Multi species fishing

[Jmart850]

Hello everyone I hope each of you are doing well, I am hoping to do some ultralight fishing this summer and would like to catch multiple species. From what I read my best bet is a grub on a small jig; what size soft plastic do you recommend? Is there any specific plastic you favor? I will be targeting bluegill, crappie, and Trout. Also share how you would rig it. I was thinking 1/8 oz jig 2 or 3 inch grub twitched under a weighted bobber

[Finessegenics]

Anything from those sizes will be fine but to truly appeal to any species, I’d stay closer to the 2” side. An 1/8 jig would be fine but I don’t know how many you can find that will fit a 2” plastic. You will have to search for panfish/trout specific terminal tackle. For panfish, I like the Bobby Garland stuff, my favorite is the 2” slab slayer. I would ditch the bobber and tie directly to the jig. I use a gliding retrieve, where I turn the handle twice then let the bait fall, all while keeping the line tight. 
 

 

[Deleted account]

I take out inexperienced folks out several times a year, and basically fish for what will bite. This often means smaller lures, but not always. A small jighead and matching plastic as suggested above is a great start. I would add an inline spinner or micro spinnerbait, small crank and JB, I like the KVD 1.0 (actually the LC .5, or Combat Mini but no way I'm giving those to a newbie to hang up and lose), the husky jerk #8 and #10 are good. If they can handle it, a do nothing plastic weightless T-rig too. My phone starts pinging with folks in April "want to go" texts. All the above will catch pretty much everything.

[Eric 26]

I’m going to respond the same way as I did to @Ravox with the beetle spin question. I’ll also agree with the above responses and as someone who enjoys ultralight fishing a ton @Deleted account hit it on the head as their are so many cool lures to try from the cheap but in my opinion highly recommended Creme lures available at your local Wal-Mart to really expensive Japanese imports which @bulldog1935 can show you. I picked up the Creme ultralight rattle trap 4 piece this past season and hit bluegill, crappie and bass on them. The first two pictures are the Creme lures I’m speaking of.

[JustJames]

If I go for multi species, my go to would be road runner. I have them all in 1/32 all the way to 1/8 plain or marabou. For trailers you use anything grub, paddle tail but my most productive is simple 2” baby Shad.

 

[bulldog1935]

Bait Finesse Empire is the place with an onshore stock of great Japanese lures. 

These are my bread-and-butter for winter salt fishing - they're freshwater trout lures, and I swap the small trebles for single plug hooks. 

BFE also has the Smith split-ring tweezers for working smaller than #3 split rings, and they have the hooks. 

The most productive of these are Duo Spearhead Ryuki S

4" Megabass Dog-X on top. 

3/16-oz YoZuri Pins minnow on bottom

From Nov until April, small glass minnows are the mainstay in the salt, nite-lite dock fishing and daytime tide passes, but the same lures kick butt for creek bass, trout and panfish. 

[WC53]

Wally W uses has assortments of the trout/crappie/panfish magnet lures as well as others (creme) mentioned.  You can stock up on a variety for cheap,

[PressuredFishing]

12 hours ago, Jmart850 said:

Hello everyone I hope each of you are doing well, I am hoping to do some ultralight fishing this summer and would like to catch multiple species. From what I read my best bet is a grub on a small jig; what size soft plastic do you recommend? Is there any specific plastic you favor? I will be targeting bluegill, crappie, and Trout. Also share how you would rig it. I was thinking 1/8 oz jig 2 or 3 inch grub twitched under a weighted bobber

1. Most plastics with jighead or splitshot will work well as long as it's 1/16th or lighter, only 1/8th if it's really windy/deep.

 

2. Great hardbaits include the standard rapala minnows, yo zuri pins minnows, trout crank, rebel crickhoppers or micro cranks, and small jdm minnows and topwaters.. 

3. Flies, flies just work for the smaller fish species because they just don't always eat other baitfish, especially in summertime areas when insects are in full swing

4. Live bait, crickets, hoppers, worms, leeches, grubs, beetles,, they just work. 

 

[bulldog1935]

I have never seen a day when any species would not take a baitfish opportunity eat over any and every insect (or crustacean). 

This fly, cats whisker, which imitates cyprinid and poecilid minnow, fished on sinking line, has landed 100 species on fly rod for me - no exaggeration. 

 

The Duo Ryuki S just may be the crankbait equivalent of this fly. 

[Jigfishn10]

I like fishing the Gulf of Maine using 1/4 oz bucktails on a dropper loop. I'm using a 6'9 Daiwa Fuego rods with Daiwa CC80H reels. My son and I will catch Pollock, Cod, Cunner, Sea Raven with some schoolie Striped Bass mixed in. My son was a Sophomore in HS and got back into fishing with me last year when I got the new boat. We haven't fished since he was in grade school.