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Mimic injured baitfish with the innovative Daiwa "Dead or
Alive" (continued)
 Durability:
The lure’s construction is quite good, and steel hardware is used on all moving
parts. The stress points are all reinforced with screw in rather than riveted
construction, and the blade tail is bolted in with a plate and two screws of its
own. If you look closely at the surface of the lure you will notice that
regardless of the pattern the lure all of them exhibit a cross hatched scale
design. While you can see the lines you cannot feel them because the entire
lure’s finish is protected beneath a generous layer of clear epoxy.
The inside of the hinged body is
painted so that when moving side to side the fish looks more realistic
The DOA is as good as or
better than just about any plug we have ever tested in terms of finish
durability. Many of the painted lures we fish will lose paint as a result of
strikes and contact with their own hooks. The DOA’s epoxy shield resists both
types of assaults like a champ, and looked almost as good as new 30 stripers and
bass later.
A closer look at the hook split
ring attachment
Price & Applications:
One of the reasons so many oversized surface plugs are so expensive is because
they are hand carved and/or hand painted. The DOA is a mass produced lure, and
each of the lures we inspected was virtually identical in build quality and
finish. The larger 6 inch size retails for 39.99 and the 5 inch model retails
for 5 dollars less.
Twitch the DOA just slightly and
it comes to life
While 40 dollars for a lure
certainly isn’t cheap, everything is relative, and in terms of high quality
surface swimbaits and plugs the DOA is in fact on the more affordable side. The
trout pattern may not appeal to swimbait enthusiasts that demand absolute
realism, but the lure may still be sought-after by swimbait collectors simply
because of its unique upturned layout.
The lure is labeled right above
the tail
The only thing we would have
loved to see is an interchangeable tail design. While we liked the buzzblade
tail, we found it best for faster retrieves.
A macro of the lure's texture. The
DOA has a thick layer of epoxy protecting the finish. Notice the waterspots on
top of the finish
When the bait is twitched on
the surface the buzztail does move and create flash, but it does little to
create more splash in the water. A interchangeable more traditional fan shaped
tail would give anglers the best of both worlds for various techniques.
The tail of the DOA consists of a
modified gold buzzbait blade
The lure can be used to
target a variety of species including bass, striped bass, muskie, pike, and even
some saltwater species. If I could only choose one color it would be the Ayu,
followed by the Rainbow Trout, as both appealed to largemouth and
stripers. There may be some difficulty finding all the patterns at the current
time. While there have been some reports at local tackle shops, it is still a
bit challenging to get the DOA from e-tailers at this time.
Fishing the DOA for stripers was
great fun...and an effective way to target the fish on the surface
Ratings:
|
Daiwa Dead
or Alive Ratings
(?/10) |
| Construction/Quality |
The DOA doesn't have the detail in design as some handmade swimbaits but in
terms of mass produced lures the DOA is right on par. |
8 |
| Performance |
It
takes a little practice to impart lifelike action to the DOA, but once you
have it down you can have a blast fishing this lure with various retrieves |
8 |
| Price |
At
40 dollars each this lure may seem expensive but when you compare apples to
apples the DOA is actually priced below custom made swimbaits and inline
with other similarly sized swimbaits and plugs |
8.5 |
| Features |
Packed full of features for a lure of this class. The body is curved to look
more like a real injured fish, the on the side layout is clever, and the
buzzbait tail is a change from the common swimbait soft tail. If this lure
had an interchangeable tail it would have received a 10 in this category |
9 |
| Design
(Ergonomics) |
Easy to fish, the lure is large in size but actually lighter than most baits
of the same size which help reduce the rod and line requirements necessary
to properly cast and retrieve this bait |
9 |
| Application |
While it is a surface lure it can be retrieved right below the surface and
is effective at targeting a wide range of different species |
9 |
|
Total Score |
8.58 |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus |
| J
Innovative design that is quite unlike
any other high quality surface swimbait/plug |
L
Not really a minus, but would have loved
an interchangeable tail design |
| J
Durable finish |
L
Availability online |
| J
Exciting to fish |
|
| J
Reasonable price |
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Conclusion:
Reels, rods, and now
lures…the team at Daiwa continues to expand their total offering. With the
recent introduction of their branded Steez lines it is actually possible to fish
a 100% Daiwa setup. The Dead or Alive is an inventive new surface bait that we
would more likely expect to see from a brand like Megabass, and in the world of
lure originality that is a compliment. The Dead or Alive proved to be effective
at targeting both bass and stripers once we figured out how to properly bring
the DOA to life. It doesn’t take a forceful retrieve to fish the DOA, in fact
the lure can be particularly effective when twitched patiently. The DOA is very
entertaining to fish, and I still have memorable visions of stripers breaking
the surface as they blew up fiercely on the lure during our tests on the Delta.
The DOA is an original surface lure, one that puts a new spin on topwater
fishing. The lure’s unique layout does a good job mimicking a wounded baitfish,
this combined with the lures ability to be retrieved like a subsurface swimbait
and inline buzztail make this lure a worthy recipient of our Innovation Award.
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