Roman Made Mother Product Review

Lure Review

Glide Week : Art in Action, the Roman Made Mother

Date:	4/13/14
Tackle Type:	Lure
Manufacturer:	Roman Made
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 6.23 - ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD!

Introduction: At one point in time approximately 10 years ago, if you wanted a quality, hand made big bait, you focused your attention on a handful of manufacturers out of Southern California. This was the epicenter of the big bait craze, so if the lure you coveted wasn't coming from that geographic region, it simply was not "legit".

Things do not get any more serious than when you're throwing a bait like this. Introducing the 11.25 inch, 11.3 ounce Roman Made Mother.

In 2009, this focus would change. On July 2nd of that year, Manabu Kurita tied George Perry's world record large mouth bass catch with a monstrous 22 pound, 5 ounce prize from the waters of Lake Biwa, Japan, and in the shockwaves that followed, JDM big baits emerged as the prize of every trophy hunter's dream.

We couldn't get enough line out to make this bait swim properly in our test pool, so we did the next best thing and filmed it's smaller sibling, the Negotiator instead.

This came about despite news that Kurita's catch was from the result of fishing live bait. See, while it was a well known topic in Japan, until Kurita's record tying catch it wasn't exactly global knowledge that several anglers, including himself had been successfully trophy hunting for years in Lake Biwa with actual big baits produced right on the shores of Biwa. Once that news emerged, everyone had to have the baits they were throwing. What bait was that you ask? Here now is our long overdue review of the Roman Made Mother.

Roman Made Mother Specifications
Type	Glide Bait
Length	11 1/4 inches
Weight	11.3 ounces
Depth	Any
Rate(s) of Fall	1 ft / 2 seconds
Pieces	2
Origin	Made in Japan
MSRP	$425

Quality/Construction: The Roman Made Mother is a hand carved bait made out of a specialty type and cut of wood in Japan. The finishes on these baits are super clean yet relatively simple for a bait painted in Japan. Detail work on this bait is limited to the head and is more artistic than realistic. Hardware on both the top hook and bottom hook interpretations of this bait is stout. Craftsmanship, needless to say, is excellent.

Quality Ratings for Roman Made Mother
Finish (1-5)	Detailing (1-5)	Hardware (1-5)	Craftsmanship (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	4	5	5	18	20	9

Be sure to tie on a GOOD knot when throwing this bait!

Performance: Weighing in at over 11 ounces, the Roman Made Mother is a difficult bait to conceive casting and retrieving but with the right gear you can do exactly that. The most comfortable rod I've used to throw this bait is Okuma's EVX-C-861XH-Ta matched with the Citrix 364L spooled with thirty pound Sunline Supernatural Nylon Monofilament. Its not often I get the opportunity to throw a bait that retails for more than the combo to which I have it tied on, but in the case of the Mother, its not difficult to conceive this occurrence.

Trying out the Mother onboard the Megabass Super Red Demon.

Okuma's EVX-C-861XH-Ta is a case in point illustrating the importance of matching a rod's capabilities to the bait you want to throw. I attempted to fish the Roman Made Mother on several different sticks but none were rated higher than 8 ounces in maximum recommended lure weight so while I was able to cast this bait, I wasn't able to target it very well. The EVX-C-861XH-Ta is rated to 12 ounces in lure weight and is able to handle the Mother's weight so well, I could pinpoint casts to visible structure.

Size comparison between the Mother and it's smaller sibling, the Trick.

Next Section: Working the Mother...