Paddletail vs curly tail

Paddletails like CB sliders, slabalious etc vs a curly tail. Is there different scenarios you would choose one over another or is it more personal preference? I think the paddle tails seem to look more realistic in the water. What one does everyone have more luck with? I'm looking for something for casting from the bank and not sure what is better fishing from the bank. Maybe none of it matters and I'm overthinking it lol. I use BG baby shad normally under slip floats but don't think the action is that great for casting.

"Shad" plastics are more for "profile" looks than "action". Paddletail plastics (depending on size) need a bit of speed to make the bait put out the "thump thump" vibrations. Curly Tail plastics can generally be reeled in at a slower pace than a paddletail & still have the tail do its "wiggle".

If a float was necessary, for whatever reason, my choice would be Shad 1st & Curlytail 2nd & Paddletail 3rd ... simply because of the speed of retrieve necessary to get the proper action from those baits. Straight casting/retrieving ... I'd reverse that lineup.

Best case scenario : you have a collection of all three styles !!

Thanks for the reply. Casting and retrieving without a float with one rod and have another rod setup with a slip float with a baby shad is what I have been doing but my success rate is horrible lol

Yep, paddle tail when I need a bit more retrieval speed, paddle tail gives off a tighter, faster tail action. If the fish (especially bluegill) are short striking just the tail on a curly tail switch to a paddle tail.

When I need a slower retrieve to keep the bait in the fish’s strike zone, especially when they will follow but won’t bite, I use a curly tail and slow roll it past them.

Don’t be afraid to use a safety pin spinner (beetle spinner) set up with either bait. It gives extra flash and thumb/ vibration. I’ve caught a many panfish on a 1/32oz jig head with a 2” curly tail beetle spin rig in creeks and ponds as a kid.

Thank you for the advice. That will help shorten my learning curve.

IMO paddle tails (sassy shad) and curl tails are faster/ steady retrieve lures. If you want to keep lures in the strike zone longer to provoke less active fish, I would go with a stinger (straight thin tail), Crappie Magnet grub or ribbon tail rigged on a 1/32 or 1/24 oz jig. The lures shown below are examples of tails that quiver with the least action imparted.
The two on the left: swimbait tail designs; the other are variations of quiver- tails:
Attachment 497754
I bet my boat that you never considered this design: take the curl tail off a curl tail grub and rig only the body. It catches panfish as well as any other lure with its back & forth waddle & quivering body. Also rig it on a light jig head.

:popcorn:popcorn

ditto

Curlytails are deadly around here. Most of the posts of me trying to achieve Mr Dux's 10 fish hold fell victim to a Curlytail. I use Paddletails only when long distance open water casting and the Varivas Infinity PE in 7.5# test is the line I use now. If fishing in a shallow area of open water for scattered Crappie, 7-10ft of water, I cast a 1/32oz with a 2in Paddletail. When I know I have them hemmed up I feel a Curlytail increases the competition between the Crappie so bites happen faster than if a Paddletails are used.

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

IMO paddle tails (sassy shad) and curl tails are faster/ steady retrieve lures. If you want to keep lures in the strike zone longer to provoke less active fish, I would go with a stinger (straight thin tail), Crappie Magnet grub or ribbon tail rigged on a 1/32 or 1/24 oz jig. The lures shown below are examples of tails that quiver with the least action imparted.
The two on the left: swimbait tail designs; the other are variations of quiver- tails:
Attachment 497754
I bet my boat that you never considered this design: take the curl tail off a curl tail grub and rig only the body. It catches panfish as well as any other lure with its back & forth waddle & quivering body. Also rig it on a light jig head.

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Agreed stinger tails are DEADLY. Spoonminnow do you slow retrieve the lure? I don’t think I’ve ever tried retrieving just a stinger tail lure before. This has me intrigued.

But the question was paddletail vs curly tail. I wasn’t saying when fish are less active and won’t bite AKA finicky, to use a curly tail. I was saying that when the fish follow the bait but won’t commit to striking the bait, that’s when I find using a curly tail and a slower retrieval works to get those fish to hit. In my experience a curly tail swims better at slower speeds than a paddle tail, but both do still require a steady retrieve.

Trout magnets are one of my favorite lures for finicky fish, I also like the EPF Minnow for slow bites. But at that point I’m usually throwing something under a float set up. That way I can work especially slow and have better control of depth (strike zone). Soo curly tails or paddle tails aren’t being used obviously.

You asked for it so get out the NoDoz or:popcorn before reading!

I always get mixed up when anglers mention paddle tail grubs or worms. I grew up catching fish on the Sassy Shad which by all accounts is a boot tail grub that was first introduced in the early 80's.
Attachment 497894
Much later the swimbait design came out with a similar tail, the only difference being the round body shape vs the thin wedge shape of the Sassy Shad. The one below is one I pour in different lengths and body shapes:
Attachment 497896
The boot tail (or what you call a paddle tail) only moves with either a forward horizontal/steady retrieve or bounced off bottom vertically. It's no different than the retrieve required for a curl tail design like that of a Mr. Twister Grub:
Attachment 497897

The Slider Worm and others like it have the paddle tail shape as seen here (the one on the right has a thin paddle tail):
Attachment 497893 Attachment 497895
All of the above lures catch fish, but not all of them can be used near dead-stop like the spike/stinger tail, paddle tail, claw tail, Mann's Shadow (the one with the tail fin) or thin straight tail shown in the photo you copied in your reply. They can be used on a drop-shot rig minus a jig head. Again, both action designs catch fish but not all on a slowest in-place presentation.

Quiver body and/or tail designs are the ultimate finesse lures unlike crankbaits or spinnerbaits. They can be retrieved medium-slow to very slow horizontally with pauses or jigged vertically (i.e. like under the ice). Most important is for all anglers to note a lure's action before casting it for the first time. You get a sense of what potential retrieves a lure is capable of. Lure shape and action-type account for ALL strikes along with various presentations (retrieve types) that do the rest.

