Story time ....

So back in the early 90's when the Slammer first came out, the guys using them for stripers had this same discussion. Some guys swore by them on top. Some guys swore by them subsurface. Mike Shaw would get guys coming back to the shop complaining that their baits wouldn't go down under the surface and asking for new ones. Other guys were coming in asking specifically for floaters.

Some guys hated that the lure made a clacking noise and went so far as to put little pads on the bait to dampen the noise. Other guys loved the clacking noise and went out of their way to find baits with a heavy clack to them.

When I first threw the Slammer, I only fished it subsurface. Never ever did I fish it on top. I caught all of my fish on 7" subsurface Slammer for quite some time. Then I went fishing with Mike and on that particular day, he caught several fish on top with 9". I'd never even considered doing it. Since then, I've probably caught about 70% on top and 30% sub surface. What you find out after a while is that sometimes the fish want it on top, and sometimes they want it subsurface, and on some days the difference in the number of bites you get on either action can be suprsing.

Nico and I have talked about this several times, so here is another good example. He got a bait this year that was a diving bait. He had been hoping for a floater to replace one of his other floaters, but for whatever reason, this one was a diver. First trip out he stuck a 7lber and some other fish on it. A few trips later, another 7lber. A few trips later he hooks a 9 to 10lber that got off. In other words, this bait kicked a lot of ass.

The bottom line is that there are slight differences in wood and lure size/shape that cause some baits to float and some to dive. I understand the frustration if you are hoping for a certain action and you don't get it in your bait. But I think if you talk to guys who own a fair number of Slammers and have caught a lot of fish on them, they will tell you it's good to have both because both are effective at the right time.

The even finer point to consider is something we have all talked about before as well. What makes one bait get bit so good over another bait? The intangibles of why a certain Slammer gets railed on and another one does not are very hard if not impossible to put your finger on, but if you just understand that some baits are going to be better than others, it can really help your fishing and confidence. When you find the bait that the fish just want to attack and swallow whole, hold on to that one and don't lend it to your buddy :) We've all read in Bassmaster how certain pro's have their pet crankbaits, the ones that always get bit. Well Slammers are no different. I know they cost a lot of money, but that's just the way it is. These are hand made on a lathe and each one is a little different than the next. A beautiful thing when you think about it :)