When a tail bends, the outside stretches and the inside squeezes — and almost all of it happens at the thin hinge. Understanding soft plastic lure action begins with understanding how a lure bends. Every soft bait flexes according to its material properties, geometry, thickness, and hinge design. Here’s a thing that should bother you…
A perfect lure does nothing outside the strike zone. Depth control is the framework everything else is secondary — fish hold at specific depths and react within very narrow vertical windows.
Fall rate is controlled by softness, salt, and density — not jig head weight. Why fall rate matters most in cold water, how each variable affects the fall, and why weight alone cannot fix a design problem.
Tail shape controls movement more than retrieve speed. A complete breakdown of curly, straight, and micro tail designs — when each works best, why baits overwork in cold water, and the real reason two baits behave differently at the same speed.
Lure action frequently triggers strikes before color does. A complete breakdown of when action matters more, when color becomes critical, how they work together, and the most common mistake anglers make.
