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29. Ultimate River & Estuary Kit
Followers of the Soft Plastics 101 set us a challenge to select our ultimate soft plastics kit for saltwater river and estuary fishing - BUT we could only select 4 plastics, 4 jigheads and 1 scent. Below is our kit and a quick run down on why we selected these items. Fish on!
Plastics
ZMan 2.5" GrubZ - Bloodworm
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ - Motor Oil
ZMan 3" MinnowZ - Opening Night
ZMan 4" StreakZ CurlyTailZ - Nuked Chicken Glow
Jigheads
TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse - 1/16oz #1
TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse - 1/8oz #1
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD - 1/4oz 3/0
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD - 3/8oz 3/0
Scent
Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent - Mullet
Our kit consists of two smaller plastics and two larger plastics, with a curl tail and a paddle tail in each size to give us some variety in case the fish are fussy and also a variety of presentation such as rolling a paddle tail across the flats or fishing a curl tail in deeper faster running water.
In our smaller plastics we have selected two of the most popular colours, one UV reactive colour (Motor Oil) and a non-UV colour (Bloodworm) as history shows that at times fish prefer one over the other, with bream tournament anglers often switching between the two until they find what is working. The UV reactive colours can often excel when the day is darker or the water dirty, while the Non-UV is often the winner when conditions are bright and the water clear.
By selecting a #1 jighead it will fit both plastics, and we have given ourselves a 1/16oz for fishing higher in the water column, around structure such as pontoons, rock walls and magrove edges, with the 1/8oz including for fishing the flats, drop offs and deeper water.
Our larger plastics are again a paddle tail and a curl tail, with a lighter natural colour in the Opening Night 3" MinnowZ, that is perfect for clear water and bright days, but it also has some flash so that it can transfer to darker days and murkier water. The 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ is a proven performer on snapper, mulloway and flathead, and the Nuked Chicken Glow is proven across a wide range of species and environments.
By selecting a pair of 3/0 jigheads they will fit both of these plastics, while giving us 1/4oz heads to fish the flats and drop offs and 3/8oz heads for fishing the deeper drop offs, channel edges, channels and deeper holes.
This pack is a great starting point, loaded with tested and proven options. It is a great place to start and expand your own soft plastics kit and develop your knowledge of soft plastics fishing with a good chance of early success. All the best!