Silicone baits are the most affordable type of artificial bait, in contrast to expensive wobblers and spinners. Moreover, silicone baits can be made independently, having only a mold and melted silicone.
Fishing silicone baits appeared about fifty years ago, but have gained a foothold in our markets relatively recently. But it is worth noting that their popularity is growing all the time, which makes fishermen very happy with a huge range of new baits.
Silicone baits come in various shapes and sizes, ranging from the most common fish and worms to crustaceans with claws. Silicone is the main jig bait, and is divided into several types - twisters, vibrotails, worms and silicone imitating various crustaceans, frogs, squids and other small animals.
If you want to know other baits for catching predatory fish using a spinning rod, we recommend reading about the types of wobblers.
Types of silicone baits
- Vibrotails
- Twisters
- Silicone worms
- Silicone crustaceans
- frogs
- Squid
Vibrotail is a silicone bait that imitates a small fish. It has a special “patch” on its tail, which gives the bait its active play. In other words, vibrating tails have their own game, which ensures effective fishing with even fishing.
Twister is an active silicone bait, which is quite similar to a vibrotail, its main difference is a curled tail instead of a “pigtail”. Although the twister does not look so much like a fish, in terms of efficiency this does not make it worse than a vibrotail. Both baits can be effective in different ways in different situations.
Silicone worms - in most cases, are passive baits that do not have outstanding forms, and therefore do not have their own game. Their main difference is their length, which can reach thirty centimeters.
Although a silicone worm is a passive bait, sometimes fishing with it is even more effective than using twisters and vibrotails.
Secrets of successful fishing: Fishing in winter with silicone baits
Out of ignorance, fishermen occasionally include silicone baits
for catching pike from ice.
Silicone baits
are usually used in snags, where the loss of baits is most likely, despite all the efforts of the fisherman.
But losing a catchy, expensive lure is one thing, and another thing is sacrificing an inexpensive jig - a head with a piece of silicone. A fisherman can have a dozen of them in his box. And if you also make the hook pressure not very protruding from the body of the bait, then the hooks are reduced to almost zero. The silicone bait hits the branch with a jig head, thereby saving you from a direct hook with a hook. The standard jig head
meets the requirements of snag fishing 100 percent.
Silicone baits are fully suitable for ice fishing.
The color of the bait also matters, but it is still better to choose the color of a soft bait in practice, using an experimental method, at the fishing site.
soft baits with anti-snagging
devices in the form of iron “antennae”. When the bite is weak, additional iron devices alert and scare away the predator. The bait is a foam rubber fish; they are used only at above-zero temperatures, because they are susceptible to rapid icing due to the structure of the material. A silicone bait, equipped with a jig head weighing up to 10 g, is smoothly torn from the bottom and held for several seconds at a height of 30-40 cm. After a 4-6 second pause, the nozzle is released, but with the expectation that it does not reach 5-10 cm from the bottom. bottom. After a pause of 4-6 seconds, the vibrating tail, twister or octopus is again raised to a height of 40-50 cm and, after a short pause, lowered to the bottom. The game cycle is designed for 7-10 lifts.
Vibrotail Vibrotail game
consists of repeated shaking of the latter in the bottom layer at 10, 30 and 60 cm from the bottom. The vibrotail stays at each designated height for less than 2-4 seconds. From a height of 40-60 cm, the bait is dropped to the bottom a couple of times, pausing for less than 3-4 seconds, while trying to avoid sagging of the fishing line, after which it is raised to the initial distance, performing the techniques in the same sequence.
Twister Techniques for playing with twister
They are very reminiscent of trolling, with the only difference being that the pause during the release of the bait sometimes exceeds 2-3 seconds, because there is no planning phase, therefore fishing with a twister in a weak current is more effective.
On the first ice, a twister with a non-snacking device in a snag catches squinting fish and large perch well. Twister in most cases is used without a jig head. Octopus (octopus) Due to its design, the octopus has countless decorative tentacles that oscillate with the slightest twitch of the bait; the octopus's game of plumb line should be very leisurely and even sluggish. The fisherman lifts the bait by 20-30 cm, drops it and plays with the octopus for a few seconds, less than 7-10, like a jig. Reception is carried out in the water column. The movement of the octopus
causes a weak, but long-lasting, compared to the play of other soft baits, disturbance of the aquatic flows around the octopus, which greatly attracts carnivorous fish.
The octopus game
remains effective even in the complete absence of flow. In some cases, it is useful to simply shake the octopus in one place, then wait a pause of 3-4 seconds and shake the octopus again. In the near future, snags on ice are often caught with an octopus, which is not phlegmatic for pike weighing up to 1 kg.
How to plant a silicone crustacean
When fishing on the bottom, another type of silicone is used - crayfish. In terms of shape, crayfish are the most complex silicone baits, which have claws, a tail, legs, and even antennae, which are often bitten off by predators when they attack the bait. The play of small silicone crustaceans is quite active, which attracts an active predator well.
