Hey Guys,

Has anybody tried these WWW.ABTLURES.COM. They look real fishy and the price is not bad. Are they just another gimmick?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

JUANCHO

I don't get why they call them swimbaits? You can call a bait anything you want, but it seems like a marketing angle to leverage off the general hype over swimbaits these days. The baits on their site are crankbaits to 99% of the world. These guys are on some big fish at Bass Lake and probably Don Pedro and more power to them for getting on that bite. Bass Lake was way off the radar before they started getting them there.

The only thing that is weird to me, is when you look at the pic of the giant black colored fish where it says 'tired of dinks' - that same pic was in WON a while back and in that pic it had the bait in it's mouth, and the bait in the mouth of that fish was not what they are selling on their site, it was basically an MS Slammer clone, painted yellow. I had the pic cut out in a drawer because I thought it was interesting that they had a bait like that, but I threw it away just last week. There's a pic of a simliar one in this pic:

http://www.abtlures.com/photos/Lmbass_JPG.html

I saw the Gladiator bait shown on the site in the water and thought, hm, it's an ok looking crankbait but nothing to get crazy over, especailly for 12 or 18 bucks. If they are getting those giant fish on that bait on the site, I'm kind of suprised. I have thrown enough big cranks to prove to myself that they are not ususally big fish baits. I'm not saying it's not a good lure for catchin' bass, it just seems weird that they could pull fish like that on that bait. If they are eating that thing at Bass Lake, I need to get over there and show them a 9 or 12 inch trout :)

Rob you bring up a great point. Why are so many baits called swimbaits? I always thought that a swimbait was soft plastic or at least partially soft plastic. I dont think a slammer or Mickey's armageden, or my hard bait is a swimbait either. Thats not to say that they are not good lures. It just seems that every jointed hard bait is now called a swimbait. Is it the size of the lure that makes them swimbaits? If so than all those muskie baits and all the salt water plugs would also be called swimbaits.
Matt

har, totally. I feel like if it's a hard bait and looks like a trout, it's a trout plug. To me, the MS Slammer is a trout plug, not a swimbait. If it's a soft bait and fits this sort of loose category of either looking like a trout or having the 'boot tail' design then it's a swimbait. So I could call a live trout softbait a swimbait, and also call a worm king a swimbait and still sleep ok at night <grin>. People do tend to lump a lot of things under the name swimbait these days which makes things ... kinda weird I guess.

Thanks for the input guys, i'm glad i asked the question before i went out and bought one.

Got another question though, I just received a "trout plug" from optimum baits called a T'S Refrex Crank Bait, received it as a gift from a client. I had never heard of this bait before so i don't know anything about it. I will post some pictures of the bait so that everyone can have their take on it.

Specs: 8" long, weight i'd guess about 3 ounces (it is very light), Rainbow trout color. The detail on the bait is incredible, the best i've seen so far.

Thanks again guys.

Picture 1 - Bait
Picture 2 - Bait hangin from 14 lb. bass (for perspective)
Picrure 3 - Same as 3 but zoomed in.

JUANCHO

Attachment #1, (.jpg file)
Attachment #2, (.jpg file)
Attachment #3, (.jpg file)

that bait is pretty sick. i have fished it a few times.great action looks good on the surface and sub surface. i have only fished never caught anything, but it does look gooooood.

Were these ABT guys at the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach? I saw a bait very similar to those there... but I'm not sure it was the same thing. It was a hard plastic bait... I didn't buy one - mostly because the guys (there were 2) were pretty hammered the night I was there - drinking beer and being somewhat obnoxious. Again, I'm not sure these guys were from ABT.

Nice gift. I have seen those trout plugs retail for $99. Can I borrow your clients? :P

________________

Sonny

2004 - 6 Bass 2 Trout $219.20 in Gear

Here they are: http://www.thefishermans-tips.com/cart/optimumpro.html

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice

Attachment #1, (.html file)

Thanks for all the replies....... I threw the bait in the pool today and it does look incredibly good both on the surface and down to 3 ft.

I guess this one is a keeper, i'll add it to the collection and hope that some day i get to try it out.

Thanks again for all the info.

JUANCHO

My brother decided to order one last week and it finally arrived.
Listen to this guys...

1) The hinges are made of all plastic.
2) The whole entire body is mad of plastic.
3) This plastic is not the Jerry Rago Hardbait plastic this crap is cheap stuff that toys are made of.
4) The paint chips off while transported in a box.

Now just think....
1)1 day of throwing this bait and not even hooking anything pretty much all the paint will be gone.
2)1 small rock or dock knocking will destroy it.
3)1 big bass will break this bait in half with the back end in its mouth and the front end on the end of your line unless you get happen to hook the fish on the belly hook which will quickly rip out of the body.
There is now way that that guy that makes these baits caught that 15 and the 12 on these baits. I don't know what he did but you'd be surprised what people do just to get their baits/business going.

Just letting you guys know what this swimbait is really like.
Thanks. Steve.