Dead sticking soft plastics

[Akhardwater]

Just curious what some of you other guys use on your dead stick.  I normally fish for big lake trout and dead sticking for those guys is pretty easy.  I normally use a 4 inch tube jig tipped with some whitefish, pretty idiot proof.  My question is what's everyone's favorite soft plastic to dead stick without using bait.  I am going to be targeting rainbows and char and the lake I will be fishing you are not allowed to use bait just artificials. 

[beeverfishing]

can you use powerbait ?   

[Akhardwater]

No power bait or scents of any kind. 

[Tmuskie]

I would suggest maybe a rubber worn. I'm just not sure if there are any without some type of scent in them.

[Kevin23]

Why dead stick? Just jig with something flashy, bows will hit anything moving or flashy.

[Akhardwater]

In Alaska

Why dead stick? Just jig with something flashy, bows will hit anything moving or flashy.

In Alaska we are allowed only 2 lines through the ice so generally I will jig with one rod and DS another several yards away.  I do this to help cover water and catch those less aggressive biters.  I'm mainly just curious if any of you southern boys have a go to when it comes to motionless soft plastics with no bait.  I have not thought about rubber worms do you let them sit on the bottom or do you suspend them?  Thanks for the replys.

[Kevin23]

The problem is that all plastics are scented now. Otherwise i would suggest gulp mini earthworms and the regular earthworms, trout love them. Suspend where the trout are, bottom, mid, or just under the ice.

[mtnhillbilly]

I dead sticked  a pink trout magnet and picked up two 18" bows this year with homemade jaw jacker they were the only fish I caught all day

[slipperybob]

I deadstick those Northland mimic minnows.  Well jigging them and when lazy just deadstick them.

[Elrik]

OP is talking deadstick for BIG lakers which is a far cry from the small bows a number of guys are replying about.   Senko worm is an interesting option, as you always hear about finding lakers with tonnes of old bass plastics in their stomachs if on a lake that has both species. I would think it would need to be near/on bottom to work, but you could try suspended as well. Around here it is usually a big tube jig or paddle tail swimbait on the deadstick. Scents really haven't found their way into swimbaits yet, so you could give them a go. You could also try upsizing to some of the 6-10" musky swimbaits that are out there and see if the trout like that more than the 4"

[Akhardwater]

OP is talking deadstick for BIG lakers which is a far cry from the small bows a number of guys are replying about.   Senko worm is an interesting option, as you always hear about finding lakers with tonnes of old bass plastics in their stomachs if on a lake that has both species. I would think it would need to be near/on bottom to work, but you could try suspended as well. Around here it is usually a big tube jig or paddle tail swimbait on the deadstick. Scents really haven't found their way into swimbaits yet, so you could give them a go. You could also try upsizing to some of the 6-10" musky swimbaits that are out there and see if the trout like that more than the 4"

Thanks for the reply I am actually talking about bows and char.  I got the lakers figured out I'm just having trouble figuring out a good universal plastic that will produce on a dead stick.  I've also been tooling around with maybe a marabou jig but I've had no luck so far, maybe my colors are off.

[Kevin23]

OP is talking deadstick for BIG lakers which is a far cry from the small bows a number of guys are replying about.   Senko worm is an interesting option, as you always hear about finding lakers with tonnes of old bass plastics in their stomachs if on a lake that has both species. I would think it would need to be near/on bottom to work, but you could try suspended as well. Around here it is usually a big tube jig or paddle tail swimbait on the deadstick. Scents really haven't found their way into swimbaits yet, so you could give them a go. You could also try upsizing to some of the 6-10" musky swimbaits that are out there and see if the trout like that more than the 4"

A 10" musky lure might be too big for a rainbow... Just saying...

[Elrik]

LOL, well played Kevin23. I totally spaced by the end of the OP and missed the switch in species!  Don't I have egg on my face now.

[panfishman13]

for rainbows on a deadstick without bait? i'd ditch the plastics altogether and rig a #4 or #6 woolly bugger on a drop-shot rig. that'll mimic just about anything the trout are interested in eating, catch their eye from yards away, and be way more durable than a similar sized plastic body.

[Cbass123]

Are you able to use a self jigging tip-up like the windlass?  Adding a little movement to your artificial might be a big help.