Cgolf

I am just glad that the elites don't fish in the fall, as these are on my Black Friday wish list. After doing well with the Arishi version last month, I wanted to pick up a few Duos, Lucky Crafts, and Jackalls to work with next year.

Do you have durability issues with the TRD? The Orange one on the previous page only has 6 non toothy fish on it and it is starting to tear. I have noticed this with the other TRDs I have used, along with them having less wiggle. A Zinkerz on the other hand has been indestructible for me and has twice the action. I do sometimes soak and stretch the Zinkerz before fishing them to get the salt out, but not all the time.

I have been throwing them on the following three rods with 50lb power pro for years without any issues. 6'8" wright McGill Clunn square bill rod, probably my favorite, really sweet stick and I even like the colors 6' pinnacle vision medium action that is well over 20 years old 7' medium action Cabela's prodigy rods, used the least but work well. The Clunn stick seems to be the easiest to work with, it is a bit slower, but matches perfectly with baits like the Bandit 100, and has done double duty with 1/2 ounce RESs when the fish change their minds.

Same here, but was more curious if it was a prototype bait because at least in the picture the flappers looked longer and I didn't see the gap in between them like the menace. I am not 100% that it was a menace. I think G man has been pretty open about this in the past, using other baits, the only crazy thing is if there is a picture why lie, just say it is a generic trailer instead. KVD's was listed as a perch spinbait type lure lol Back in the day I saw this in the RC car world too, I had special, legal, motors that were unlabled and I know others did as well and that was the tip of the iceberg there.

I had, and the rage FB page links the tackle retailer story where at the very bottom of it Steve mentions that he tried to communicate with them last year and never heard back after he had talks with them, I assume at Icast.

Looking at the top lures for the St Lawrence tourney on Bassmaster G man has what looks a lot like the Menace grub. They call it a Z Craw trailer, but it isn't. Is it a prototype bait, or is it actually a Menace?

The article also showed a bag labeled Paca craw or chunk as well. If they truly were trying to be an OEM pouring house, they definately seem to have gone about it in the wrong way. In the article they made it sound like Steve tried to reach out to them last year and failed, so again maybe they just screwed up and handled it wrong. Not defending them, but I am guessing things are done different there vs here.

I have done really well with it fishing on my local river system, visibility is pretty poor. Probably my number one color for smallies and big Brown Trout (when they move shallow in the fall and share the water with the smallies).

The Arishi Spinbait saved me on a recent trip. It was a tough bite and once I started whacking the on that thing it flipped my attitude around. I do see how they can be a situational bait, but man in the right situation these things are great baits. It is a bait I will be using more in the future. Maybe there will be a lot for sale a year from now when they realize they haven't used them.

That Orange TRD should have a legit NED head on it. That color started out as bubblegum, but turned orange after sitting in a box with green pump Orange Zinker. It worked so well I may never try the bubblegum color lol. And as you can see I have a mix of true Ned heads, a heavier jig and what I call a sled rig, slider plus small plastic.

So who ultimately came up with that tail style? I have some older Yum Woolee Bullees that have something similar? If must not take much to get around the patent, because Bizz Baits have that bump on the edge too. So if the patent is so easy to get around, why would anyone bother with getting a patent?

The non elaztech was based on OCDocks comment. I switch between 1/2 Zinkerz, TRDs (Have a sweet light orange one that used to be bubblegum that before the flooding fish were jumping on), and 1/2 Anglers Choice Wart Hawgs that is a heavily salted skinny stick bait. No Senkos for me too expensive. The difference for me on lakes is I fish a lot of vertical cover vs open water which is why I need the heavier weight a lot of the time. I know a lot of guys are bothered by how the NED is morphing into a small bait on any size jighead which is why I don't want to call what I fish that even if it is one, it is easier that way. I know that the heavier jig with a bigger hook isn't a Ned rig, it is something else, jig worm shakey head? When I fish it on on a 1/16 fireball head it is a Ned. Total aside, really bummed that gopher tackle appears to be no more, my supply is dwindling.

That's not what I said, I said I vary the weight depending on the fishes mood. 75% of the time the fish I chase bottom feed and don't chase baits, so in those cases yes I use a heavier head to catch fish. Also elaztech baits are not needed to be a Ned rig, I use both elaztech and salted baits for a different swimming action. All I am saying is there are lakes out there that 5-6 fish an hour is a good catch rate Ned rig or no Ned rig. I never said it won't catch numbers, it can and will, but it is not a magic bait. Please reread my post, that is my findings on the lakes I fish, I never said the bait was bad either, my PB Smallie came on a true Ned Rig.

