Good topic, I'm glad you brought it up. As Rob said, there are absolutely bad plugs. In my experience, I think the slammers that kick at slower speeds are more fishy. The ones that you kind of have to get moving pretty good, before they have a decent action haven't worked well for me. I've done good on the ones that look like they're struggling to move themselves, rather than kicking effortlessly through the water. I haven't found a way to visually tell if one plug will be better or worse. I don't think it's possible to tell.

If rob won't comment on the AC, I will... ;-) I agree, the AC minnow looks like it was whittled out of a log by an 8 year old, but for some reason it catches fish. Must have a unique action or something because there are definitely better looking baits out there.

Now, rob, since you're sponsored by MS Slammer, I'll just have to take that generic trout away from you. har har.
-Brian