I use everything from 1/64 to 1/8 for different things. The way I do things is when the bite gets tough, I downsize and slow down. Your uncle was spot on for what he gave you. I mostly throw UL and jigs about 1/48 with a #8 sickle which I swear by. The 1” tails work great for me and I usually cut the barb off the collar or cut the collar off completely and super glue the body on the night before so the glue has time to dry. Many more fish before it’s torn up. There are two excellent teachers. One is time on the water and I advise doing that solo so that you pay attention to what’s going on. It’s easy to miss little things that matter when you’re talking with someone. The second is patience. I catch many more fish on a slower retrieve and as long as I’ve been doing this I still have to tell myself to slow down. A roadrunner is a great lure and they advertise that you can’t fish it wrong as long as you fish it slow. There’s a lesson in that.
Creativity is just intelligence fooling around