SPOONMINNOW
Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2016
- Messages
- 261
Having done the bass tournament thing for years and used larger lures of all types to catch bass, I have no doubt I could still cast the different types and catch bass - but only bass. Of course, river smallies slammed Mr Twister curl tails in my local smallie river, but so did other lures. Back then, plastics had to have action tails whether a curl tail or a Sassy Shad paddle tail. Same thing for plastic worms - curl tail Mr Twister Worms or nothn. But then Gary Y blew it all away with the wacky rigged Senko. Round tips on both ends of a weighted soft-plastic stick caught bass galore!
It got me think'n: stick vs action tail - hmmmm.... But then again what is a Zara Spook or 3" floating shallow-lip Rapala other than a stick by another name?
Waddle, roll & dart come to mind as the action combo for all stick-type lures - and man has it caught fish! So, having gotten molds for stick-like lures, I experimented using the same retrieve I used for hard stick-like lures having no lip nor action tail to speak of. The action part is the body - period! What body types you might ask? There are only two that define a soft stick: diameter and shape. At the top of the list, I've discovered, is the cone or taper-tail shape stick or better yet - carrot stick.
View attachment 23180 View attachment 23181 View attachment 23183
View attachment 23184
A multi-species lure that fish slam and hold on to !!!! ( not shown are white perch, catfish, and pickerel )
Jig head weight - 1/16 oz, 1/24 oz or 1/32 oz with a #6 hook.
Lure size: 2 3/4" or smaller.
How does the tapered stick compare to this forked fin tail?
View attachment 23186
The thin fin tail quivers in place or on the move. It can also be darted & paused just like the tapered stick though with an action and profile that is slightly different.
As regards stick length: the dart & pause retrieve also applies to Gary Y.'s Kut Tail worm and Softie worm - both 4-6" when rigged on light jig heads.
.View attachment 23185 View attachment 23187
The action is more of a whip-type action that provokes very aggressive strike! Just a stick by another name.
What depths do the above catch fish? 2.5' - 6'. Sunfish especially are the most aggressive attackers and best-fighting fish for their size!
There are other stick shapes that do well but you get the picture.
It got me think'n: stick vs action tail - hmmmm.... But then again what is a Zara Spook or 3" floating shallow-lip Rapala other than a stick by another name?
Waddle, roll & dart come to mind as the action combo for all stick-type lures - and man has it caught fish! So, having gotten molds for stick-like lures, I experimented using the same retrieve I used for hard stick-like lures having no lip nor action tail to speak of. The action part is the body - period! What body types you might ask? There are only two that define a soft stick: diameter and shape. At the top of the list, I've discovered, is the cone or taper-tail shape stick or better yet - carrot stick.
View attachment 23180 View attachment 23181 View attachment 23183
View attachment 23184
A multi-species lure that fish slam and hold on to !!!! ( not shown are white perch, catfish, and pickerel )
Jig head weight - 1/16 oz, 1/24 oz or 1/32 oz with a #6 hook.
Lure size: 2 3/4" or smaller.
How does the tapered stick compare to this forked fin tail?
View attachment 23186
The thin fin tail quivers in place or on the move. It can also be darted & paused just like the tapered stick though with an action and profile that is slightly different.
As regards stick length: the dart & pause retrieve also applies to Gary Y.'s Kut Tail worm and Softie worm - both 4-6" when rigged on light jig heads.
.View attachment 23185 View attachment 23187
The action is more of a whip-type action that provokes very aggressive strike! Just a stick by another name.
What depths do the above catch fish? 2.5' - 6'. Sunfish especially are the most aggressive attackers and best-fighting fish for their size!
There are other stick shapes that do well but you get the picture.
