Mattlures

There are a few a would recommend, almost all American made with a couple Japanese but not LC

LC makes very nice baits. High quality and productive all except their swimbaits. Those are way below par.

The elite tourney guys are the best in the world at catching small bass. They become great at catching small bass because they are #1 intelligent, #2 have the resources and #3 have the skills that come with experience. #4 desire Resources are the time and money to fish and once you get to a higher level include sponsorship and local fisherman giving valuable intel to the top pros. I am sure there are many good fisherman who could be great if they had the resources to be great. Also not every good or great fisherman wants to compete in tourny's especially at a national level. You would have to be ok with that life style. I know I would have no desire to be on the road all the time and fishing when I don't feel like it because I have to. So desire plays a huge part in it. There are also some extremely good bass fisherman who have no desire to compete in tourny's but would rather hunt the largest bass in their area. They may be as good or better then the best pros.

Has anybody fished this bait yet? I would like to hear what you think of it. Please refrain from complaining over the massive asking price of $13 I am just curious what the guys think of it who have fished it.

Wow what a description!

I know I know!!!

very soon

I know this thread is old but I just saw this. The reason most of my hard baits always seem to be sold out is this. It takes me a long time to make hard baits. I do them in batches of about 50-300. Usually when I finish a batch they sell out in a day or two with the exception of a few less desireable colors or sink rates. So If you miss a release then it seems like they are always out of stock.

The line tie has little effect on lipless multi jointed swimbaits. Even if they are very crooked the bait should still swim straight. If your bait is leaning, its a ballast issue. If you swapped out heavy hooks for lighter ones then that can throw off the balance. If I had to guess I would say the weight inside the bait is not centered. Or the hooks are to light to properly balance the bait. You could wrap some soldering wire around the hook shank or put a little lead tape on the bottom of the bait.

The bigger, thicker, softer, the soft swimbait it is the more likely the braid will cut it. Hollow bellied type baits aren't as bad as they can compress and are smaller so you might be able to get away with braid on those.

You don't want to use braid with soft plastic swimbaits either. The line can wrap around them and cut them like a knife.

When you look at a sample of somebodies trout pattern, if your first impression is green and pink then that is incorrect and IMO ugly. You first impression should be bright silver. Then an olive top. The pink or reddish sides can vary but it should be thin and usually subtle. Like I said VERY FEW guys paint a good trout.

I stay away from wood. most wooden swimbaits are made in china and that's why you see such poor quality. They may look good new but after a trip or two you will see the lack of quality. I did have a few wood baits made in china for me years ago and I had to go over every single one of them and re clear them. I wont go there again. When you buy a BD wooden bait make sure you get one that Jeremy painted and cleared himself. Those are the LTD's.

Tom the OG castiacs were not glides. The current Glide swimbait is a 2 piece bait without a bill. The OG Castiacs would be considered a wake bait.

Brock Hiroshima. He is one of the very few who can paint a decent rainbow trout.