Paddletails

[Down to Earth]

Do we have a convert??

[CrappieJohn]

Cal....now wait until the fish are "really" on a bite. I have had crappies tear these things in half!

[CALVINIST]

Yeah, I'm sold! And Tom, I can't wait till the bite is really on .

[CNY Lee]

ok guys, Im fishing two marina's. one is very wide and 7' deep and i can't see the fish but they are holding really tight to the few wooden dock post that are there, do you think they are in the open marina someplace? The second is a very large multi bay marina and I can see the fish RIGHT under the docks but they get lots of pressure and difficult to catch. Do you have any idea's for this situation and how active do you think these fish are at night and how can I catch them? Do I use my latern or my floating light and where is the best place in a marina to set up for them?

[poutpro]

What is all of your guys' preferences on brands of paddletails? I've heard a lot of people that swear by the Gulp, but others say plain Powerbait, and others say it doesn't matter.

[Down to Earth]

I've had excellent success with the Culprit Paddletail as well as one called the Mini Mite. I just received a shipment of Southern Pro Tiny Worms and plan to try those this Spring as well. I'll let you know how I do on those.

Andy

[CrappieJohn]

Neither Gulp or Powerbait makes anything that even resembles a paddletail. With panfish and crappies I will use no scented products unless absolutely necessary and that occasion is a rare one.

[poutpro]

I must be confused as to exactly what a paddletail is then.

[Matt Johnson]

Here's a picture of a Paddy Tail style plastic...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[poutpro]

Ok thats kind of what I had in mind, but not exactly. So what types of these are the best to get?

[Oldtyme]

I should be (hopefully) getting mine I ordered sometime this week so I'll get to try these out on Sunday.

Thanks for the tip on the jig heads & how you guys fish these.

I'm taking vacation last week of April. Everyone asked what I was doing...I said "fishing" Hopefully I'll time it right......

Poutpro: Culprit paddletails grubs (I believe) only come in one shape.(see pic above).

I bought junebug/chartreuse (highly recommended from here), and chartreuse pepper.

I also bought some Charlie Brewer sliders & jig heads. Thought it was worth a shot. Junebug&Chartreuse & Chartreuse glitter (do you sense a pattern here )

[TylerFlom]

Are paddletails sorta like shad?

[hanson]

CNY Lee- I'm not sure. I assume you are out in NY near the other CNY? I honestly have no clue but hope some of this info can relate. The floating light reference may stump all of us Minnesotans.

TylerFlom- It doesn't look like a shad to me. A shad has a taller body profile than the paddletail pictured. I believe the key to the paddletail is the shape/profile of the tail.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong guys.

[CrappieJohn]

CYN....Your question about the marinas....If I had my druthers, I'd be fishing the dark water one where the fish relate to the upright dock posts. The multi bayed marina with the clear water will likely provide a better night bite over a solid daytime bite.

Those upright dock posts though will hold fish at about all times of the year. I have to assume that there are docks built on these pilings. As witnessed in the clearer marina, the fish enjoy the shade and shelter under thos structures even in darker water. Crappies will spend huge amounts of time moving up and down those algae covered posts picking at water fleas, fresh water shrimp and other insects. By casting small jigs /plastics or hair around these post you can get in on some amazing bites. Outside of the spawn and dead of winter, vertical wood is one of my favorite pieces of structure to work using paddletails and rat tailed plastics. They can be cast free and retrieved or during periods of very stable weather hung under a float.

The best times to fish that dark water? The first light of day until 9am and then when the shadows fall late in the evening until dark.

Try a tube or a paddletail or rat tail with a purple body and a chartreuse tail portion. If it gets late in the morning on a bright day switch to blue/chartreuse.

Tyler....Chris Hanson was correct in his answer about these being a profile bait not like a shad. Shad have a broad body contour and are typically taller from top to bottom with a thumper tail. They are available in a myriad of sizez, some of which are productive crappie baits when the fish are on a good bite. Toss in a cold front though and you will see your shads need to come off.

Paddletails fill a broad niche, not like some other very productive baits that have limited niches. This is due to the profile/action characteristics which is inherant to these narrow bodied paddletails. At rest they are motinless. To get the tail to work they have to be moved. The tail is attached by a thinning of the body and requires very little to get it in motion and once set in action it does not broadcast the harsher "thump" as created by a shad bodied bait. The bottom line is that , even when worked aggressively, the paddletails retain a smaller , less intrusive profile.

[TylerFlom]

ah ok i got it, i have another question, i recently bought a kit of "sliders" that was the brand name. does anyone knoe if these are paddletails? they look like them, but the have a taller body profile then the one in the picture

[CrappieJohn]

You are likely referring to Brewers Crappie Sliders and they come with some wierd looking heads? If so, they are paddletails. I have tried the Brewer heads and find that when hooked as weedless or snagless they also go fishless. You need to really snap these suckers to get the hook to come thru the plastic and get into the fish's chops. Most often you end up loosing the fish. This hook setting ordeal also hastens the destruction of the plastics.

[Mr. Pike1]

Tom, I notice that you stress true ball head jigs in 1/32 or 1/16 size to use with the culprit paddletails. Have you fished them with with the more common 1/32 ounce jig? What mayor difference do you think the ball head plays in your catch percentage? Do you feel they are still productive when fished without it being a true ball head jig?

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[CrappieJohn]

The jigs I use are ballheads. The just don't have any collar for holding a plastic in place. Those barbs or knobs on collars split the plastic quickly and then keeping them on the hook is real difficult.

It is not a matter of hooking potential. It is a matter of not wrecking plastics by using jigs with retainer barbs.

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[Mr. Pike1]

Thanks Tom. I thought it might be a very subtle difference in the presentation you had detected while fishing this prestentation and thus an influeunce in the fish rate catch. Are you going to report on the new plastic you have been testing this spring? I took a day off on Friday and had good success on a west metro lake. Aside from the panfish I got into bass and dogfish that was pushing the current state record 10 lb mark.

[CrappieJohn]

Mr.Pike1

There will be some commentary shortly on the new plastics.

[Mr. Pike1]

Being that I have a gazillion different kinds of plastics I am hoping it is one I already have in my bag of tricks. If not and your report supports having these I will certainly add them and give them a try.

I am going to try a couple of other plastics tonight and the small holographic mimim minnow with the paddle tail at the lake by my house. They are in the channels and the window is 7:30-8:30 for the best bite. I am sure this rain had an effect so I will have to see.

[CALVINIST]

Those collars do tear up the plastics. I can't find collerless jigs in the stores (I believe Crappie Tom said "Cap'n B". Does anyone know where I can order some online? For now, I'll just trim the dressing off some old flu-flu and use those.

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[dockehr]

CALVINIST (and others),

I use sidecutters and CAREFULLY remove the lead collar from the "ball" part of the jig. Actually works quite well. You don't have to do tons of them. Use your breakoff/loss experience to determine how many to trim. Hope this helps.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle

[Scenic]

Calvanist,

Hang tight for a few more days. Collar-less jig heads 1/16 and 1/32 will be available here on FM very soon.

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[CALVINIST]

Jeff, That's good to hear.

Dock, I'll give that a try.

One other thing, When fishing for crappies with paddletails, is a bigger hook more effective than a little hook? In other words, does a smaller hook that hugs the plastic decrease hook-ups?

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