I don’t think anglers will know for sure why certain lures work most of the time, but you can’t argue with success. Yesterday I tried new and old soft plastic shapes/actions and got strong strikes in late afternoon under a bright sunny sky (89 degrees);in 84 degree water.
Jig heads of the right size (wt) and hook size are a must IMO in order to allow lures to move right.
This one proved itself last year but I hadn’t used it until yesterday:
It was formed by taking the claw off a bass crawdad lure and attaching it to a grub. Speculating why it did (and does) so well is more or less labeling a lure/ putting it into a category. I might suggest that the sickle shape of the tail and tip quiver account for the strong strikes vs the Crappie Magnet which got softer strikes in general:
(Why the unnatural color combo doesn’t make fish swim away is beyond me, nor how the subtle tail action holds a fish’s attention long enough for it to strike, but it does.)
…as well as this grub that used the same tails attached to a more rounded body:
But again,fish struck! and that’s good enough for me or IOW – simple is as simple does.
What did fairly well was this curl tail combo using the same grub body:
I’m not fond of curl tail grubs in general except when used with an overhead spin blade, but fish do bite it – just not that many crappie where I fish.
All and all, a good afternoon and a first for me: fishing and catching fish late on a hot sunny afternoon. Never knew I could catch so many in a short time in deep water under those conditions. Some fish were even caught within a few feet of the surface!