Here is my 2 cents, I no longer fish a Ned rig, I fish a short plastic, maybe Zman, on whatever jighead weight the bass and conditions dictate. Sometimes that is a 1/16 or lighter head, or a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce head. If the fish want a bait that gets down quick and stays down I am not going to try and force feed them a lightweight head. This really rubs me the wrong way. The Ned Mafia;) would make you think that there really is only one bait to fish with to catch them. A lot of us don't fish lakes where the density of Bass is high enough to catch numbers like that. You might, Ned and Bluebasser might, but a lot of us don't. I have fished the bait quite a bit, but on the lakes I fish it has never been the best option, a good one sure, but the best no.

I am sure some will chime in and say the expensive glasses are the best, but my one experience so far says not necessarily. I have a pair of solar bats that are basically still new because I found my cheap strike King and Del sol glasses worked as good as the bats and were more comfortable. The cheap ones have lasted quite a few years. Saying that I do have a pair of Nines on the way and I will see how they work out.

@primetime As for the Sluggo, without it the Senko might never have been born. The story I heard was Gary wanted a bait similar to, but with a different action than the Sluggo. Heck I have both and can't catch fish on either one. One I haven't seen yet is the sassy Shad. That thing I think was the first soft plastic Swimbait. If Mr twister poured and sold the first curly tail grub, then they might be responsible for two of the top categories in soft plastics. If they weren't first someone correct me.

Flavor of the month Zman baits on the Ned rig. The Ned rig itself has been fished by many for so long I wouldn't call it a fad, it just wasn't called a Ned rig. Just a small plastic on a light jig that catches fish. Maybe the big money baits are a fad too, can't believe that they have magic dust that makes them that much better than an 8-9 buck baits.

I will have to give that a try, certain parts of my local lake gets thick enough with weeds it is difficult to get through with the trolling motor, over top of that stuff might be good.

At a gander closing sale got 3 1/4 ounce RESs and a pack of rage bugs for 18 and change out the door, not too bad of a deal. will be interesting to see how the rage bug compares to the gambler ugly otter which has been a go to bait for me, and is a buck cheaper than the rage bug. The menace won me over, but it is a different bait and really just fit in to the baits I toss. The Rage bug will need to be pretty incredible to knock the otter out of the rotation.

Here is my two cents. If this show were truly a dealer show, they should not be allowing the media, or just handle their own media through social media. The media is also their just gawking and potentially getting in the way of dealers that want to get in and make contacts with existing or new companies and place orders. My guess if they did just that they might not get enough people to the show, so at some point they started to open it up. Have they opened it up too far, who knows, and probably depends on who you ask. As as for the local regional shows, I have been to a couple and as some have stated, most big companies aren't there and obviously no new products aren't there, as somebody said it is like a flea market with some nice boats thrown in, a waste of time and I no longer go. My background is the RC Plane/car world where their big show is open to the public, but they don't allow the companies to sell products directly at the show. The only buying and selling goes on in the swap meet and auction. I would guess the fishing tackle industry is bigger in number of anglers, not sure on the money part though. It could be done. as some has said the real problem is how they market the thing and how all the new products hit the web. How do people that go not expect us bait monkey bit people not to want to go, we want to see all the new stuff too and maybe do a side trip to Disney World;)

@Bluebasser86 is better at this than me, but the text on the bottom of the bill is the tip off.

Here is the B stock rod tag, had to do a separate post due to pic size. They also have a decently stocked shop too, especially compared to other shops in the Northwoods.

Finally took a picture of the Avid X I got from the factory. The only issue I can see with the Avid is a sloppy glue job at the tip, it measures the proper 6'6". So it wasn't a broken tip rod, they have bins for that. The mojo blank looks scuffed like it was maybe a demo rod. Also included a pic of the tag, if you are ever in the area you should check it out. They had some elites as well, but even at half off they were out of my price range. Fishing with the Avid was really nice, I could distinctly tell when I was hitting a weed or a fish. It was way more sensitive then my Cabela's prodigy rods.

Many say keep them in the bag they came in, but I don't want to put wet baits in a ziplock bag. What I have used is one of those Plano 3500 double sided boxes, brand new of course. I drilled a couple of holes above each compartment to allow the baits to dry. I also put some paper towel in the bottom of each compartment to absorb water. I will see if I can find a picture of the box.

Just wanted to add in case J.C doesn't know Zman and standard plastics don't play well together. They need to be stored separately. Fishnkamp, one of my favorite dock rigs lately is a 1/2 Zinkerz on a slider head, I call it the sled rig;) Old school finesse meets new school finesse.