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Lure Review


The Latest Swimbait from Mattlures : Code Name "Bo" (continued)

Bo Sinks: My copy of Bo performs as a medium sink bait. It descends at a rate of roughly a foot every second, and does so in a neutral body position, so it's ready go to the moment you've counted it down to your desired target zone. Most quality baits do this now, but it always kind of mesmerizing to watch a bait descend perfectly level right next to the boat. Mattlures plans to offer Bo in three standard classes of floating, slow sink, and medium sink. He tells us there may be some extra slow sinks too that accidentally result from the weighting process. Apparently being off by a simple gram or two can affect the final outcome so he doesn't really know how the baits will perform until each one is fully assembled and tested.


Soft plastic pelvic fins extend from the belly

Bo Swims: The question, of course, with any big bait is how well does it swim? It's kind of a foregone conclusion with a bait made by someone as talented as Matt Servant, but let me tell you, Bo can swim and he does so at any speed. The old school way to fish a bait like this is to bring it back as slow as you can manage, but lately, anglers have found success burning multi-joint big baits as well and Bo swims straight and true whether you're retrieving fast or slow. Bo's head stays almost perfectly still while the back three sections snake in typical 4-piece bait fashion and there is no top to bottom roll, wiggle, or shake.


Bo even has soft plastic anal fins

Bo Wakes: If you decide to begin your retrieve immediately after Bo touches down, he can't walk on water, but he can wake if you want him to. It's a very subtle wake, but it's effective especially on a calm morning. Any bit of ripple makes it hard to track from above, but Bo swims competently right at the surface regardless if you can see him or not. Pause at any time during your retrieve and whether at the surface or somewhere beneath, Bo will do the customary trick of turning around to see who's chasing him into the end zone. Slower sink or even the floating version will obviously be easier to work on the surface, but even the medium sink version can hang out on top.


The tail is not just a piece of soft plastic but like the other fins is articulated with realistic texture

Bo Stands Up: If you're into making your big baits do tricks, Bo does the most difficult one of all. Drop him in the water, let him sink to the bottom, and Bo stands up on the bottom. Perhaps more accurately, Bo will sit on his belly and not flop over. Those who have the patience for this technique will appreciate the careful attention to weight vs buoyancy during design that enables a bait to perform this coveted trick.


Bo measures 8 inches in length and weighs just over four ounces at 4.2oz

Design/Ergonomics: Bo's measures out at eight inches (8") in length and four point two ounces (4.2oz) in weight. He is equipped with two 1/0 sized Owner ST41 hooks that are attached to his body via stout split rings that are fastened to rotating hook ties. Servant spared no details when putting Bo together and plans to offer the bait in about seven different colors (listed in the spec table at the beginning of the article).


Mattlures plans to release this new shad bait sometime this Fall and it will retail for $150 per lure

Price & Application: If you want Bo to join your team of big baits, the non-exclusive contract for his services is $150 per copy. Considering Servant's original Hard Bass Series debuted at $60 per copy over ten years ago (now the Strong Bass at $80) and the Hard Bluegill at $50 (now the HardGill at $75), $150 is quite a jump. This price point certainly won't deter serious big bait anglers, but it's premium enough to make others think for a while before making the commitment.

Ratings:

Mattlures Un-Named Shad Swimbait Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality A really well made bait with super realistic detailing 10
Performance Can be fished in any number of different ways 9
Price A premium bait at a premium custom-bait price point 6.5
Features Realistic fins, swiveling hook ties, concealed joints 8
Design (Ergonomics) One size, one color 7
Application Can be fished at any speed, deadsticked on the bottom, or waked on the surface. Super versatile bait 8

Total Score

8.08
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ Casts straight and true - Price is par for the course for a custom made premium swimbait
+ Swims at any speed - It's very unlikely this bait will debut with the name "Bo"
+ Will sit upright on the bottom  
+ Swiveling hook ties  

Conclusion: Purchasing a big bait product from small, often one man operations like Mattlures is like buying a fancy camera. They often have features and capabilities you don't need or even knew about. Most people just put it in auto-mode and employ a simple cast and retrieve technique. This is me. Others prefer a more hands-on approach focusing in on how to make the bait dance, spin around, pause and stand up on the bottom. Aspects anglers from either camp can appreciate include how carefully put together baits like this are so they fly straight during a cast, sink or suspend in a natural body position, and can be retrieved at almost any speed. This yet to be named threadfin shad-like big bait from Mattlures checks all the boxes and is a serious tool for big bait enthusiasts.


Baits like this are not just about catching monster bass. You can catch numbers too, but it takes a dedication to give the bait the playing time it needs to deliver on those big hits

I fished Bo on spot duty the first two trips out and it wasn't until the third trip, where I fished him almost exclusively that I got my first bite. Like the majority of my big bait bites of late, the fish was somewhere around four pounds. Not a monster, and I'm not even sure how the bass thought she could get Bo into her mouth, but that's the beauty of fishing a bait like this. It's not just about catching monster bass. You can catch numbers with it too, but accomplish that, you have to dedicate yourself to the big bait program and give Bo a lot of playing time he needs so he can take and deliver on those big hits.

 

Looking for Mattlures currently available swimbaits?

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