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[Spawn Sack]

I have probably 25 different colors/sizes of hard beads that would be suitable for steelhead/salmon fishing, but I never fish them. I like to look at them, but I always rig up a soft bead when I'm in a bead mood. I feel that the soft beads sink better and get down + stay in the strike zone. Whereas I feel plastic beads are a bit too buoyant to get/stay down, especially in the type of steelhead water I typically fish. Plus, I have heard that steelhead/salmon/trout will hold on to a soft bead a lot longer (feels more natural to them), giving you a bit of extra time to react and set the hook.

Just looking for some other opinions here. I do like the myraid of interesting colors and color combos you can get in hard beads that you just can't get in soft beads.

Typically if I rig up a bead I'll peg it about 1.5 inches up the leader with a trout bead peg for hard beads, or t-stop for soft beads. I see some guys/gals with 2 foot + leaders. With the water I typically fish, especially for steedhead, I feel the bead (especially a hard bead) is floating way out of the strike zone with a leader that long. Not saying I am right, just how I perceive what my presentation is doing during my drift.

In more colored water I'll typically go 12mm or even 14mm soft bead pegged above a #1 hook, 12-16 inch leader of 12lb flouro. For more low clear water I'm more likely to tie on an 8mm or 10mm egg pegged above a #2 or even #4 hook, 14-18 inch leader, 8lb or 10lb flouro leader.

[Snagly]

Ah, the "hard vs. soft" debate! I have a substantial investment in hard beads and that's all I use. I don't feel they float "up" as they are slightly negatively buoyant so they tend to sink as they drift downstream, near the bottom. Over the last three years, the variety (colors x sizes) of soft beads has exploded, and with that their popularity with my fishing friends. I track who-hooks-what when we fish beads side-by-side, and there's zero difference in the number of takes or % hook-ups on the hard-soft front.

I can see the point that steelhead, in theory, should hold onto a softer bead longer than a hard bead BUT in my experience steelhead view beads as food (they aren't striking them out of aggression as they would a spinner or spoon). They take the pegged bead into their mouths, turn their heads, feel the line drag (before we can react) and are trying to reject what they've engulfed about the time we set the hook. The pegged hook is still inside the mouth (or just outside) when we set the hook and yell "Fish on!" All of this happens in two-to-three seconds of real time (and less than one second for us to react once we detect the take).

Think about a steelhead's mouth . . . a prey capture system optimized for the north Pacific where spiny baitfish and squid are the targets. The fine teeth don't "feel" anything: they are designed to grab and hang on. The upper palate consists of thin skin over bone. I'd argue there's nothing in the mouth other than the tongue that can distinguish "hard vs. soft". If you believe that every time a steelhead eats a bead it maneuvers it to land on the tongue and tastes it, then the rejection rate will be the same as unscented beads (hard or soft) will taste the same.

Fishermen are cutting it very fine to think that the bead is being grasped by the upper and lower jaws (but not tasted on the tongue) and these teeth-backed-by-bone can tell soft vs. hard plastic . . . and decide to hang on to the soft bead a second longer.

* * * * *

Personal experience and the above chain of thought (plus a few hundred hard beads in inventory!) lead me to continue to fish my hard beads without second thought. The makers of soft beads would have you believe otherwise, as would the pro anglers/ field testers they gift their samples to.

[psd1179]

the most effective way of beading is keep the bead on bottom. Bottom bouncing the weight with a long leader is a good way to keep the bead in the zone. keep the bead 3-5 inches away from the hook can also help entice the precautious fish. But don't mistake to flossing setup.

The soft beads in Army and Navy usually have strong plastic smell. I cannot trust these plastic beads.

Glass bead is an option for sinking purpose. But personally, I don't see the too much advantage of glass bead vs plastic beads.

[CohoJake]

the most effective way of beading is keep the bead on bottom. Bottom bouncing the weight with a long leader is a good way to keep the bead in the zone. keep the bead 3-5 inches away from the hook can also help entice the precautious fish. But don't mistake to flossing setup.

The soft beads in Army and Navy usually have strong plastic smell. I cannot trust these plastic beads.

Glass bead is an option for sinking purpose. But personally, I don't see the too much advantage of glass bead vs plastic beads.

