Early on I went with fingers, but somewhere along the line (a few years in) I began using a pick to duplicate some of the licks I was hearing on records.
So much so that I found I was using a pick more often than not. I think I started to panic, because I was slowly losing my finger chops, and hey, back then
the pick players were less visible.
So I went back to digits, and eventually the pick fell away. I was never good with slap (though occasional pops were still acceptable) and over time I developed
my finger style. Though I understand the "benefits" playing with a pick provides (attack) I've found that trying to re-establish picking as an alternate method severely
compromises my playing flow. At this point I don't have either the desire or patience to bring it back into my skill set. I don't want to think that hard about it anymore.
I do appreciate all the players that utilize it successfully though - it's just not my cuppa.