Latest Tackle Purchase Thread (Bait Monkey Victim Support Group)

[gimruis]

11 hours ago, Texas Flood said:

I spent almost $200 on jerkbaits

Might want to take out a small insurance policy for them. ?

[NorthernBasser]

On 6/5/2023 at 12:51 PM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Waited months for this stupid thing, and then I ordered the wrong color lol. 

 

The color is terrible, it's more Rainbow Trout than Threadfin Shad.  The one thing it has going for it in this color for me is that it's "ghosty", it'll have a very natural look to it in the water I'd imagine.  It has typical awesome SPRO Gama hooks though, and it comes with rotating hook hangers.   

 

Outside of the color, it's an amazing looking bait right out of the package.

 

I'm about to fish this bait until the joint wears out, or I lose it which highly likely ?

 

I'm loving the ghost perch color. Its also translucent. My goal is to get a giant smallie on it this year. As you said, the fit and finish on this thing seems great out of the box.

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

SPRO Chad Shad review:

 

Total hours fished: 5 solid hours of chunking and chopping 

 

Results:   20+ followers, half of which would have been derby quality fish.   Earlier today I had my first bonified giant swerve it at the boat....6-7lb+ fish.....so frustrating and heartbreaking watching a big girl swim back down to the depths.   Yesterday a couple of the followers were in that 4-5lb range as well.   I'm just not quite doing something right to get these fish to fire on the bait.   Speed seems to be helping, but perhaps these fish are gonna swerve anything.    

 

Missed about half of dozen fish that committed in some manner on the bait.  Almost all of them were when the bait was not observable.   The vast majority of those 20+ followers came all the way to the boat, and at most bumped the tail of the bait.   

 

Caught fish:  4 of which the biggest and smallest are pictured.....if a 1lb Spot, and 2lb LGM will eat it, obviously all size fish are on the table with this bait.   

 

Sink Rate:  I dont own a real Chad Shad, or similar $200+ resin baits however this thing has the best sink rate by a huge margin over the baits I own that are slow sink like S waver, sneaky pete, Trace, BD Shads.   Those baits sink way to fast after fishing this bait.    

 

Action:  This bait will do a ton of things with the right equipment.   With 20lb Sniper fluoro and with some practice you can get this thing to glide out about 2 ft on a long cast.   You can reel it as fast as you can on a 7.1 reel and it won't blow out.   Most importantly for me though is you can chop this bait incredibly well.   You can bring it up to a dock edge or piece of cover and start chopping the bait seemingly in place.      

 

Finish:  From hooks alone, the rash is very minimal, once you catch a fish or two, the actual plastic takes more of a beating than whatever they used to paint the bait with.  The actual paint seems kind of indestructible on it.  

 

Bottom line:   after waiting months for it, having it now being the most expensive single lure I own, I can comfortably say this bait is worth the hype to a couple groups of anglers.....those who are either new, on a budget, curious if big baits are worth it, or even swimbait vets that want a cheaper Chad Shad at 95% effectiveness of the original and that's according to the Kevin Brightwell the designer of the OG and SPRO versions.

 

All those cheaper baits I listed above collect dust, some I've caught a fish or two on, but after using this bait and the Shimano quasi glide-swimmer, I have no reason to ever throw those cheaper baits.    

 

***I had to put a tracer on this bait to better learn it, likely will pull it off down the road.   

 

 

 

 

 

40 minutes ago, NorthernBasser said:

 

I'm loving the ghost perch color. Its also translucent. My goal is to get a giant smallie on it this year. As you said, the fit and finish on this thing seems great out of the box.

 

They're the real deal, seeing that perch color in that pic makes it look a thousand times better.   Got a Golden Shiner look to if you need it to be.   

 

However they painted these things seems indestructible, and the translucent aspect to them is something unique that even the real ones can't achieve.  

