Pelagic

Pelagic fishing lures at Charlie's Fishing: V-tails, shads and bucktails for live sonar fishing for pike, zander and catfish

Pelagic fishing means hunting predators that hang suspended in open water, away from the bank and the bottom, usually from a boat with live sonar (forward facing sonar such as Garmin LiveScope, Lowrance ActiveTarget or Humminbird MEGA Live). You find a single pike, zander or catfish on the screen, drop or cast your lure to it and watch how the fish reacts. This page brings together our lures for live sonar fishing: the V-tails and passive softbaits you present to one fish at a time, the shads for active fish, the big baits for trophy pike and catfish, the bucktails and vertical jigs for deep water and current, and the stingers and assist hooks that go with them. Below you find which lure fits which situation, with sizes, weights and jig head advice. For every lure type per species, see our Pike, Zander and Catfish pages.

What is pelagic fishing with live sonar?

Classic vertical fishing works the bottom straight under the boat. Pelagic fishing works the water column: predators that follow baitfish in open water, often metres above the bottom over deep lakes, wide rivers, canals and reservoirs. With live sonar you see the fish, its depth and its direction, and you can see your lure and the moment of the take. That changes the way you fish. Instead of covering water you present one lure to one fish: drop it just above the fish, hold it still or let it fall slowly, or cast past the fish and bring the lure through its field of view. Most fish only look for a few seconds before they turn away, so a lure that stays convincing while it hangs or falls slowly often catches more than one with a lot of action. Read our night on the water with guide Juul Steyn in Pelagic fishing with Garmin LiveScope.

V-tails and passive softbaits for single fish on live sonar

A V-tail has little water resistance, so it falls straight, hangs still in the beam and reacts to the smallest twitch. That makes it the first choice when you can see the fish. The Frapp Dotty Dart 6" (15 cm, three per pack) and the Frapp Dotty Dart 7.5" (19 cm, two per pack) wobble gently on a smooth retrieve and dart from side to side when you fish them weightless with short jerks; both are made for casting at suspended fish and for Pelagic Sharpshooting straight under the boat. Our guide Frapp Dotty Dart: four rigs for the V-tail softbait shows how to rig them. The Frapp GekoSlug 7" (18 cm, two per pack) was developed by Frapp together with Andrey Pitertsov specifically for live sonar: a rounded front, a scaly Geko-style surface and a flexible V-tail for a passive presentation to pike and zander that do not want to chase, with noise capsules in the pack if you want to add sound. The Frapp GekoSlug 8" (20 cm, 30 g) has more body for bigger pike, rolls on a twitch or a steady retrieve and sinks almost vertically on the pause, which is often the moment a passive fish commits. The Frapp Placoid has a plate-style body with movable fins and an asymmetrical V-tail that sways from side to side; the solid front sits firmly on a jig head or a corkscrew with stingers. Pick the Frapp Placoid 6" (15 cm) (14 g) for zander, the Frapp Placoid 7" (18 cm) (20 g) as the all-rounder and the Frapp Placoid 8" (20 cm) (30 g) for pike. The Swiss Stucki Fishing Kingsizer (20 cm, 30 g, four per pack) has a V-tail joined by a thin membrane that moves the whole body; cut the membrane away and you have a fine V-tail with a completely different action, so one pack gives you two lures. It works on light and very heavy heads. From Belgium come the handmade FishImpact baits: the FishImpact Slayer Tong 10 cm is the compact size for zander and perch, the Fishimpact Slayer Tong 18 cm (20 g, UV reflective) is one of our most effective pelagic lures for pike and zander, and the Fishimpact Virus 19 cm (30 g) combines the Tong body with a pintail for a subtle rolling action; cut its side flaps halfway and the tail loosens into a wider, more aggressive swim. For a slim, weightless presentation to a fish close to the surface, the Rapala CrushCity Stingman 15 cm (four per pack) has a salted belly that keeps it horizontal, and the PXS Kagashi Worm 7" 17,5 cm (four per pack) is a long pin-tail worm that keeps working on a drop shot or a jig head at the slowest speed. More in V-Tails & Pintails and the brands Frapp, FishImpact and Stucki Fishing.

