Wrasse fishing with lures has grown immensely over the last few years, with more anglers now targeting this species with soft plastic lures than with bait.
For the beginner to this style of fishing, knowing what to use can be a bit of a minefield. This isn’t a ‘what you must use’ type of article, but it’s what I use and it works for me. If you’re new to lure fishing for wrasse, hopefully this will help.
There are many different styles of soft plastic lures available to the wrasse angler, but the three listed below are the most popular and the only ones I ever use for targeting wrasse.
Senko style lures are soft plastic stickbaits (or stick worms) which have been adapted from the classic US bass Senko design and used primarily for targeting wrasse around rough ground throughout the UK.
These are simple, cylindrical or slightly tapered soft plastic that produce a natural, lifelike action underwater. A weedless presentation lets you fish snaggy ground effectively and the lures’ action will trigger territorial and opportunistic strikes.
Typical Specs and Features:
• Lengths vary between 75–115 mm (roughly 3–4.5”)
• Soft, flexible plastic for natural movement; some include scent or salt impregnation.
• Rigged primarily Texas style (weedless) with a suitable wide-gap or worm hook (e.g. 2/0) with a small bullet, cone weight or on the Cheb.
• Popular colours for wrasse include natural greens, browns, junebug and black. In murky water, opt for orange, red or chartreuse.
Creature baits are soft plastics built to look and move like living bottom-dwelling prey such as crabs and small lobsters rather than swimming baitfish. Their multi-appendage design makes them particularly effective for slow, realistic retrieves in rocky, weedy, or structured water.
Typical Specs and Features:
• Lengths vary between 50-80mm (roughly 2-3”)
• Soft, flexible plastic for natural movement; some include scent or salt impregnation.
• Rigged primarily Texas style (weedless) with a suitable wide-gap or worm hook (e.g., 1-1/0) with a small bullet, cone weight or on the Cheb.
• Popular colours for wrasse include natural greens, browns, junebug, black and red.
Paddletail lures are soft plastic swimbaits featuring a wide, flat, paddle-shaped tail that kicks side-to-side during the retrieve. This creates strong vibration and a natural swimming action that wrasse can detect through their lateral lines.
They are one of the core soft-plastic styles used for ballan wrasse (alongside creature baits and stickbaits/senkos) and work by imitating small fish such as blennies and gobies that form part of a wrasse’s diet — or simply by triggering aggressive territorial responses.
Typical Specs and Features:
• Lengths for wrasse are most effective in the 7-10cm (roughly 3-4”).
• They feature a wide, flat tail that moves side-to-side when retrieved, creating a vibrating action in the water that wrasse can detect through their lateral lines.
• Rigged primarily Texas style (weedless) with a suitable wide-gap or worm hook (e.g., 2/0-3/0) with a small bullet, cone weight or on the Cheb.
• Popular colours for wrasse include brown and black, with greens, reds and white also popular.
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