Whether you are wading a shallow creek or plying the shallows of one of our larger local lakes, soft plastic stickbaits should be part of your summer hot water bass arsenal.

As its name implies, soft stickbaits are a somewhat understated, relatively featureless baits that mimic the shape of a shiner-type minnow.

Sizes commonly used for black bass run from four to six inches.

A host of manufacturers produce soft plastic stickbaits.

Lunker City's Slug-Go was the first to hit the scene back in the mid 1980s. Other entries to this group of baits are the Fin-S-Fish (Lunker City), Berkley's Power Jerkshad, Case Plastic's Sinking Salty Shad and Yum's Houdini Shad. Zoom's Fluke is popular enough that most anglers simply now refer to this style of bait as a "fluke," regardless of manufacturer.

Variations among models include details of the tail. There are straight tails, paddle tails and forked tails.

The Houdini Shad is designed with a tail that can be modified to be fished various ways. Some body shapes are thicker, more shad-shaped. But all have one common characteristic: they do a grand job of duplicating an injured, defenseless baitfish.

Fluke-style stickbaits should be rigged with a wide gap worm-style hook. Many baits come with an open slot on the top of the bait to house the top (point) portion of the hook. Weighted hooks, like Mustad's Ultra Point Power Lock Plus, provide a bit of weight (sixteenth and eighth-ounce versions are available) to quicken the lure's fall, a plus when fishing in current, or when attempting to touch the tops of deep weeds.

When you want the lure to remain on or close to the surface, an un-weighted hook would be the best choice.

Regarding equipment and line to throw soft jerkbaits, there are a couple ways to go. Longer, relatively light action spinning rods work well when used in conjunction with no-stretch braided superlines. Strikes transmit well through the line. Also, the line floats, serving as a strike indicator. When using braided superlines, be sure to employ a short leader. The jerking action of working the lure will wear through the line at the knot. I use a two-foot Gamma 10-pound-test fluorocarbon leader connected with a tiny ball bearing swivel.

Some anglers are more comfortable working a soft stickbait with casting equipment. Since most casting rods have a stronger action, it makes sense to use monofilament or fluorocarbon with such tackle, which has some give. Ten- to 12-pound test is usually right.

During summer, when the water is warm, the typical gameplan would call for a lively, faster retrieve.

A cadence that imparts twitches of the rod tip, and taking up of line with the reel, will skate a soft jerkbait along the surface in a herky-jerky motion. When the bait is worked on or near the top, this is a visual experience. Those who experiment with retrieves often get the best results. Many anglers opt for a visible color such as white or pink, as much to see the lure as to trigger hits from bass. In clear water you'll often see strikes before you feel them.

Soft stickbaits fish well in many summertime situations. In the current areas where feeding river smallmouth bass hold, a jerkbait twitched as it flows with the current is usually the best presentation going.

Not always, but usually. Largemouth bass on weedy flats, often the target of spinnerbaits, many times respond better to soft stickbaits. This is especially true as weed beds begin to die off in late summer.

Soft stickbaits are ideal for fishing this thinning cover.