Guiding You In Your Quest For More And Bigger Fish
One component of fishing that can make a huge difference in everything from angler fatigue to hook up ratio, having the ability to present a bait properly, casting distance and accuracy as well as myriad other concerns is a good, balanced rod.
Yes, the stick you’re using can, depending on which one you’re throwing, either help to elevate your time on the water or make it much more of a chore than it should be.
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Packaging
Yes it’s still jerkbait weather around here and we have been fishing the new Spro Mcstick 95 every time we have gone. This bait is 3.75 inches long and weighs just 3/8 of an ounce. It is designed to suspend in the 3 – 5 foot range allowing the angler to target some of those shallow or suspended bass.
I realize that getting out on the water when weather conditions are less than optimal has its own challenges, but there is one advantage you aren’t fighting for space on the water! This is enough incentive for us to get out and get to it!
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we always have a swimbait tied on when we hit the water. The reason is simple, they
Optimum Double Diamond
catch fish and can be used in lots of different conditions. We are always open to trying a new product in this category and today’s review is on one that we have been experimenting with for a while, the Optimum Baits Double Diamond Swimmer.
We chose the 3.75 inch version for our testing because it matches the size of our local forage better than the other options. This version also lends itself to more possibilities for rigging than its larger cousins.
It’s called the Double Diamond because of its shape. Both from the side and top or bottom, it is an elongated diamond with a small head and narrow section just in front of the oversized paddle tail. If you’re looking for 3D eyes, you won’t find them on this bait because the design of the head doesn’t allow space for eyes.
There is a belly slit in the bottom that isn’t as deep as one that is found on a split belly swimbait for aligning your hook whether you are rigging it weightless or using it as a jig trailer. However, because it is relatively shallow, you have more plastic to go through on the hook set than with more traditional swimbaits.
We started by rigging the Optimum on a 4/0 weighted EWG to see how it would cast and what the action would be like. The paddle tail does a good job of moving water but does have a sweet spot in terms of achieving the most kicking action. This bait will stay fairly horizontal on the retrieve without rising in the water column as fast as some of its competitors.
Note the diamond profile
On the fall, the tail stops kicking but it does have a moderate nose down descent with no rolling to the side. We found in fishing the DD that a lot of our strikes occurred as we would snap the bait off the bottom and re-start our retrieve. As far as fishing it by itself, this proved to generate more strikes than any other retrieve we tried.
We also fished it as a trailer on both swim-jigs and chatter-baits. The design of this lure really lends itself to this rigging. Because of the shallow belly slit and fairly solid back, it seems to be more at home when threaded onto one of these baits so that your hook point can be exposed. We also found that it enhances the action of both of these products versus a craw style trailer in terms of the side to side kicking action.
When used like this, we only got strikes as the bait was moving. Not one occurred as the bait was sitting on the bottom. We had our best results by swimming this through stalks and lily pads. When we matched the colors of the Double Diamond to the colors of our jig skirts, we were hit more often than using either a complementary color or opposing colors.
There are a number of patterns available in the Optimum bait. They range from the subtle, more natural, to very dark as well as very bright giving you something that can be fished in almost any color water. Again, knowing the local forage should dictate which patterns you might want to try.
As far as cost goes, the Double Diamond will run about $4 bucks for three. While this isn’t cheap, it isn’t close to the most expensive soft plastic swimbait out there either. The durability of the DD is a little less than average mostly due to the narrow section of plastic just in front of the tail. It can be torn and was the weak link in our testing. However, it is also fairly versatile which comes in handy when you have to make adjustments while you’re on the water.
| Optimum Double Diamond Swimmer | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| Unique design deserves a place in your tackle box | |
See ya’ on the water …
We’ve discussed fall fishing and the baits that we like to use for that time of year. However, there are still a lot of places that are more in
Bully Grass Devil in package
the late summer phase for the moment. For these conditions, there are some baits that will help you put more fish in the boat including the subject of todays review, the Power Team Lures Bully Grass Devil.
There are situations where you will want to be able to punch through or in the midst of stick-ups, matted grass, lily pads or other dense vegetation. To this end, manufacturers produce what are called, “punch baits”. Typically, these are designed to be smoother, with less appendages sticking out, than a swimming bait.
Enter the Bully Grass Devil. This lure is 4.5 inches in length, has a set of claws and a set of extra appendages. Both are designed to be shielded by the body of the bait so that they slide easily through grass but still provide enough action to get noticed by bass who are under all this slop, waiting for an easy meal. This makes an effective tool that mimics a crawfish but doesn’t get hung up as it’s descending through the muck. The strikes usually come on the initial fall or after only a couple of pops of the rod.
Fishing punch baits is not like using the average craw imitation on a jig in open water or with only sparse cover. You want a punch bait to penetrate the cover easily to elicit a reaction strike. For this technique, you’ll want a pretty heavy sinker, 3/4 ounce or heavier depending on the conditions, and I prefer to peg the sinker. I don’t want my weight to have any distance from the bait itself. I usually fish this rig with braid because I am not making a stealthy presentation. On the contrary, I want those fish who are buried in the slop to know that something is coming so they will look for it. I also want a quick drop so that they aren’t analyzing the bait. The idea is that they see it and react quickly to it before it has a chance to get away.
The Power Team Lures Bully Grass Devil accomplishes all of this in an attractive and effective package. I like to use a heavy flippin hook with these baits as there is a groove molded into the plastic that is ideal for tex-posing a hook without having to worry to much about it slipping out. It also provides less plastic for the hook to go through on the set which increases your hook-up percentage.
There are several good colors offered with many of them using two colors. One of my favorites is the Delta Destroyer that is kind of dark brown on one side and a deep red on the other. This matches our local mud-bugs to a T. When you’re shopping for a lure like this, matching the hatch is an important ingredient to your success. Remember, you’re goal is to make the presentation such that your bait doesn’t arouse any suspicion from the fish.
A lot of folks don’t have access to a boat but don’t let that stop you from adding this technique to your arsenal. You can use this from shore simply by casting into holes in cover and allowing the bait to drop to the bottom. From there, just pop it quickly off the bottom and hold on!
On the MVF rating scale, the Power Team Lure Bully Grass Devil earns a 3.75.
See ya’ on the water …
The bully grass devil has a very creative design