Okay, time to WAKE UP!
Maybe some of the opinions presented are of use. They are this angler's approach to using lures:
unrealistic, unnaturally moving objects that p.o. fish big time!

See I use the paddle tail, boot tail and kicker tail interchangeably. Lol. Years ago I read the Charlie Brewer book about the slider method. Pretty good book.

No heres a question I ponder often. . . What is more important shape/profile, action/speed or size. I personally not sure, one day I think profile then the next action is most important.

I think all of it is important and not important. About like color, doesn’t matter until it does. Just depends on the fish and their mood that day. :twocents

Sliders and curly tail;s both have good action. I like the sliders in colder water. IMO they have a little less action (shorter tail) and some times the fish seem to prefer that best, other times the curly tails. In the spring they'll hit either.

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I use the paddle tail, boot tail and kicker tail interchangeably. Lol. Years ago I read the Charlie Brewer book about the slider method. Pretty good book.

No heres a question I ponder often. . . What is more important shape/profile, action/speed or size. I personally not sure, one day I think profile then the next action is most important.

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Agree about C. Brewer's book! It was my start to finesse fishing.

I think you get where I'm coming from and I noticed you didn't suggest that any of those characteristics must resemble anything alive.
When it comes to crappie and fish in general, of the photos shown, ALL catch fish ALL year long - every year. There's no such thing as a good versatile lure that does well one day and quits working any time after. I'm talking small soft plastics and nothing else, rigged on light ball head jigs. Few are that much better than the others and all can be worked real slow in a potential strike zone and for one good reason:
Twitch Fishing:
A presentation that uses light small lures and slight rod twitches/reel handle turns to make a tail quiver, body shimmy or waddle, a thin straight flat tail to flap slightly, a lure to glide & pause (like a minnow no less!:cheers2), dart back & forth and too many other finesse actions to mention. Shape dictates action. Curl tails and boot/shad tails can be twitched, but not nearly as slow as the other lure examples. Speed is key!

If I only had only one twitch lure to cast for the rest of my life, it would be the Crappie Magnet beyond a doubt! Very versatile and there's something about it that fish attack with glee! Another would be the body of a 3" Mr Twister Grub with the tail cut off. (You really gotta try that one!)

Thanks Mr. Jones! You give me hope!

A quality paddle tail can work year round unless fishing under a cork . I always prefer paddle tails to curly tails. Curly tails are easy to work and are great for beginners, strong current ( like a dam or spillway ) or when using a double rig .

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Originally Posted by C_chris

A quality paddle tail can work year round unless fishing under a cork . I always prefer paddle tails to curly tails. Curly tails are easy to work and are great for beginners, strong current ( like a dam or spillway ) or when using a double rig .

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Bud I can tell you in my experience a Paddletail works exceptionally well prospecting for bottom dwelling winter crappie when they are on a deep Flat. Something about slow swimming a Paddletail along the bottom makes quality Crappie eat. Other than that it's Curlytails for me. I use Sliders for casting for deep winter Crappie when the bottom is flat in every direction they really work. Another plastic is the GoGo Minnow, smoked the Crappie with them in winter too many a day.

I like paddle tails a lot but in the times they want less action & i fish either a baby shad or crappie magnet when they do.

All of the above replies confirm this truth:

Lure Action speaks loudest to fish. This includes NO-ACTION-by-design lures such as the grub body minus its curl tail I mentioned. ALL lures have action when retrieved - some way more than others. The shad (boot) paddle and curly tail are up there with lipped crankbaits when it comes to in-their-face total body shimmy.

Each design has a unique action, each works best with specific retrieves such as steady or twitch & pause. Most days you can catch fish on all of the lures posted in replies. Lure Speed can't be separated from lure action - a lure's action depends on it.

We all have favorites and it's because of the combinations of those two things that provoke fish to strike. All the other reasons given are simply window dressing.
JMHO

Attachment 499793 YOU WILL WANT TO CARRY BOTH PLUS SPLIT TAILS AND STRAIGHT TAILS .

looks like a tube...

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

looks like a tube...

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Nope ... look closer Spoony !!! That's a underspin jig head with a solid white paddletail grub on it. Everything is outside the mouth of that Redear, except the hook.

Yup - paddle tail.
I should cast more under-spins this year. I should have some laying around.

Even though they were small fish the only thing i could get bit on yesterday was a paddle tail slider. Now i have another mold to buy. :Rofl

Attachment 503591

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Yup - paddle tail.
I should cast more under-spins this year. I should have some laying around.

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That is actually a fle-fly go go minnow in the perfect pearl color ,on a road runner head .(white bait in previous picture )these black heads made by litewire hooker , bought 100 years ago . Attachment 503592

Attachment 503593

Man that is one chubby crappie! Wondering if it was pre-spawn loaded with eggs.
Note though about curl tail shapes:
There are wide curl tail shapes down to the thinner curl-base Ribbon tail shape.
The Kalin grub has the widest tail which has a different action than the Ribbon tail or Mr. Twister which is in between.

Kalin
https://f.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_UL320_.jpg

Berkley or Yum Ribbon Tail
https://f.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_UL320_.jpg


Mr. Twister

https://f.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_UL320_.jpg

Lure size of each and speed of retrieve can make a difference as far as producing the unique tail actions.
The Ribbon Tail has more of a fast whip whereas the other two wider tails flap like a flag in the wind. I prefer the R.Tail when I want a faster speed retrieve; the Kalin when I want a slower presentation.

Which is better? - I let the fish decide.

Mr. twister and fle-fly for curly tail . Slider for thump tail .