viper]

Some times soft Baits such as pellets give off a different appearance to the fish and there for may be taking more confidently.

A pellet that has been soaked and softened and fished on the hook may appear as a free offering.

Hard Pellets when fished up in the water with a constant rain of pellets fed over the top wouldn't give the fish enough time to work out which was soft or hard.

Good question though, made me stop and think some, mind you, it didn't last for long i got distracted

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

For me it depends how I'm fishing, if I intend or expect a cast to sit undisturbed for any longer than an hour or so I'll use a hard bait, if I anticipate faster action I'll use soft, as the attraction leaks out quicker, soft baits (in my opinion) may look to a fish like it's been in the water for quite a while and less suspicious than a freshly cast hard bait.

 

[sagalout]

Thanks for all the replies. I do know that soft baits work well but I still don't really understand how a fish can tell until it has picked up the bait. My hard pellets quickly soften on the outside and present like old soaked pellets.

I wonder if is the band used to hold the hard pellet?

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Sagalout. The band does not appear to affect the fish at all, they will freely take a 4mm pellet with a band round it even though it is glaringly obvious to us and covering a lot of the flat surface. As for how it chooses between hard and soft, one of the reasons may be the fact that it is a different shape to the normal hard pellets the other may be the paste leaks a flavour more readily. The fact is they appear to be selective in their choice of baits at times and only the fish could give you a reason why.

There are times when the fish will take either of course and this is witnessed when fishing inside in particular, carp especially will hoover up anything that slightly resembles food but not just carp. At Larford Lakes a couple of weeks ago I dropped my float rig in the water with a bare hook whilst I took a swig of water and whoosh! it was orft, taken by a 6lb-ish carp hooked squarely in the bottom lip. Like I say there is no accounting for a fish's taste.