What is the difference in action of silicone vs rubber.  I was thinking about trying skinny bear flippin jigs any thoughts on these will be nice too.  I have 3/8 oz dirty jigs flipping jigs and I’m looking to expand if and when my confidence comes

Rubber has a more natural/neutral buoyancy.  A combo of both rubbdr/silicone is popular now days.  Never tried a skinny bear, but judging by the fact tackle warehouse is usually low in stock of them, I imagine they are  good.  

I think a lot of anglers are buying into the rubber being better but I see it differently. Rubber has a different action but different doesn't mean better. I like both rubber and silicone and each have their place and I'll try to explain the difference. The one thing you can see with rubber versus silicone when it comes to the action is rubber separates faster and then suspends in the water so you get a pulse and flare with every little bit of movement. With silicone you get a slow separation of the strands and then it slowly opens up and then the strands begin to fall. So while you get more action with the rubber you get a longer period of constant movement with the silicone and so when fish are more active the rubber will usually be better. When fish aren't so active and t requires you to dead stick the jig, that is when it is hard to replace silicone, but make no mistake, both work and sometimes one will do better than the other. The problem with rubber is that the color patterns are limited which isn't really a major issue, but storing it is. If you live in a climate where the water gets hard and your jigs are stored in a box for more than a month, well you need to store them with some unscented talc dusted on them after the jigs are dry and move them every couple of weeks. If you don't the rubber will take a set meaning it will kink and it also likes to stick to itself almost melting together which is why you store them separate and dust them with the talc. If you live in a warm climate you are in danger of them melting together if left in a box too long as well, it is the only problem that I have with that material but it is one that I deal with as I like using it on my jigs in combination with silicone.

1 hour ago, smalljaw67 said:

I think a lot of anglers are buying into the rubber being better but I see it differently. Rubber has a different action but different doesn't mean better. I like both rubber and silicone and each have their place and I'll try to explain the difference. The one thing you can see with rubber versus silicone when it comes to the action is rubber separates faster and then suspends in the water so you get a pulse and flare with every little bit of movement. With silicone you get a slow separation of the strands and then it slowly opens up and then the strands begin to fall. So while you get more action with the rubber you get a longer period of constant movement with the silicone and so when fish are more active the rubber will usually be better. When fish aren't so active and t requires you to dead stick the jig, that is when it is hard to replace silicone, but make no mistake, both work and sometimes one will do better than the other. The problem with rubber is that the color patterns are limited which isn't really a major issue, but storing it is. If you live in a climate where the water gets hard and your jigs are stored in a box for more than a month, well you need to store them with some unscented talc dusted on them after the jigs are dry and move them every couple of weeks. If you don't the rubber will take a set meaning it will kink and it also likes to stick to itself almost melting together which is why you store them separate and dust them with the talc. If you live in a warm climate you are in danger of them melting together if left in a box too long as well, it is the only problem that I have with that material but it is one that I deal with as I like using it on my jigs in combination with silicone.

I kayak fish so storage is minimal and I live in Mississippi.  I might just stick with silicone so I don’t have to worry about messes

Are we talking flat rubber, round rubber, narrow cut, wide cut, thin cut, or thick cut?

 

Are we talking 100% silicone or Starflash:A unique silicone lure skirt with round strands and glitter bonded to the surface of each strand to give the maximum reflection. 

 

There's more to it than just rubber vs silicone!

17 minutes ago, Catt said:

Are we talking flat rubber, round rubber, narrow cut, wide cut, thin cut, or thick cut?

 

Are we talking 100% silicone or Starflash:A unique silicone lure skirt with round strands and glitter bonded to the surface of each strand to give the maximum reflection. 

 

There's more to it than just rubber vs silicone!

What about the length of the stands?

 

I like Starflash skirts.

5 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

Rubber has a different action but different doesn't mean better.

There you go . I put zero thought into  it  and just use whatever . I have some living rubber material ,  though my stock is getting low , that I use .A black , brown , blue with a hint of chartreuse works well on buzzbaits . 

Skinny Bear living round rubber jigs started as a compact finesse jig (Signature Pro) used with UJ 101 spin frogs and a good jig with high quality components. Not familiar with the flipping jigs, the round rubber punch skirts are popular up in the Delta.

Tom