Installation of silicone baits
- Retractable leash
- Texas rig
- Carolina rig
- Dropshot
Edible food during winter fishing
Date: January 10, 2021 | 945
Since it’s not winter yet, it’s worth mentioning one very interesting question: do silicone baits, edibles, work when fishing in winter from ice? Indeed, since one of the main topics of this blog is silicone lures, it’s a good idea to figure out whether they are relevant only in open water for spinning fishing. Or there is an opportunity to successfully catch fish on them all year round, including in winter, from ice, from holes. In this review I will share my thoughts on this topic.
Predatory fish, at least our main freshwater predators, are active in winter. Perch is almost the main winter fish in most of our freshwater bodies. In winter, at times, both pike and pike perch are caught well. Asp, chub, etc. It is very difficult to catch white predators from the ice and this happens rarely. But the burbot turns on. The catfish has been turned off since the onset of the autumn cold snap (if only in places where thermal power plants are discharged, but there is no ice there either...). So, there is someone to catch.
And, if we successfully catch perch, pike and pike perch from the ice using jigs, winter lures, balance beams, etc., why not try fishing with silicone baits and modern edibles. And nothing interferes! Moreover, fish are being caught. The only problem so far is that very few people practice this kind of fishing. There are few experimenters who are ready to challenge the traditional set of winter artificial baits and begin mastering winter fishing with silicone . Well, in order for things to move more actively, let’s look at the features, problems and opportunities faced by a winter fisherman who is planning to pamper a winter predator with some food.
In fact, in the summer we fish with an ultra-delicate spinning rod, a nanojig. They use thin fishing lines, the lightest installations, 90% of which are presented in the form of jigs, weighing up to 1g. We use miniature silicone baits or homemade edible silicone baits. What is stopping us from adapting the same equipment to a winter fishing rod and fishing through the hole, from the ice, using mainly the vertical component of the game. Yes, nothing interferes! And if you are fishing for pike or pike perch, then it is quite possible to fish with larger silicone baits, 2” and 2.5” in size, and maybe even larger.
The simplest version of fishing gear for edibles in winter will look like this. Essentially, this is a winter jig rig for vertical fishing. And now I’ll briefly tell you how to do it. An ordinary light, short winter fishing rod with a reel or reel. Thin fishing line, as we usually use in winter. If for perch, then 0.06-0.08mm, if for pike or pike perch, then 0.12-0.14mm. To the end of the fishing line we tie a jig or a gram eared fish with a small single hook. We attach an inch twister or some other silicone of comparable size to the hook. That's all. We drill a hole, fish the bottom layer, sometimes tearing the bait from it, sometimes trampling along the very bottom.
Yes, if we are talking about targeted hunting for winter pike, you should limit yourself to one bait. Take something larger for this quality, 2.5”, 3”, maybe even more. I prefer narrow-bodied edible vibrotails. And, of course, place a small leash made of the finest steel in front of the bait.
If the bottom is heavily silted, or the fish does not take from the very bottom, then it makes sense to look for it a little higher. To do this, we will make a tackle that essentially resembles a drop shot. At the end of the line we tie a weight, usually a little heavier than we would use just for jigging. And above, 30-50cm from the sinker, there is a hook. And on the hook we put the same miniature silicone, or a cut of edible food.
And with these two simple, and, in principle, obvious installations, you can successfully catch predatory fish in winter, from holes, using silicone baits.
By the way, about the aforementioned delicate winter drop shot. You can tie not one hook, but 2-3. And fish with different baits in different layers of water. You can tie the hooks directly to the fishing line, or you can form short leashes to give the bait more liveliness. This, it turns out, is already a garland. Only in the summer we drag it along the bottom, but here we work in a vertical plane. In fact, this is a tyrant, well known to those who fish in the sea. In particular, fish such as smelt are caught using this kind of tyrant, only pieces of colored gum (cut condoms...) or colored threads are used as bait. So, what we will use for our traditional predators is just a slightly larger version of the long-known rigs.
There are several options for tying such leashes. The first and simplest. We string 2-3 hooks onto the fishing line. Stings towards the end of the line. We grab the ring of each hook with a single knot. We form a short leash and secure it with a double knot. This leash made of double fishing line has a length of 3-6 cm.
The second option is to simply tie a short leash with a hook to the main fishing line. You can simply splice it with a knot or connect it in a loop-to-loop manner.
Which lures from the wide variety of silicone are relevant to use in winter, when ice fishing. Small twisters and vibrating tails work well. The tails of these active baits work both on the rise and on the fall. The size of such baits greatly depends on the size of the fish and its behavior. If you catch small and medium-sized perch, then use baits of 1”, 1.5”, 2”. And if they catch pike perch, pike, or catch a large perch, then larger tires are used.
In addition to twisters and vibrotails, you can use slugs, crayfish, and silicone worms. Those. full set.
Since small-sized baits (1-1.5”) are not so common, cutting is often used. We simply take a sharp knife or blade and cut narrow strips from large edibles (worms, slugs, vibrotails). This is how you get homemade silicone worms or slugs. By holding and playing with these baits using short pulsating movements in the vertical plane, they provoke the fish to attack.
