Courtesy of MosterBass.com
What Type of Plastic Lure
If you have chosen artificial lures over live bait, then you will want to look into the two different varieties of lures you will find, soft plastics and hard plastic. Soft plastics refers to lures that are rubbery in order for them to be flexible and flesh-like. Hard plastics are rigid and and typically mimic prey that swim with a side to side action such as small fish.
Hard Plastics
Hard plastics offer many benefits such as being more durable and simplicity of setting up lures. Many hard plastic lures last for generations and can be effective for many years. These lures can easily be attached strait to fishing line or a leader. Along with this the hooks need to be replaced less often and can easily be switched out or replaced. Hard plastics work very well at mimicking the swishing of a tail when moving through the water. In addition to the swimming appearance, many hard plastics have built in beads for vibrations and/or a bill that allows for the lure to swim up and down in the water as you reel it in. The drawbacks of the lures is that the upfront cost of purchasing them can be expensive and that they can be aggressive and fast paced, which might not appeal to all fish depending on fish behavior and weather.
Soft plastics
There are also many appeals to fishing with soft plastic. purchasing hard plastics. Soft plastics can mimic a larger amount of prey, flexible to how you want them to move, built in scents, and can make more life-like movements. In addition to this, you can purchase a much larger variety of different prey types, colors, and scents for the same price that you would spend on hard lures. The major draw back to soft lures are that they are less durable, they can deteriorate and tear quickly, and that setting them up for your intended function take take more time and work.