Oddly enough, the “foam fever” bypassed many jig lovers. If anyone uses foam rubber lures more or less regularly, then these are anglers who are not alien to experiments and the spirit of some kind of adventurism in fishing. Most fans of jig spinning agree that the foam on the river really works, but not for everyone and not for all water bodies.
I think many have tried to catch pike on a foam rubber fish, but failed. And this is in the presence of a sufficient amount of information on this topic. Why is it impossible for everyone to catch foam rubber, why does this happen? The answer to these questions, oddly enough, is quite simple. We consider fishing with foam rubber through the prism of our jig-spinning traditions, but you just need to follow what is written, that is, the experience of those who succeed in fishing with this bait. It is the difference in fishing style that determines the effectiveness or inefficiency of a foam rubber fish. Let’s look at this difference in more detail.
If we talk about the traditions of jig fishing, then many anglers associate fishing, as a rule, with a boat. Having anchored, the angler casts the bait downstream of the river or at a slight angle to it. In other words, the main traditional wiring we have is wiring against the current. If you follow all these traditions, I can say for sure that a vibrotail on a jig head is unrivaled in this case. Foam rubber with this technique will certainly be a loser.
In fact, experiments with fishing for foam rubber fish are carried out by most anglers in this technique. The angler expects results from this bait, using it as a variation or substitute for the same vibrotail. This is precisely the reason for the failures and, accordingly, the replenishment of the ranks of skeptics.
In order to successfully fish for pike with a foam fish, you must first of all understand the concept of a foam jig and, accordingly, follow it.
Catching pike on the foam rubber is, as a rule, fishing from the shore, while the main wiring here will be the wiring “for demolition”, when the bait is thrown across the current. Even when fishing from a boat, experienced anglers prefer to use this line. Following this tradition, it is much easier to succeed when fishing with foam rubber.
Foam jig is characterized by fairly fast wiring. This is partly due to the rather fast flow on the rivers, and partly due to the fact that the foam rubber is still a structurally passive bait, and there is nothing to attract the attention of a pike, except for “jumping” along the bottom. But this is only at first glance the foam rubber – the bait is passive. It remains passive while lying in the box, and even when casting. All the power of the foam rubber fish is in the wiring.
Watch in shallow water how the fish move in the current, especially see how they “retreat” if they are disturbed. First, the fish makes a throw to the side and slightly downstream, then slows down and remains in place or moves against the stream. In this case, the fish always tries to take the position of the head against the current of the river. The faceless, unremarkable foam rubber, thanks to a movable connection with a weight, when wired “for demolition”, copies the behavior of living prototypes so realistically that it simply does not turn around to talk about its “unremarkable”.
Another interesting bait is polyurethane foam fish. Her positive buoyancy sometimes works wonders. I have repeatedly come across a situation where a pike refused to bite on foam rubber and silicone, but took the bait from polyurethane foam. But a fish made of insulation is also a passive bait and, in fact, a variation on the theme of foam rubber.
Foam rubber is a material, as if specially created for the manufacture of non-hooks. And non-hooks, in turn, allow you not only to count the lost lures, but to concentrate on the process of fishing. I do not call for throwing all the silicone out of the box and catching pike only on foam rubber. It often happens that silicone baits are more effective. In this case, an inexpensive foam rubber fish can be used as a trial bait.