In addition to classic edibles and slicing, in winter it is important to use silicone imitations of bloodworms, maggots, and various nymphs. Also, there are baits such as caviar made from edible silicone. And this is also worth trying to catch.
Since frost has a bad effect on silicone and can freeze it with an icy crust at the slightest exposure to air, you should be careful about this point. Keep packs of edibles and slices warm, in your breast pocket. And the baits that are in use must be warmed up and the ice crust removed if it has managed to form during the process of manipulating the tackle.
There is one point that is also worth pointing out. Edible silicone works in winter, alas, mainly after the bite, when the bait is already in the mouth of the fish. The fact is that in cold water attractant particles spread extremely poorly when compared with warm water in the summer. This comes from the characteristics of the diffusion process. Microparticles mix more actively as the temperature of the medium increases. So, the factor of attracting fish from a distance by the smell of bait is almost completely neutralized. But when the fish grabs, its receptors sense the attractive composition of the attractant and the presence of salts. And the fish tries to hold on and swallow such bait more actively. Hence the conclusion that it is better to use a full-fledged edible product in winter, or cut from it, than regular silicone, or simply anointed with an attractant. So, when ice fishing, I would advise using edible silicone from leading Japanese brands, saturated with both attractant and salts.
Fishing in winter, in holes, with a slight current may be more interesting. If fishing takes place in still water, then the angler is very limited and can only fish a small area of the bottom, which is directly under the hole. If there is a current, then it becomes possible, by changing the weight of the weight and manipulating the swings of the fishing rod, to fish a certain strip along which the current carries the tackle.
Also, you can diversify your fishing if you drill directly above a fairly steep drop or edge. Then you can fish some area with variable depth, jumping along the slope.
Thus, you can try fishing in winter, from holes, with our usual summer silicone baits! I do not urge all winter travelers to urgently abandon their usual winter spinners and balancers and switch to silicone fishing. No! But, at a minimum, diversify and experiment. Periodically trying to fish in winter with such baits is very worth it. At least put edible fish on the hooks of classic winter baits and combine them.
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Categories: Fishing for food · Tags: Winter, Places, Perch, Lures, Pike-perch, Edible, Equipment, Pike
The best silicone baits
Even the most experienced spinning fisher goes through a long journey in search of an effective silicone bait. After all, the range presented in fishing stores is simply impressive. And over the past couple of years, the range has especially expanded, which is associated with an increase in demand for silicone. There are a lot of companies producing silicone baits in the world, and it’s quite difficult to find out who is capable of what, but we have created our own rating of the best silicone baits.
BeTanCo by Bait Breath
Fish Tail by Bait Breath
Polaris by Crazy Fish
One'up Shad by Sawamura
Sexy Impack from Keitech
Cruel Leech by Crazy Fish
OSP DoliveCraw 2
Ring Shrimp by Reins
Color of silicone lures
The topic of choosing colors for silicone baits came up quite often. Some fishermen believe that the color of the bait does not matter, while others, on the contrary, believe that the catchability of baits very much depends on its coloring. But in fact, the color of the bait plays a role, for example, colors that work well for pike perch may not work well for pike, but in any case, you need to try all the colors yourself.
Predator preferences are influenced by weather and water clarity, so always take your entire colorful arsenal of silicone with you.
How to choose the right silicone baits for winter fishing
Most fishermen switch their attention from balancers and spinners to silicone baits for one important reason - “rubber” is an order of magnitude cheaper than any other artificial bait. It is much more profitable to lose vibrating tails with twisters in snags than expensive metal or plastic baits. The main thing is to choose the right silicone so that you don’t be disappointed in this bait on your first fishing trip.
- Firstly, silicone should not be exposed to sub-zero temperatures, since this will result in the loss of its main qualities - the play and mobility of active elements.
- Secondly, you need to choose the right size of bait. For pike and pike perch, it should not exceed a length of 5-7 centimeters, and for perch and other small predators - 4-5. During the dry winter period, it is better to switch to ultralight baits.
- Thirdly, it is worth paying special attention to the shape of the baits. For ice fishing, classic vibrotails and twisters are suitable, but you should not get hung up on them, since passive baits have proven themselves best - worms, slugs, crayfish, larvae and others. Even the most fantastic creatures whose names have not yet been invented.
- Fourthly, the color of the baits. There is no point in giving any advice here, since in different bodies of water the fish prefers the color of the bait that is most familiar to it. However, when choosing colors, you should adhere to generally accepted rules - in cloudy weather and at great depths, use bright and shiny colors, and in sunny weather and at shallow depths, use dark and close to natural colors.
Read: Fishing with amphipod bait
Floating silicone baits
A regular solid silicone bait will sink if placed on water, and the idea behind floating silicone is to make the silicone buoyant.
Positive buoyancy of the bait is achieved by adding light material to the bait, for example, polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam.
To make a silicone bait buoyant, you need to push a piece of polystyrene foam of the appropriate size into it, which would allow the silicone bait to float, or just slowly sink. To choose the right piece of polystyrene foam you need to experiment.