[NorthernBasser]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

SPRO Chad Shad review:

 

Total hours fished: 5 solid hours of chunking and chopping 

 

Results:   20+ followers, half of which would have been derby quality fish.   Earlier today I had my first bonified giant swerve it at the boat....6-7lb+ fish.....so frustrating and heartbreaking watching a big girl swim back down to the depths.   Yesterday a couple of the followers were in that 4-5lb range as well.   I'm just not quite doing something right to get these fish to fire on the bait.   Speed seems to be helping, but perhaps these fish are gonna swerve anything.    

 

Missed about half of dozen fish that committed in some manner on the bait.  Almost all of them were when the bait was not observable.   The vast majority of those 20+ followers came all the way to the boat, and at most bumped the tail of the bait.   

 

Caught fish:  4 of which the biggest and smallest are pictured.....if a 1lb Spot, and 2lb LGM will eat it, obviously all size fish are on the table with this bait.   

 

Sink Rate:  I dont own a real Chad Shad, or similar $200+ resin baits however this thing has the best sink rate by a huge margin over the baits I own that are slow sink like S waver, sneaky pete, Trace, BD Shads.   Those baits sink way to fast after fishing this bait.    

 

Action:  This bait will do a ton of things with the right equipment.   With 20lb Sniper fluoro and with some practice you can get this thing to glide out about 2 ft on a long cast.   You can reel it as fast as you can on a 7.1 reel and it won't blow out.   Most importantly for me though is you can chop this bait incredibly well.   You can bring it up to a dock edge or piece of cover and start chopping the bait seemingly in place.      

 

Finish:  From hooks alone, the rash is very minimal, once you catch a fish or two, the actual plastic takes more of a beating than whatever they used to paint the bait with.  The actual paint seems kind of indestructible on it.  

 

Bottom line:   after waiting months for it, having it now being the most expensive single lure I own, I can comfortably say this bait is worth the hype to a couple groups of anglers.....those who are either new, on a budget, curious if big baits are worth it, or even swimbait vets that want a cheaper Chad Shad at 95% effectiveness of the original and that's according to the Kevin Brightwell the designer of the OG and SPRO versions.

 

All those cheaper baits I listed above collect dust, some I've caught a fish or two on, but after using this bait and the Shimano quasi glide-swimmer, I have no reason to ever throw those cheaper baits.    

 

***I had to put a tracer on this bait to better learn it, likely will pull it off down the road.   

 

 

 

 

 

They're the real deal, seeing that perch color in that pic makes it look a thousand times better.   Got a Golden Shiner look to if you need it to be.   

 

However they painted these things seems indestructible, and the translucent aspect to them is something unique that even the real ones can't achieve.  

 

Nice write-up. Appreciate it.

 

And the perch color looks even better in person than in the pictures. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, NorthernBasser said:

 

Nice write-up. Appreciate it.

 

And the perch color looks even better in person than in the pictures. 

Thanks buddy, and I was going to throw my freaking arm out until I caught a fish, and then finally 4 came within about 15mins, and then I quit lol.      This thing is going to produce a big fish, that beautiful Perch one is going to yield you a fattie SM ?

 

Somehow the bait actually warrants the cost when compared to half the cost glides.   The sink rate was a huge thing to understand.  I get why people pay good money for that aspect alone.    

 

The Shimano has made me fall in love with the Slow Float stuff.  Now I really am going to have to get a Klash 9.   Maybe this bait will give me more confidence to fish a tad deeper.    

[5by3]

@AlabamaSpothunter whatever you do, don’t reel that bait as fast as you can and burn it. Never works ?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

6 minutes ago, 5by3 said:

@AlabamaSpothunter whatever you do, don’t reel that bait as fast as you can and burn it. Never works ?

Fished it for another two hours earlier.....I'm burning up my right arm at this point ?

 

This was one of three different Spots that tried to eat the bait a few feet from the boat.    Caught one more, had another couple of hits.....but not nearly the amount of followers today.   It's a fun bait, but other baits would have caught them much better the last few days.    You just have to commit to throwing these big ones, occasionally it seems to pay off with the fish you are after.  

 

[gimruis]

I found these in the bargain bin at a local fleet supply store and bought a pack.  The original price was $1.25 and they were were marked down to 59 cents lol.

