Hi Gig,
It hurts me to have to disagree with another warmwater, fly fishin, Southern Boy but I believe that plastic is far better then feathers, hair or braided anything in getting LMB to hold on to the bait. The guys who first fished the early plastic worms used to light and smoke a cigarette between the time they first detected a take and the time they actually set the hook. In fact, if plastic has a flaw, it the problem of gut-hooked fish if you wait too long on the hook set. The texture, scent and taste of plastic is pretty hard to beat. Fish like it and don't let go! Even a small delay in dropping or expelling the bait gives the fisherman an advantage (particularly the novice fly fisherman). I'm not saying that fish can't be caught with braided worms, fur whatevers and hard hackle worms. I just don't think that the fish hold on as long and more skill is reguired in detecting a take---notice I don't use the term strike. I do agree that purple is a great color
. Take care! 8T