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Can O.S.P.'s Blitz Sack the Competition?
(continued)
  Durability: The OSP Blitz can certainly take a beating. I've launched this bait both intentionally and unintentionally of dock pilings and rocks
repeatedly with nary a scratch on its surface or any signs of cracking either in the body or the bill of the bait. Maybe it's just the angles I take, but I'd expect the my baits to show more signs of abuse and they really don't.
We fished this
bait for over a year and a half.
And met limited success with it.
Application & Effectiveness: Now the bad news. I mentioned above where I felt this bait might be best suited for situations where you want to really tick the top of submerged weeds two to three feet under the surface of the water. I'm guessing because I've had really marginal success with this bait in both the original and MR version.
The Blitz comes stock with some pretty decent hooks.
They make a larger version too titled the Blitz MAX, but judging by our limited success with the original, this bait has yet to touch the water.
Judging by the success I had fishing the Rudra and the solid action of this bait, I really expected the Blitz to be a big producer for me, but the numbers just never materialized. I guess it's just one of those things where I never got the bait in the right conditions.
We had high hopes for this bait, but for us, it just didn't pan
out.
Availability: O.S.P. has a United States division but distribution of the baits is still rather sparse. A pointed and thorough Internet search should reveal competent sources for these baits, but at roughly eighteen dollars a pop, I'm not certain the effort is quite worth it.
Ratings:
|
O.S.P Blitz Ratings (?/10) |
| Construction/Quality |
A quality bait |
8 |
| Performance |
Takes a little bit to get down - very shallow diving angle |
7 |
| Price |
Even pricier than Lucky Craft |
5 |
| Features |
Circuit board lip, unique weight placement, honeycombed walls on the bait |
8 |
| Design (Ergonomics) |
The right size, weight, and castability for a shallow cranker |
7.5 |
| Application |
For whatever reason, not a producer for me |
5 |
|
Total Score |
6.75 |
Ratings Key: Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
(For a detailed explanation of the ratings go here) |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus |
Minus |
| J Well constructed bait |
L Expensive |
| J Casts like a dream |
L Shallow diving angle |
| J Runs true out of the box |
L Not erratic enough in the water |
| |
L Tough to source |
Conclusion: Based on our experience with the Rudra, I was hoping for bigger and better things with the O.S.P. Blitz. Certainly, this bait has its following elsewhere but for me it hasn't quite cut it. When searching for a shallow running crankbait, it has been hard to substitute anything for the proven performance of the Luhr Jensen Speedtrap in my boat.
It's time to package up this Blitz and move onto to the next line of cranks.
While initially the Blitz felt like it would give that bait a run for its money, after over a year and a half of trying to find a groove with this bait, it's just not happening. So for my modest collection of O.S.P. Blitz baits, it's back in their Falcon crankbait box they go, and for me it's time to tie on the next bait in the queue and get to more cranking.
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