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Attack both Fresh
and Saltwater Species with the Slayer Swim Jig from Warbaits
Swimming jigs continue to
gain popularity and ready to take aim at this fast growing category is Warbaits
which specializes in jigs designed for both inshore and freshwater
applications targeting everything from Lingcod to Largemouth Bass. |
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Move, Slide, Stop ... Slammer Time!
One bait that’s been in our box for quite some
time now and often gets taken for granted because it’s been such a staple
since its introduction in 1993 can, along with the AC Plug Minnow, be
considered one of the originals in this big bait category. The occasion has
come to tie this bait on, and chuck it out as we share what we’ve come to
term… Slammer-Time. |
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A Better Tail, the
Strike Pro Flex Crawfish
Strike Pro is one of those
companies that seems to offer every kind of lure imaginable and even has a few
lures that can’t be defined by one category alone, the Flex Crawfish is one such
a lure. Making use of the company’s “bike chain” design this new hardbait is
designed to be the most realistic crawfish hardbait on the market. |
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PRODUCTTPREVIEW : Italian Company Molix Joins the Bait Craze
We may have missed them at
last year’s ICAST, but this new to North America bait company promises to make things interesting on tackle store shelves starting in February 2010. Introducing our look into Molix and their “IDM” (Italian Domestic Market) baits! |
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ProducTTpreview: Owner Breaks into Soft Plastics and Debuts New Hooks
Owner is a company with a lot of respect and acclaim in the terminal tackle
segment of the market - specifically hooks. As we revealed at ICAST 2009, the company is broadening their product space for 2010 with the introduction of four new soft baits.
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PRODUCTTPREVIEW: Berkley 2010 Classic Baits
We first broke news of
the new Classic baits offered by Berkley at the end of last year and since then
we have obtained both more detailed information as well as the baits themselves for a
more in depth look. |
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Year of the Crank Bait Review : Custom Lures Unlimited Ikon/Ikon M2
Our introduction to
Kelly Barefoot and Custom Lures Unlimited came in 2006, right on the cusp of his
launch into a full time business model. I contacted Kelly for some custom
painting services and it was at that time he shared with us his plans to build
more hand carved wood baits. |
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The Leader of Rago's Rat Pack : The Original Generic Rat
The original Rago Generic Rat
debuted roughly ten years ago and immediately became one of those “you gotta
have this” baits. The legend of this bait only grew when production seemed to
have ended a few short years ago, but according to Rago himself, production
never really ended, it just slowed... |
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Get
Real, Koppers Live-Target Smallmouth Cranks
With an
incredible attention to detail the company has expanded their offerings beyond
crawfish and shad to both smallmouth and largemouth cranks. We study the
smallmouth crankbaits which were introduced early this year, and see just how
well this lifelike bait can deceive predators. |
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Year of the Crank Bait Review : Megabass Z Crank
Re-enter Megabass Japan and their incredible
series of wood baits, the Z-Cranks. These products first began to appear on
Internet pages and stores roughly two years ago. |
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Year of the Crank Bait Review: O.S.P.'s HPF Crank
So far, we’ve taken a look at
two baits from this manufacturer, the oversized Rudra jerkbait and the Blitz
crankbait. Their product has scored at opposite ends of the spectrum with us.
Today, we take a look at their take on the flat sided crank. Introducing the
O.S.P. HPF crankbait. |
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Presenting TackleTour's Deep Diving Crankbait Shootout!
Our Year of the Crank coverage would certainly not be complete without some type of shootout between actual crankbaits.
Of course, it’s difficult to objectively evaluate the number one factor of a
bait’s attractiveness to a bass without actually interviewing the fish
themselves. |
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PRODUCTTPREVIEW : Meet
the shrunken down Spro BBZ-1 Jr.
At ICAST 2008, Bill Siemental showed us the then prototype "mini-me" versions the 8" BBZ-1 swimbait. These new, six inch sized versions had been anticipated since the full size version debuted many years ago. |
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In The Mood ... For Jigs, 2009 Jig Roundup
Perhaps the
only thing that outnumbers the variety of jigs available today is the number of
manufacturers pouring, tying, or banding them. How is any bass fisherman
expected keep track? Well, how about through what is becoming an annual affair
here at TackleTour? Presenting our 2009 Jig Roundup! |
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Bass Jam '09 Preview : What's Cookin' with Rago Baits
Well, you know what happens when we get some exciting new product and are given free reigns to talk about it... that’s right, we share it with you. Here’s a sneak peak at what Jerry Rago has in store to debut for Bass Jam ’09. |
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An "easy" choice to fish, the Roboworm EZ Shad
Roboworm is a company well known for their catalog of Western Style, soft plastic finesse worms so when they announced their plans to enter the swimbait market earlier this year, there was little doubt what type of swimbait they would manufacture. Introducing the Roboworm EZ Shad Swimbait. |
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Year of the Crank Bait Review: Rapala's Clackin' Rap
The Rapala Clackin’ Rap is
a rather unique lipless crank that, instead using a series of brass rattles, has
one very large knocker in the middle of the bait that creates a very distinct
sound. Measuring a very common three and one eighth inch length, this bait
weighs a hefty seven eighths of an ounce! |
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Wake Up Shallow Water Bass With ima Japan's Shaker
The ima Shaker is a two and three quarter long, flat sided, plastic crank
featuring a circuit board diving bill and Owner ST-36 hooks. This bait feels
like wood, but is stacked right from the get go with current day, top end
components. |
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It's Not Just About Rods For Upstart Damiki
Damiki made a big splash with us at ICAST
2007 with the introduction of their exciting lineup of bass rods. What’s gotten
lost in the mix since that time is this new company from Korea is not just about
rods. |
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Mythical Creatures, Legendary Baits : The Return of Nezumma
Having only been introduced to the big bait scene between four to five years ago, there are a lot of baits that escaped my initial trawl because they were no longer in the market. During the course of my discussion with Terry that day, one such bait by 22nd Century came up: The Nezumma Rat. |
