July 12 - Give us your lure reviews

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:08:50 AM

LIKE - Bettencourt Baits "Real Fish" Bluegill, super floating crank that actually looks like a hand-sized gill in the water...gotta be super when the bass are bustin' the gills!

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:09:42 AM

Bandit 100 200 300 400 series cranks

I love thses baits as they are simple yet productive. They have a nice wobble to them, and I think the Lightness of the plastic allows more light and the show up better in the water. Wish they came with slightly bigger hooks, but changing them out can be a real treat.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:10:02 AM

LIKE - Bettencourt Baits The Rodent because it's got all the fine qualities of an "old time" big bass bait...that works!

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:11:20 AM

LIKE - FLW finesse worms, lavendar...kind of feminine looking, but man do they work on a tough bite in the Fall

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:11:39 AM

Excalibur fat Free series.

Never fell in love with these cranks as they seem to run untrue out of the box a great deal. Sometimes, even fiddling with the eye doesn't help. Very heavy lure that doesn't reach depths as well as other cranks in my box. Great colors but doesn't make up for the other flaws.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:12:15 AM

LIKE - FLW finesse worm, brown...great for a tough bite in the Spring when you have to downsize

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:13:16 AM

Venom tubes

I love thse tubes as they are well constructed and seem to last longer than others I've tried (Zoom, Stirke King, and Yum). Pitch well, skip well, and catch many smallmouth at Erie on them.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:13:40 AM

LIKE - 5/8 oz Black Jitterbug, great for early evening bite in Late September, just the right amount of gurgling on the water

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:14:50 AM

DISLIKE - 5/8 oz. Jointed Jitterbug, because the action is actually diminished and is harder to cast into the wind

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:14:57 AM

Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20

Absolutely love this bait. Great action with the tail split, and the bass love it pitched around cover. I have caught bass in other types of weather conditions and feeding moods on this bait. Moves a lot of water and seems to attract fish to pick it up.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:16:26 AM

LIKE - BPS 1.5" tender tubes because they come in more colors than you can possibly imagine and have just enough action to entice bass when downsizing is critical

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:16:57 AM

Reaction Innovations Double Wide Beaver

I bought one package of these baits and do not like them. It's possibly the bulkiets plastic in my boat. In my opinion too big. A lot of fish pick it up, but usually by the tail and even with a 5/0 hook I seem to miss fish. Maybe somewhere in the US where there are bigger bass than Ohio, this bait would kill them.

Eric

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:18:27 AM

Strike King Diamond Shads

I like these baits. Great action, rattle seems to be just enough, and good hooks right out of the box. Fished around grass, htis bait catches fish. Finishes are real nice touch too.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:20:05 AM

LIKE - 5/8 oz Zara Spook, because it's a great mid-day to late afternoon topwater bait and you can cast it a country mile when the fish are on the outside edge of the flats

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:21:08 AM

Strike King Pro model jigs

Use these baits exclusively. I love the size variations, even carrying bitsy bug versions when the bite gets tough. Keep it simple with just a few colors though. Black and blue, green pumpkin, and my all time favorite CAMO! Very good, sharp hook, weedguard is strong but doesn't get in the way at hookset.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:21:21 AM

DISLIKE - Hula Popper...although I know a lot of people who swear by 'em, I've never so much as gotten a rise on one yet

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:23:01 AM

LIKE - Rebel Crickethopper because it's a great downsizing bait and who knows you may even be surprised by a slab gill, crappie, or in my case by a 38" northern pike!

Warpath · July 12, 2005, 05:23:51 AM

Rapala F11 stickbait

I love these baits two ways: 1) a solid jerkbait moved quickly through an area as a search bait, and 2) as a topwater bait that I deadstick in an area I know holds fish. The bait is just big enough. The third treble hook is a savior most of the time. I don't like the sizes just bigger or just smaller than this model.

Eric

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:25:25 AM

LIKE - Bomber Model A, crawdad, works great around here in the local lakes with rocky or rip rap strewn shorelines cast parallel to the shorelines, it bounces nicely on the bottom, and with varying retrieves can easily be made to just barely tick the tops of the weeds

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:27:03 AM

DISLIKE - GULP baits, simply put, if you forget to seal up the bag for any reason, they become nasty and unfishable...a waste of money

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:28:33 AM

LIKE - Berkely Crappie Niblets, moldable, easy to slip in your pocket or fishing bag and they've saved many a bad day by adding them to the back of a tube bait

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:29:47 AM

LIKE - Culprit worms, I only use them as trailers, but the action they add to my spinners and spoons is terrific.

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:31:57 AM

LIKE - Strike King 3X lizards they're everything they're advertised to be and more...they're super for working weightless on top of duckweed when you want to keep it up on top.

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:34:22 AM

LIKE - Wave Worm Tiki Stick, another great bait for casting weightless on top of the slop, or "do nothing" fishing in the Spring and even works great as a swim bait!

Fishaholic · July 12, 2005, 05:37:22 AM

LIKE - Uncle Josh Split Tail Eel, super flexible trailer ideally suited to dressing up a Johnson Silver Minnow for Spring and Fall feeding frenzies.