Magic Man CP

Please chime in, anyone with actual experience with the bait,, if it's got problems I just haven't ran into them yet, believe me if I do I'll let everyone know as soon as I do. It's not exactly how I'd make it if I were going to set out to make a shad, but pretty damn close. Yea, I've heard the background noise on this as well Cody, but I can't really believe guys are having such different experiences, negative experiences,, but hey if they are I wish they'd post here, to help everyone out. I've spoken to the guy who makes them, I'm waiting on a couple more,, from what I gather, he did run into an adhesion issue but addressed it accordingly,and from the best of my knowledge has done his best as a one man show to inform people about it. I mean, that's all I can ask for. Sure I'm waiting a bit longer because of it,, but as a bait maker I absolutely understand how that stuff goes. And yea, I also heard about the tuning issues because a few slipped through without being swam tested,, the guy sounded like he felt horrible about it to me, offered to send me new ones/exchanges. I guess either I got one that swims good, or just don't know any better, haha ,, but honestly it looks and performs good, and everyone who's seen me with it was genuinely impressed. All the top baits are great to me, different qualities, and I can only say the phoney just seems to be working better for me and my style of fishing. It's just another tool in the toolbox

Thanks,, you guys have successfully derailed what was meant to just be an informative thread. Yea, that does anger me

pm sent

pm sent

Then don't buy one. Period. I can care less about all the hype. Is that all you have to do, how about getting out on the water and actually fishing, posting something positive on here?? It's a great product, do you see any paint coming off of the one in pic? Other than a lot of teeth scratches, mine's holding up awesome! Heck, I've prob caught your pb several times over, so quit hating. You know I'd love to tell you what I really think about you, like I have before, and I'm pretty sure your bashing is just based on our personal interaction from the past. Maybe if you can't catch fish the rt way, take up spear fishing them, after all that's "a thousand times harder than actual bass fishing" anyway... you guys are a joke. An embarrassment to the fishing community. Feel free to pm me if you have anymore to say,, quit blasting this thread unless you've actually used the product and have real input for the other members to find useful.

You used correct diction the first go round sleepy head, haha! Awesome man, night bite is my favorite way to go, never gets into the 90 or 100 temps either!!!

I think it's a sad situation that when one of us takes time to put out a review (positive or negative) on a product that's going to aid other member's choices and it receives so much negative commentary. Now thankfully the mods deleted all the trash on this thread when I initially created it, but now this Cody character wants to chime in and allege it's a "bandwagon" situation...? That's sheer ignorance, and so is your writing skill. I'm all for any feedback on the product, but at least have some personal experience with it, or some actual evidence to back up your claims guys. Others too have claimed I'm on some bandwagon because I like the bait, that's ridiculous. I like it because it's affordable, better built than the comp and is far more productive as well, and as a member I want to share that with the rest of you guys, give back a little for the awesome info I get from this forum. Hey, if it's a bandwagon thing, then expect more to come as this bait's been doing amazing things for me since I've wrote this up... And believe me, I'm all about sharing any negatives I encounter also, bud honestly haven't run into any yet. And another nice point I'd like to make, is that this bait has great drawing power of all sizes of fish, which is a huge benefit when you're looking to get out and have fun, putting numbers in the boat with the high probability of putting some nice weight in too! I've caught countless in the 3-5lb range with the Phoney shad.

Weird. I read posts like this and it makes me think I don't fish nearly as hard as other guys. I've literally never had one single part fail or blow up on a Shimano. And I definitely don't get new/replacement reels all the time, in fact I'm still fishing curados, chronarchs, and calcuttas from the early 90s when the leftys first hit the scene, and they work awesome! With that out of the way, I'd seriously suggest considering that it might be something you're doing, or not doing that might be the cause of these "blow ups". I'm not the biggest fan of the Cardiff, but I do have one, and it seems pretty durable, although it doest have a lot of plastic in key areas. And does lack bearings where bushings have been placed to save cost. I personally don't use aftermarket parts like bearings. I figure the highly paid engineers at Shimano probably did a good enough job designing the ones for their reels, you can always replace bushings with bearings for a low cost upgrade. I just don't like most round reels for use with heavy baits, can't seem to find the right fit for my thumb to control the spool. If you're set on switching reels though,, I'd highly suggest going with the curado 300/301, not the fanciest reel out there, but a solid smooth workhorse that's gonna give you years of reliability.

I wish someone would pm me and please tell me where all these super easy to catch bed fish reside!!! I've caught a good number of bed fish in my time, mostly males or sub-8lbers, but the big females I've encountered definitely haven't been easy! In fact, I saw at least four over DD range last week on the Delta, they absolutely didn't want anything to do with anything I threw at em. I've only caught ten DDs to date, none were sight fished off beds, but I'd respect them just the same as if they were. I sure wouldn't mind getting a pic with every one I've seen, so any of you guys passing up those super easy ones, pass em along to me please! Haha

Hopefully this helps,, takes a lil creativity on your part too. I tune my baits very precisely, almost to where it seems like no two are exactly alike. Where or how you cut it is upto you,, and please don't flood my pm box if you damage any, haha,, keep some glue on hand! I've been getting messages asking if I sell these, unfortunately I do not, my time would cost far more than they're worth. You'll be happy with them though, I've had some positive feedback from a couple guys already swearing they run far truer than the Owners!