 

I've never heard of or seen them, much less used them.  Anyone familiar with these??  If someone chimes in that they are decent, I might just go back there and buy a few more being that they are so dirt cheap.  They had 5 inch green pumpkin and blue/black stick baits and there are 5 to pack.

[Kirtley Howe]

As it says on the package, they basically invented the plastic worm. I have used their products for years and they are as good as any out there. 

[hokiehunter373]

17 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I found these in the bargain bin at a local fleet supply store and bought a pack.  The original price was $1.25 and they were were marked down to 59 cents lol.

 

I've never heard of or seen them, much less used them.  Anyone familiar with these??  If someone chimes in that they are decent, I might just go back there and buy a few more being that they are so dirt cheap.  They had 5 inch green pumpkin and blue/black stick baits and there are 5 to pack.

All I'll say is go buy the rest

[gimruis]

3 minutes ago, hokiehunter373 said:

All I'll say is go buy the rest

 

Well alright, you talked me into it!

 

[NJBasstard]

Not a fan of DSG but the buy 3 get 3 free is hard to pass up. The 5" are a gift for my buddy, but the slow and fast sink have done well for me. Curious how the floating will produce.

 

[gimruis]

Took @hokiehunter373's advice and went back to the bargain bin for some more 59 cent stick baits.  They had been picked through since I bought the pack I did earlier, but there was still some left.  There's none left in there now, I cleared them out.  Not a bad find for $3+ bucks.

 

 

[Eric 26]

@gimruis If you wind up not liking them you can always hand them out to any kids you see bank fishing.

@gimruis If you wind up not liking them you can always hand them out to any kids you see bank fishing.

[gimruis]

Just now, Eric 26 said:

If you wind up not liking them you can always hand them out to any kids you see bank fishing.

And at worst, even if they are not to my liking, I'm out less than 4 bucks total.  I can live with that.

[NorthernBasser]

Got Burrito's little brother, Nacho. This thing should do well.

 

[ATA]

54 minutes ago, NorthernBasser said:

Got Burrito's little brother, Nacho. This thing should do well.

 

That was so tempting but I really bought lots of tackle including the 6" burrito, But hey please update us on it and let us know how good it will do. Thanks

[LrgmouthShad]

I MAYYYYBBE like the zoom mag 2

 

I've noticed that in this ultra-clear water, I get more attention from bass and bluegill throwing a more natural worm, so I particularly wanted to stock up on scuppernong and watermelon seed. 

 

This is not like a "catch one good fish on the worm and think it's awesome and buy a bunch". The mag 2 has performed for me for a while, particularly the last two seasons. This is an investment in a lure that I know works wherever I go (caught in NC, NY, MO, and TX), and especially in the summer.

[FishTank]

My wife set me up early for Father's day. A new Calcutta BFS is on the way as well.  

 

The Bassday lures are amazing.  It has become one of my favorites. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

6 minutes ago, FishTank said:

My wife set me up early for Father's day. A new Calcutta BFS is on the way as well.  

 

The Bassday lures are amazing.  It has become one of my favorites. 

One of the gucci club members that makes me jelly ?

 

Are the Bassday those two almost lipless looking baits?

[FishTank]

16 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Are the Bassday those two almost lipless looking baits?

 

Yes sir. They are similar to the Megabass Humpback but have better hooks and a little more action. I have caught bass, bluegill, crapie, catfish, walleye, trout and pretty much everything else on these two baits.

[Bass Rutten]

31 minutes ago, FishTank said:

My wife set me up early for Father's day

does she have a sister? ?

 

New rod and reel day!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Man I really let the monkey take the wheel on this deal, it's almost too pretty to fish with, but atlas it will see the water within 30mins ?

 

KGB TSG colorway 019  

 

 

[treble hook]

My wife lost a Choppo today so I guilted her into us going to Academy after supper…

[FishTank]

4 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

does she have a sister? ?

 

New rod and reel day!

She does and trust me, you don't want to go there.

 

Her last date ended with the waiter quitting his job.  She also goes to bed at 7pm, has pj's on around 5, and would read a book about the best place in the world rather than go there.