Ah, yes, glass beads.  I used some of these "heavi-beads" last summer when targeting chinook on an upriver tributary of the Columbia.  The utility of them is that they sink fast, and there is nothing natural about the way they drift, but I was using them as added weight to my roe - one pegged just above the roe then slid down so it is snug against the bait.  I decided they aren't worth the trouble after I shattered the third one on a rock. At that point you can't fish without a bead because they now have sharp edges that fray your leader, so you have to just change your leader. 

[Hike_and_fish]

Soft bead all the way. I used to fish hard beads but stopped completely after a few weeks ( three years ago ) of fishing soft beads exclusively. I find fish tend to hold onto the soft bead longer. I have a lot of hookups with a soft bead. My personal favorite soft bead companies are BNR Tackle and a smaller guy from Washington  Never Quit Fishing ( Instagram  @neverquitfishing ). His beads are next level. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7u6O1RBM6w/?igshid=1auu15vo76u47

My 2 cents.

[typhoon]

In the past when fishing single Jensen eggs directly on the hook I used a small veil of white wool in the bait loop above the egg and found that it resulted in the fish holding the hook longer.
Now fishing with pegged soft beads I'm seeing more missed fish.
Not sure what is the best solution.

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks for the replies. Did a garage experiment last night. Filled a tall glass with water and dropped same size hard vs soft bead in the glass at the same time and watched which sunk faster. Generally not much difference but a few times I'd say the soft dropped faster. Definitely not a big difference between the two.

Overall I just "like" the soft beads more and will probably stick to fishing these mostly when I'm in a bead mood.

Do ya'll run a leader about the same as you'd fish roe? Or go longer to get the bead moving around more? Personally, unless I'm fishing pretty froggy water, I feel a soft or hard bead on a leader over 20 inches is likely riding up above your lead. So I stick in the 12-16inch-ish range depending on water clarity and speed.

[Stratocaster]

have a look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=181&v=eb4CkbRJwFw&feature=emb_logo

I used the exact setup for Coho and hooked into a lot of fish, all inside the mouth.

[bigblockfox]

I only fish plastic beads. I like the dead egg look you get when white is added to the plastic.  Also alot of the plastic beads i use have uv. Another plus to plastic beads is all of the color and different sizes.

Also i dont believe the argument that they hold on to soft beads longer. If it wasn't for the hook those beads would be in their stomach hard or soft. They aren't tasting them, they are inhaling them.

[typhoon]

I have never had a fish swallow a soft bead directly attached to the hook, so I'm not buying it.

[RalphH]

I have caught a large number of fish ( trout, salmon, char steelhead) on glo-bugs which are basically just yarn ties. Best I can remember I had a total of one fish that was hooked behind the tongue. I was able to unhook and release that with no sign of blood or serious injury. Most of the rest were hooked in the lip, of just inside the mouth. Never caught a fish on a 'bead' so can't comment directly but I have heard reports that fishing with a 2 inch or greater gape between the bead and the hook can result in fish hooked in the eye, the gill plate etc.

[bigblockfox]

ralph, if you have not tried them you should. i wasn't a believer in them till i tried them and seen how effective they can be. for bull trout in the fall its all i use. if they're are chum around and you can match the size and colour of the egg it can be unreal. kind of similar to matching the chronomid hatch. i also find my self using them alot in low clear conditions or heavily fished area's where i find a smaller presentation can work to your favour. down sizing to a 8mm white with a hint of orange or pink can be really effective.   

yes if the gap is to wide you can have hooking of unintended areas. 

alot of my bead strikes you dont even need to set the hook they hit it so hard. 2 week ago i hit a steel at the end of my drift where i was not paying attention and it set the hook for me with how viscous it took the bead. very seldom do i get soft bites. not like fishing roe in coho season where they are taste testing your offering and you need to set every movement of the float to try and hook them.



 

[Ambassador]

I've had pretty good luck with hard beads in the rivers when drifting or fly casting for trout up around Squamish. Bull Trout seem to love them - especially when the Chum are around as BigBlockFox mentioned. Never had any luck with soft beads on rivers, but do ok with them when I use them in lakes off my kayak. Never tried hard beads on the lakes, but might give that a shot this year to see how they work out.