My eye prefers a skirt, but I'm in the group that says they hold on better when there's a solid plastic.  

 

If they are swiping the skirt or just missing it I'll change color and add a trailer hook when conditions allow.  If that doesn't work, the plastic replaces the skirt.  

I'll use the skirt until it falls off. If it's a rubber band, they always fall off. Then I'll put a toad or something on it.

On 6/1/2021 at 11:04 AM, Kenny Yi said:

The iconic G-Man setup, love that rig!

 

I also use a Rage Menace and maybe a Rage Bug, just another use for those versatile baits. 

 

Black buzzbait with a black/blue rage menace

Yes the Gman set up... I had used Menace Grubs before and it was kind of like Goldilocks - the 4 inch was too long and the 3 inch too short. The Zoom Z Craw is 3.5 and flaps just right on each side of the hook point ?

13 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Yes the Gman set up... I had used Menace Grubs before and it was kind of like Goldilocks - the 4 inch was too long and the 3 inch too short. The Zoom Z Craw is 3.5 and flaps just right on each side of the hook point ?

Yes, that is an annoying issue with the menace grubs, it's why the Z-craw, as you said, will always be preferred in my book!  Only issue the Z-craw is finding some...

I'm a skirt guy 100% of the time. I tie my skirts on with braid so they will outlive the rest of the bait. I haven't really had problems with fish committing to the bait so I haven't seen the need for a piece of plastic for them to hold onto longer...if that's even really a thing. Sure I get fish that miss the bait...happens with all top waters or even moving baits in general. That's why I have a follow up...fluke senko or wacky finesse worm.

Toads.

 

1 hour ago, Ski said:

Toads.

 

Big ones fall for the skirt too. I caught this 5.9 Monday at the boat landing before I even put my kayak in on a Cavitron with skirt in ghost minnow/gold.

My issue with the soft plastic - no skirt approach is that, for me - I get one soft plastic - one fish.   I have a bunch of toads that I bought when I thought they were the next great thing, and they were, for a short while.  I put the toad on a buzz bait and they work until you get bit and then it is a challenge to get that bait to run straight like it was supposed to.   Running like they were supposed to means that I get it that the bait will run at more or less of an angle to you, depending on if the pitch of the blades is right oriented or left oriented.  Anyway, after one fish, bait doesn't seem to run "right."   So I don't throw it very often.  

Kinda changing the subject for a moment, the buzz bait that runs "straight" for me is one of those side by side double buzzers, with the counter rotating blades.   These seem to come through surface grass better also, as long as I keep the rod tip up.  In this situation, bites seem to happen within a foot or so of exiting the surface grass.

I like a skirt and some kind of trailer on this bait - back half of a trick worm works ok.   I just want a little bit of wiggle behind the bait and when the bit happens, I want there to be something kind soft, which in my mind helps me think that it will hold on a fraction of a second longer, enough for me to get a hook set.