Compact creature

A 3-4 in creature with short legs and a stubby body — the flipping standard: enough movement to trigger, small enough to enter cover and to fit a 3/0-4/0 hook.

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 scaled-down creature — baby brush hog, small craw-creature hybrids — with legs trimmed to the body. Falls fast, hooks well.
2. Designed for — Pitching and flipping docks, laydowns, riprap and grass edges on a Texas rig; the free rig and Tokyo rig bait; a jig trailer.
3. Trade-offs — It is the compromise bait — for pure bulk go up, for pure subtlety go down.