I'm a little confused and need some direction with soft plastics. I've never really used any soft plastics before this year, I've always thought I've been fine with crankbaits, and topwater pop'rs, spinnerbaits, etc... Until this year when I started slamming fish on tubes. And that is pretty much where I am stuck. I know how to fish a tube and catch fish almost every time I throw one on, but the tube is like a grain of sand on a beach of soft plastic designs...

I've read all about the senkos here and bought some and had some decent luck with them, I'm not as good with a senko as I am a tube, but I'm getting there. I just read a post about a soft plastic jerk bait and then one about a Rapala swim bait, but I was under the impression that a swim bait was a soft plastic that you constantly reeled in and it resembled a bait fish? Am I wrong? And how exactly do you work soft plastic jerk baits? I know the senko is one, but do you fish that shad thing like you would a senko because they are both jerkbaits? I'm rambling but basically when I throw a soft plastic, no matter what kind, I do the bump, bump pause, method. Is that how you fish every soft plastic?

The senko is a stickbait.

The Fluke, Shad Assasin, Slug-go are jerkbaits.

Nope.

Ha! You can fish a soft plastic any way you want: Weightless, Texas, Carolina, Wacky; and each one would be fished a little different. Although Senkos are often called "jerkbaits", I don't fish them like I would a fluke, unless I was deadsticking. That's just leaving the bait alone (and a killer technique, by the way). Senkos I fish like a worm and rarely "jerk". Soft Swimbaits are usually fished on a steady retrieve like a spinnerbait. I know this doesn't help much, but yours is a really big question.

Maybe someone else can assist better than I, but I also suggest you do an Internet search on each bait you're interested in. e.g.: "How to rig a Senko", "Texas Rig a soft plastic" or "How to rig a Soft Swimbait" or "Paddletail". You'll find hours of reading on those topics alone.

Start here:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1121527643

8-)

Not all swimbaits are soft plastic. It also depend on what the manufacturer chooses to call his bait. Like FishCat says, you can fish any bait any way you want. I have used stick baits like jerk baits giving them a few jerks but always let them sink and do their thing at some point in the retreive.

And how exactly do you work soft plastic jerk baits?

I cast them, let them hit the water, and then begin a twitch-twitch-pause, twitch-twitch-twitch-pause sort of retrieve.  The twitches cause the jerkbait to dart erratically, which drives bass nuts.  

And the pauses are super important too.  Let that bait sink on a semi-slack line.  I imagine it looks like a dying bait fish.

That suddenly comes to life!

Bottom line: I love fishing soft plastic jerkbaits.  It's a fun way to fish, and it's an effective one too.

Flukes, sluggos and the like are some of the deadliest bass lures around, right up there with the senko as the deadliest. I throw them out, let them sink to the depth I want to work them at, and then give them a twicth, or two, or three. Long pauses in between twitches helps. Bass usually slurp it down on the pause.

Try these retrieves:

Throw it out, let it sink to the desired depth. Twitch it, pause five seconds. Twitch twice, pause 10 seconds. Repeat.

Once you get that down, vary the length of the pauses, up to 30 seconds, and change the number of twitches.

Senkos fish a bit differently, but they might be even deadlier, especially when bass are closer to the bottom. Use this retrieve:

Throw it out, let it sink to your desired depth. Give it a gentle twitch or two. Pause it 5 - 20 seconds.

Give it another twitch, pause 5 seconds, then give it two - three gentle twitches. Pause up to 30 seconds.

Bass will slurp it just like a fluke or sluggo.