French fry

A short ribbed cylinder with no tail at all — pure profile and scent, the finesse Carolina-rig and split-shot bait.

Soft plastics are the biggest family in bass fishing: 36 shapes, each designed for a rig, a depth and a mood.

• Shape = design purpose: fish, worm, craw, creature, tube, frog
• Finesse tier vs power tier: the same shape at 3.5 in and 7 in is two different techniques
• Tail type decides the action; body decides the fall
• Rig it the way it was designed to be rigged

1. What it is — A 3-4 in ribbed, segmented stub: no action, a lot of surface for scent, slides through grass. The dice bait is the same idea cut to a mouthful.
2. Designed for — Mini Carolina rigs and split-shot rigs over grass flats, finesse Texas rigs, drop shots — anywhere a fish wants a mouthful that does nothing.
3. Trade-offs — Invisible in muddy water; finesse only.