Fish IMO don't prefer lures like you or I prefer certain foods. Certain types of lures - ok - but dependent on a lure size range and shape/ action. I won't rationalize that fish thought what a lure was when it attacked it, but simply that IT DID! - case closed.
I've caught freshwater fish on most lures ever made and have a warehouse of lures I never use collecting dust in my basement. I asked which I prefer, the only thing I could reply: lures that have consistently caught fish year after year and in many waters.
The nice thing about making and modifying lures is the excitement that comes from catching fish on them the first time and many times in the future. Do I ask why they do so well? Like any lure type category (spinnerbait, crankbait), I break down lures into actions and action types. For example, a Gary Yamamoto Kut Tail worm rigged on a light jighead is in a class of its own. It's not a plastic grub or worm or soft stick. The reason it catches so many fish is it's shape, the additives added to the plastic and the light jig its rigged on. Its action is unique: it darts and whips back & forth.with the smallest twitch of the rod tip. And believe me - it catches almost everything!
Labeling it a plastic worm wouldn't do justice to its design or success. But by the same token, plastic grub is also vague. What defines a soft plastic lure? 1. shape, 2. action and 3. size. Given those three descriptions, many of the soft plastics sold have unique body and tail shapes. Other than curl tails, tail designs vary and define the lure. Some examples: spike tail; thin, straight, flat tail; boot tail; even NO tail. Their action/profiles are unique. All catch fish.
See if you can label the lures shown below based on the above. Note: when a flat tail grub is added to a Beetle Spin, the lure is now something totally different. The lure's vibration is dependent on the spinning blade that flashes.