Shads and paddle tails for active fish and coloured water

When a fish follows the lure but a V-tail does not trigger it, or when the water is coloured and the fish need to feel the lure, a shad with a paddle tail gives more vibration. The Frapp Snatcher 6.6" (16 cm, 19.5 g, two per pack) is a long shad whose tail swings calmly from side to side instead of thumping, so it does not scare careful fish; it swims at any speed and is the body we use on the Pela Jig Combo. The Illex Dexter Shad 110 (10.5 cm, 10 g) was developed with zander in mind and has a strong rolling action, and the Illex Dexter Shad 150 (13.5 cm, 19 g) is the bigger profile for pike and large zander; both are flavoured with Nitro Booster shellfish attractant and made for vertical and linear fishing. The Illex Dexter Eel 150 (15 cm, 21.5 g) is a long eel profile with a tight roll and a curled tail that sends out deep vibrations, a good choice for pike and catfish. The Rapala Soft Peto 16 cm (36 g) has a wide tail kick with body roll and can be retrieved at any speed. The handmade Swedish U-bait U-Shad comes in 14 cm (35 g), 17 cm (50 g) and 22 cm (110 g) with a round body that rolls heavily; its product page names casting at pelagic pike in open water as one of its jobs. The Finity One 7,5" (19 cm, 36 g) has a strong thumping paddle, a jig head groove on the back, hollow chambers for rattles or scent and offset hook slots, made for pike, big zander and catfish. More in Paddle Tails, Zander and Perch Softbaits and the brands Illex, Rapala and U-BAiT.

Big baits for pelagic pike and catfish

Big pike and catfish in open water often want a big, slow profile that stays in front of them for a long time. The Rapala Soft Otus 18 cm (55 g) keeps its side-to-side roll on a slow retrieve and swims down slowly on the pause. The U-Bait U-Curl 30 cm (80 g) is a handmade curl tail with a snake-like tail: clip a weight on and let it fall to the fish. The Nays GHST 120 (30.4 cm, 142 g) has a slim body with low water resistance, so with extra weight you can take the same huge curl tail profile down through the water column without killing the action, and the Nays TWN 100 (25.4 cm, 142 g) pushes an enormous amount of water with two tails for coloured water and low light. The handmade FishImpact NoNo Frog (23.5 cm) imitates a fleeing frog, has a hole for scent and large eyes as a target, and is made for pike and catfish. Fish these on a rod and reel built for big baits. More in Pike Softbaits, Curl Tails & Twister Tails and Nays.

Bucktails and vertical jigs for deep water and current

A bucktail or a metal jig stays stable under the transducer, falls fast and shows a big silhouette, which makes it easy to keep in the beam on big water. The VMC Sharpshooter is a slow sinking, lead-free bucktail head (38 g, 41 g in the UV colours, 13 cm with the bucktail) from the Mustache series with a 3/0 VMC 4551 hook and a screw on the back for any softbait; the extra eye takes a clip-on weight to go deeper or a stinger for better hook-ups. It was designed with forward facing sonar in mind and also fishes well in canals and lakes. The VMC Sharpshooter Combo (22.5 cm, 80 g) comes ready to fish with a CWC Double Tail. Read VMC Sharpshooter: a versatile bucktail explained. The BIM Tackle Crazy Rabbit Deep (29 cm, 53 g, 75 g wet, sinks about 1 m per second) has a clip system to swap heads, so you can fish it linear, vertical or sharpshooting at different depths, and a trailer hook that lets you replace the tail with a softbait; see our BIM Tackle Crazy Rabbit guide. For deep water and strong current there is the VMC Pela Jig, a vertical metal jig of 40, 60 or 80 g with a corkscrew head that keeps it stable under the boat with a minimal line angle; the Charlie's Pela jig Combo 60 g pairs the 60 g jig with two Frapp Snatcher 6.6" bodies for a ready-to-fish set of about 80 g. More in Mouse & Bucktail Lures, Metal Jigs and Spoons and the brands VMC and BIM Tackle.