The bbr's are ok for some baits,, but the IMX swimbait rods are awesome, you'll never look back. It really depends on what baits you're throwing, opposed to the length per say. I throw my negotiators on a 955, throw my heavier glide baits like the Phoney shad on a 957. The have far superior casting ability, and tons of hook setting power, some guys used to slower rods find them to be to fast for treble hook baits,, I've personally never had an issue. I've had several brands and models, most come and go, the Loomis' always stay.

Here's how I rig my soft swims for in or around cover, which is 90% of my fishing. For years I've been running similar soft swims like the latest weedless RS's. Glad these are now available, he has a durable product that has a great profile. I've been using the 5" 3:16 minnow for over a decade with phenomenal results. Personally though, the recommended beast hook, or similar style hook, would never work for me. Between the screw eye being too much of a weak point, and the weight located where it is, there's a better option from my experience. Normally, before becoming a member on SU, I wouldn't share my lil secret tips, haha! But seeing how less than a handful of guys here actually fish my water, I'm more than happy to share my advice, and hopefully someone out there can benefit from it. My setups and style of fishing isn't for everyone, I'm kind of a KVD power fisherman a lot of the time. I get out there and cover lots of water, only slowing down when the bite suggests I need to. So I need my baits to keep up. I rig this hook like this for two reasons,, I'm often casting far beyond the water's edge into sparse tules. The screw eye gets ripped out way too easily pulling this style of bait through the cover I'm fishing. And I don't have time to sit and repair baits constantly, especially fishing in heavy wind and current on the CA Delta. Secondly, I need my hook to be weighted so it tracks straight, but the weight needs to be as forward on the shank as possible. It runs straighter this way, and dips and dives more natural when I want it too. Once I get the bait rt where I want it, I'll sometimes slow it way down too. That's where tying in as much weight as desired is a huge benefit of this style. First I start with a beefy 8/0 VMC EWG hook. Tie on some thread to the shank, apply a thin layer of super glue, the wrap the desired amount of lead wire on to it, roughly 1/16 to 1/4 oz. Coat the lead with two part epoxy and let set up on a leveling/drying motor for a smooth even finish. Paint goes on last, optional. For the RS and similar baits, I core out an internal pocket, like on the 5" minnow. This helps two ways, body compression for better hooksets, and a lil buoyancy. Finish it all up with a lil olive oil or favorite lube on the shank, and you have a bait even a Wisconsin sz trophy can eat! (For my boy Justin) Good luck

Great fish man,, definitely in the DD size class! Don't trip off the lame low ballers bro, I still get that crap even weighing mine on 3 different scales! Losers Can tell by your hands(size/relation) that a long and healthy fish

Just can't pass up low pressure overcast days on the Delta, I live all year for these conditions! Mix that with the perfect outgoing tide, and it's a tasty recipe for FAT green girls! Started plucking off decent fish in the 4lb range rt away with my own goodies, buzz bait and bladed jig, one tipping the scale just over 7. Grabbed the Phoney shad and began working an exposed weedline, immediately connecting with a healthy 8lb'er! Great action all throughout the day, the highlight was the top water bite though, landing no less than high teens and missing probably just as many, upto 6.5lbs. Best part, it didn't even start raining til my boat was on the trailer! Holding up awesome after several good fish, very happy with this bait so far!

Verycool man,, some good fish being caught lately!

I have an older one, I'm guessing 1st generation, it's a lot different than the current design. I'm still debating on keeping it, thing sinks sinks like a tungsten brick... so less than ideal for the shallow water column I'm mostly fishing, I just can't work it slow enough. Maybe the newer ones sink slower, great action though!

Fish will hold tighter to cover and structure in low vis water. I kinda prefer it, you don't need crazy vibration to elicit a strike, but it never really hurts either. I prefer dark baits for stained water beyond 2' vis, especially on bright days, and lighter colored baits for windy-stained conditions. I've been having great success with a vibrating jig & 5" swimbait trailer lately on off color situations.

Both the Hinkle and the Phoney are well proven to me,, I can only say I prefer the Phoney because of certain qualities that really stick out to me personally. But the lack of availability is the Hinkles biggest strike for me, I often fish with my family also, for us to each have a hinkle tied on would entail about $1,200 just to get one for each of us. That's unacceptable. So when I can get a dozen Phoneys for near the same price, and I prefer the appearance, the action, and the durability over the Hinkle... it's a total no-brainer! So for the original poster's concern,, I'd direct him, and anyone else who shares similar frustrations, to check out the Phoney shad!