ive been doing real well in the river on plastics not tipped at all
i use a plastic called the fin S minnow small as they come i still break off about a half inch before putting on a small jig head
its nice to not have to dip your hand in a minnow bucket at all and still be catching fish
altough i mainly use plastic for crappie,i killed the perch the last few years on this bait
good luck to all