Thread: Tail design that has a unique action

I got a mold for a 3" paddle tail worm from Lure Craft. At first it was a challenge getting the tail thin, but tilting the mold and pouring from the tail down solved the problem. This was the original tail:



Then I remembered Zoom's Vibra-Tail plastic worm and the tail's unique shape and action. So I cut a slit with a razor blade making sure the cut was close to one side. Here was the result:



The action was way different than the paddle or a curl tail. I tested the lure in my semi-clear water pond which is a cold 42 degrees, using a 1/32 oz ball head jig and #4 hook. A bass close to 2 lbs and a 10" yellow perch clobbered it on a horizontal swim!

What surprised me was catching fish on such a small hook as compared to the lure's length. I only wanted to test the lure's action when here comes along two fish striking hard and getting easily hooked. I guess larger fish are able to suck in a longer bait and expose themselves to the hook point, unlike small fish that usually strike only shorter lures in cold water.

I found out that the plastic has to be a soft grade or the tail has far less action - especially on the fall to the bottom. I've made more in different lengths and will test them in a local lake along with some other ideas I came up with recently. If you make a thin paddle tail lure, you might want to try slitting it for an action no other design exhibits.

I like that idea... Thanks for sharing!