If I had to choose one lure for the rest of my life, this is it. They come in a plethora of shapes and molds are relatively inexpensive. You don't have to use bucktail for the tail, you can add feathers, flash , plastics too. I always have a few with synthetic tails, lasts better with toothy fish like shad. We have caught pretty much everything on them over the years, including natal snoek and Couta.
You can even use them to swim a deadbait in a pinch. They do this a lot in the US.
Colour is not critical, although I prefer the naturals like olive ,Brown etc.
Lately I have had some good results with clear plastic heads. Bit light but very effective. Made by Doug Swannel , under duress on request for good mates.
On occasion when we have lost all or even forgotten them at home , we have improvised with a saltwater fly and a ball or oval stinker, works like a bomb. Try them they work like hell.
Retrieve is the key though.