Jig head weights, stingers and hooks for pelagic fishing

Pelagic fishing uses heavier heads than you would pick for the same softbait on the bottom, because the lure has to get down to the fish fast, hang on a nearly vertical line and stay visible in the sonar beam. As a guide: 15 to 25 g for a 15 cm bait on a few metres of water, 30 to 50 g for 18 to 20 cm baits at 5 to 10 m, and 50 g or more in deep water, current or wind. Live sonar shows you right away whether the lure is falling too slowly or shooting past the fish, so adjust in steps of 10 g. A tungsten head such as the Toppies Tungsten Jighead BIG series (up to 28 g, hooks up to 7/0) is smaller than lead for the same weight and falls faster; see all Jigheads and Weights. Fish that come up to look often take the lure short or from the side, so a stinger pays off on anything from 15 cm. The BKK Chain Stinger Rig (#1 to 3/0) has Spear-21 trebles on a flexible chain with Z-shaped pins, and the BKK Assist Spear-21 SS Hooks (2 to 2/0) are assist trebles made for vertical and pelagic fishing: they mount in the back of a shad with welded bait spikes and keep all three points exposed. The loose BKK treble hook Spear-21 SS (#8 to 3/0) is the fine-wire treble for your own stingers. Finish with a fluorocarbon or titanium leader from Lines and Leaders. More in Rigs & Stingers, Hooks and Rigs and BKK Hooks.

How to present a lure to a fish on live sonar

• Approach slowly: a boat that comes in too fast pushes the fish away before you can drop a lure.
• Drop or cast past the fish and bring the lure to it, slightly above eye level; predators look up more easily than down.
• Slow fall is the trigger: let the lure sink on a tight line, stop it just above the fish and hold it still or give it one small twitch.
• If the fish follows but does not take, change size or type: a smaller V-tail, a shad with more vibration, or a big bait that hangs longer.
• Set the hook firmly as soon as the rod tip loads or you see the fish close on the lure on the screen.
• Keep moving: most fish decide in a few seconds, so look for the next one rather than chasing a fish that has turned away.

Which pelagic lure for which situation

• Single zander or pike that looks but does not chase: Dotty Dart 6" or 7.5", GekoSlug 7" or 8", Placoid 7", Kingsizer or Slayer Tong 18 cm on a jig head with a stinger.
• Pressured, clear water: Virus 19 cm, Slayer Tong 10 cm or Kagashi Worm 7" on a light head, fished with long pauses.
• Active fish and coloured water: Snatcher 6.6", Dexter Shad 150, Soft Peto 16 cm or U-Shad 17 cm.
• Big pike and catfish: Soft Otus 18 cm, U-Curl 30 cm, GHST 120, TWN 100, Finity One 7,5" or Dexter Eel 150.
• Deep water, wind or current: Pela Jig 60 or 80 g, Crazy Rabbit Deep or a Sharpshooter with a weight clipped on.
• Fish just under the surface or over shallow flats: Stingman 15 cm or Dotty Dart weightless on a large offset hook.
• Ready to fish from the pack: Sharpshooter Combo or Pela Jig Combo 60 g. See also Pike, Zander and Catfish.

Why buy pelagic fishing lures at Charlie's Fishing

We know pelagic fishing from our own nights on the big waters around Amsterdam and picked this range for live sonar fishing: V-tails and passive softbaits from Frapp, FishImpact and Stucki Fishing, shads from Illex, Rapala, U-BAiT and Finity, big baits from Nays, bucktails and jigs from VMC and BIM Tackle, and the stingers and assist hooks from BKK to rig them. Everything ships from our own stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we are happy to tell you which size and head weight fits your water and your sonar.

What is pelagic fishing?

Pelagic fishing is fishing for predators that hang suspended in open water, away from the bottom and the bank, usually from a boat with live sonar. You find a single pike, zander or catfish on the screen and present one lure to that fish, vertically under the boat or with a cast, instead of covering water.

Which lure is best for live sonar fishing?

For most fish a V-tail or passive softbait of 15 to 20 cm such as the Frapp Dotty Dart, GekoSlug, Placoid or Stucki Kingsizer on a jig head with a stinger: it falls straight, hangs still in the beam and reacts to a small twitch. Switch to a shad with more vibration when fish are active or the water is coloured, and to a big bait for trophy pike and catfish.

Which jig head weight for pelagic fishing?

Heavier than on the bottom: roughly 15 to 25 g for a 15 cm bait in shallow water, 30 to 50 g for 18 to 20 cm baits at 5 to 10 m, and 50 g or more in deep water, current or wind. The lure must reach the fish fast and hang on a nearly vertical line; live sonar shows you right away if it falls too slowly or too fast.