Stringjam

Before you hand over your hard work to BPS expecting them to jump all over it and give you a bunch of money, you might ask some of those people how it's working out for them. I had a neighbor in another town I used to live in that sold an idea to BPS - - the money was pretty menial. It's no secret that BPS will do whatever they want - - if you don't have any kind of protection on your idea, what would keep them from just copying it like they do to everybody else? If you really believe in your product's potential, I would talk to some people who have "been there done that" and find out what they have to say. I would rather go into business for myself and and have 100% of the sale headed my way - - as to get a 2% royalty check from a company that may drop it at any given moment. Just MHO.....

Just use the balsa diving Shad Rap instead of the Glass Rap - - - they're lighter - and they don't have any problem catching fish.

I submitted a prototype to a patent lawyer a couple of years ago......as I understood it, that idea was protected from that day, unless I decided not to go through with the patent application process (which is a long one.....and an expensive one....) I elected not to go through with it at the time.....but I am starting to reconsider.

I've fished with them briefly - - not terribly impressed with the new bait so far. Here's a pic comparing it to the old Bandit 600. As you can see, the 600 has more lip surface area than the new one. - - it seems a lot more lively to me than the 700 as well - - kind of has a Bagley DB3 kind of wiggle to it. The 700 is has kind of a tight, smooth wiggle coming through the water, whereas the 600 has more of an erratic, snappy wiggle. I'll let the fish decide, but at this point - I think I still like the 600 better .

$25??? I think I'll just put some SuspenDots on my regular Deep X 200's - they're not very buoyant anyway.

Megabass Deep-X 200's can easily be found for between $12-$15 from eBay retailers (I've gottent them as cheap as $10). You can get them into the low teens on a long cast (and a long cast is VERY easy with these). I've never really thought of them as a deep jerkbait though - - it's pretty much a straight-up crankbait.

(???) I did a simple Google search and found a bunch of e-retailers carrying LC Real Skins.

Use them. The "original" Poe's were made during the late 80's in California, and come in fish-shaped packages. These are the most valuable baits, but "valuable" is a relative term - - even those baits don't tend to get over $10 very often on eBay. The baits you listed tend to go for between $3-$6 (I've sold LOTS of them on eBay). The Poe's post-California suffered from some QC problems - - especially lips working loose and popping out. I've been through a BUNCH of them - - some don't even make it through a single trip. Some of them really catch fish - - they just just don't last too long doing it. ;D So my advice - - bust them out and fish them hard. These baits won't be collectible so there's no need to worry about losing or breaking them. Poe's are some of the best fish-catchers you can throw.

Take an old spinnerbait and use the hook to punch out the eyes - - works perfectly (needs to be a nice big hook). I have a special tool designed just for punching eyelets out, but the spinnerbait hook works just as well.

I've fished with them a couple of trips.....action is on the subtle side, tight, smooth wobbling bait with a fairly slow rise. Something I might consider using for cold water / inactive fish, but I definitely don't think it will be my first choice for fishing around shallow cover. IMO there are much better performing, livelier flatsided cranks for that (check out Big M's flatsides sometime to see what I mean). I don't think it's a bad design, though - - I can think of some conditions where it will probably do very well.

Smoos aren't that old - I'm guessing their production run was during the 70's-80's(?)...really not sure on that. They do have a cool action though - they pop up on eBay with a lot of regularity - you can usually snag them for a decent price as they aren't really all that popular. You might pose your question at tackleunderground.com......there are some guys there who pretty much know about every crankbait that has ever been made...

That looks a lot like a Bagley diving Smoo......but since you mentioned it was plastic, I guess it rules that out.

There are some models I really like - - specifically the Slim Willie, and Diving Slim Willie in the Jelutong series, and the Skinny Mini and Skinny P from the Premium Balsa series. Quality is spotty so try to check them out in the package.....I just picked up a Premium Balsa bait that's a sinker.... >.......I wish they would at least check out the flotation before packaging.

Killin' deep crank

Unfortunately, YES. I say "unfortunately" because when they get on burned deep divers, it makes for a really good workout. I've even caught fish burning deep cranks in early winter (50 degree water). Sometimes it's just the best way to get bit on them.

The VMC Barbarian Outbarbs are pretty similar - - I have them on several baits. As far as whether or not they are more effective than inbarbed hooks - - I really can't tell.

It's based on Pete Reynold's "Lil Petey" crankbait design that has been around for a long time - - catching A LOT of fish. Strike King's bait is farmed out by Mimic Lures. I have a couple of Mimic Petey's and they're nice baits, so the SK's are probably likewise. Of the Petey derivatives I have, the Mimic design is among the tightest wobbling - - it has a slightly narrower, longer lip than the other Petey types.

Very true - - you can smack the moss off of the most fragile balsa baits if you learn how to do it right. The art of slop smackin'.

I always have to wonder, when I think about the Sexy Shad phenomenon - - - David Fritts is arguably the most successful deep crankbait fisherman who has ever lived, and has probably caught more fish deep cranking in a year than KVD has caught in his whole life fishing them, yet look at the influence KVD's color selection has had in the selling of THOUSANDS and thousands of crankbaits. Perhaps it's because Fritts focuses mostly on the technique (art) of deep cranking, which places more emphasis on the experience and skills of the fisherman, rather than just on one little piece of the puzzle. Not that Fritts isn't a good lure salesman - that should be expected of anyone who is paid or compensated to promote a product......for some reason his success doesn't seem to earn him the same level of influence as a "KVD." Of course, were that the case, the talk might go something like: "Man - - Fritts was just tearing them up on deep cranks this week!" "Yeah? What was color was he using?" "Um....just pearl with a black back - half the paint was knocked off the bait though.....some old beat up Poes or something..."

I would call it "Jessie's Girl" You could make an ad using a guy with a hung up conventional bass jig saying "You know, I wish that I had Jessie's Girl!" Seriously.....I would never forget it - that's the whole point of marketing.

Awesome stuff as usual - - I can attest to the sub's ability to dive.....they are some diggin' machines.

Awesome as usual. Of course, I still think the M-Flat you painted up for me is the best color yet....... .....it knows how to dance, too.... 8-)

The Frenzy FLICKER SHAD is a super-good little crankbait! Very underrated lure when you need a "Shad Rap" style bait in a finesse situation. As a bonus - they also work extremely well for walleye...

Putting superglue on the OUTSIDE of the lip area to keep it from coming out??!! There is absolutely no way that is going to happen - - if that little layer is superglue is going to keep a lip that is improperly epoxied into the lip joint from coming out - - I'll eat my shorts, and I'll fish naked next Saturday - standing on my head! I know all about lips popping out, though - - I fished Made in Mexico Poe's for several years - you were lucky to make it through 2 or 3 hard days. ;D

I like 7A's.......especially firetiger 7A's - - that bait has caught a BUNCH of fish for me.