Soft plastic leeches will definitely work for smallmouth bass. Give the leeches a lot of action to make them look as similar to the real thing as possible and you’ll catch some bass.
Best Techniques
Hop Them Along the Bottom
Use a jighead or drop shot rig to hop these baits along the bottom with some pauses mixed in.
Go Vertical
Working a soft plastic leech over deeper water is a very productive summer and early fall technique for smallmouth bass. Rig it on a jighead and give it some action to catch some smallies.
Best Rigs for Soft Leeches
Drop Shot Rig
The drop shot rig is an awesome rig for bringing a soft plastic leech to life. Fish them shallow, deep and anywhere in between with the drop shot rig.
Jighead
The smaller jigheads work fine with the smaller soft plastic leeches, but with the bigger leeches, you may want to use a longer shank jighead. This will help you catch some of those bass that bite the back half of your bait.
Stand Up Jighead
The stand up jighead is another great rig for fishing with the bigger soft plastic leeches. By rigging it weedless, you can fish it around all types of cover just like the Texas rig and the stand up jig allows you to keep the leech up off the bottom when you pause the bait. It’s very appealing and helps draw a lot of strikes.
