Curl tails are amongst the oldest soft plastic style. Traditionally they were known as grubs or even ribbontails and were more the lure used for slow casting and retrieving, however, they are also very effective in the deep, if worked correctly.

As a rule, this means working them the complete opposite to jerkshads. You'll remember that jerkshads work best if jerked aggressively to make them dart side-to-side. Well, curl tails rely on their curly tail to imitate a fish, not their body, so there's no need to jerk the body around like it's a dodgem car driven by a 10 year old. Instead, most of the action is in the rise and fall of the plastic.

The tail will flutter and wag along behind the plastic and is usually as long as the body, sometimes longer, so it's not a subtle action. Usually just drop the plastic to the bottom, pause, then slowly lift and wind your combo like you would if you were pulling in a mud crab that you didn't want to let go of a bait. Where the fish are sitting (on the bottom, on a pinnacle or mid-water) will dictate how high you work the softy, but once at the desired height, free-spool once more. It's pretty simple, and that's why this plastic is a great choice for beginners. In fact, I've seen curl tails rigged off paternoster rigs and just fished like bait as we've drifted along. They've gotten just as much attention as the baits!