I like to work needlefish plugs with the rod tip high and sort of lazily moving it left to right and right to left. About a medium retrieve speed. Not a fast rod movement like a pencil popper but more like a shift of the rod tip left to right every 15 seconds or so. I think this causes the plug to change directions slightly each time you move the rod tip sort of getting if to look like an erratic swim (or is that erotic swim!
). I'd be interested in what other people do.
I like the stubbies cause i think they cast better. For the full length needlefish , I like the skinny ones. Black is a good color. So is white or white graded to dark. Also yellow. I use the gibbs stubbies.