High Power Herring

[Nicknick222]

The High-Power Herring which I received for review was a slow sinking 6 inch version in threadfin shad.

 

Appearance and Quality:

 

The HPH is a solidly executed and very clean bait. It features a clean shad patterned paint job which has a unique color shifting paint which gives a flash of pearl green at the right angle. The clear coat is very even and glossy and will undoubtably hold up to many fish. Though the bait lacks many details such as pectoral or dorsal fins or a mouth, it does have well crafted scales, an anatomically correct profile, gills and reflective eyes. The joints on the bait are straight cut and are of the pin and eye variety. Though not as concealed as in some baits, the joints are very free, allowing for great action, and are well aligned and sturdy. All in all, the bait is solidly made and resembles a medium sized baitfish quite well.

 

Hardware:

 

The bait comes stock with owner stinger treble hooks, which is quite a refreshing surprise as many of the expensive swimbaits today seem to come with cheap hooks, forcing the buyer to change them out. The bait also comes with solid stainless split rings which are correctly sized and sturdy. It does not come with a snap or ring in the front and the best action I achieved was when tying the line directly to the nose ring.

 

Performance:

 

The HPH has a very subtle S type swimming motion with about equal head and tail movement. At a slow speed the bait swims mostly with the tail, very realistically. As speed is increased the head becomes more involved and eventually becomes a full S action reminiscent of a triple trout except with more movement in the mid section. The bait i received was labeled slow-sink and slow sinking it was, at only about 2 inches a second. This is great for close to the surface erratic retrieves and jerkbait style fishing but for deeper action, a fast sink is probably offered. When twitched the bait is very erratic and will easily perform a 180 degree turn. In addition, the bait will not roll when burned and can be easily waked or "machine-gunned" on the surface.

 

Castablility:

 

One of the more appealing characteristics about this bait is its light weight. For those who do not have dedicated swimbait setups, this bait is light enough to be thrown on a flipping stick or a medium heavy worm rod. It still has enough mass to cast very well however, and the lack of appendages make if very streamlined, allowing for long casts. Another great trait of this bait is its lack of foul-hooking. In my entire testing of the bait, I was only able to foul hook the bait once, either on a cast or a hard jerk.

 

Durability:

 

Due to the recent cold weather and rain, the fish were not willing to chase a faster moving hardbait so I was only able to fish the bait for a few hours each week for the past month. In that time span however, the bait showed very little wear despite being bounced off of a few rocks and several docks. Because the bait is solidly made I expect that the resin and joints will hold up to innumerable fish and the glossy clear coat seems to be incredibly durable. The only weak point which I could foresee possibly failing is the fibet tail, but so far it looks as good as new.

 

In conclusion, the HPH is a great shad/herring imitator and will undoubtably be successful for those who value a quality constructed bait that catches fish and performs out of the box. Though lacking some details, the bait is finished well and will survive many fish. After all, true realism is usually less important than action, color and retrieve.

 

Nick Nikchevich

[JDHanson79]

Nick great review, I do have one question. What do you mean by "machine-gunned" ?

[swimbaitrookie]

Now THAT'S a review Excellent detail Nick. I've been wanting to get a couple of these so I do believe I'll be calling in the morning

 

Bassaddict - not sure if my explanation of "machine gunning" will make sense but it's when you rip the bait really hard at the surface, causing it to "erupt" and it makes a rapid-fire clacking / splashing sound - aka machine gunning. Some of the shad bait videos show this.

[JDHanson79]

Now THAT'S a review Excellent detail Nick. I've been wanting to get a couple of these so I do believe I'll be calling in the morning

 

Bassaddict - not sure if my explanation of "machine gunning" will make sense but it's when you rip the bait really hard at the surface, causing it to "erupt" and it makes a rapid-fire clacking / splashing sound - aka machine gunning. Some of the shad bait videos show this.

I thought that might be it just wasn't sure thanks.

[Nicknick222]

Thanks guys

[High Power Swimbaits]

Nick, thanks for the time and effort it took to do a detailed review.

[DBirdtn]

Man can't wait,have a bass pattern one on the way in the mail and mail man can't get here soon enough.Great reviews and this is one bait that i have truely been looking forward to fishing.Have had millions of times where i could have just settled for B-Shad but opted to go for the true and real deal.And by the sounds of things i hopefully won't be dissapointed.And also for those who have never delt with Randall/maker of hyper herring he is a top notch guy.Love the price ranges he offers looks to be top notch product and can't wait to give more feedback when i actually receive and fish the hell out of this little thing.Feel like a crack head looking out the window for mail man.LOL great reviews guys keep them coming

[zippy9232]

I have one was just wondering I anyone else has acquired this bait and has fished it lately or has any reviews. Hopefully I will be catching fish on it very soon.

[Kent Meadows]

I really enjoyed this bait. I am brand new to swim baits and my mentor gave me this bait to off set the Rising Son baits. The HpH seemed to be extremely well made, solid, and functioned perfectly even in a beginners hands. I caught fish on it within the 1st few casts. My only drawback is the size. I caught numbers and numbers of small fish, and had a few larger followers. But its smaller size just did not draw up the larger sized fish that RS seems to. I feel that this bait had it been in a 9" size would have been a different story.

[High Power Swimbaits]

Kent I have a series of nine inch shad baits coming soon. As soon as I catch up on the orders I have now for the six inch baits. I will start on the nine inch baits.

[dawg1419]

Kent I have a series of nine inch shad baits coming soon. As soon as I catch up on the orders I have now for the six inch baits. I will start on the nine inch baits.

And you wont believe what your about to see in the 9". Unlike anything out there. Just gonna have to trust me on this one guys.

[Ceaser]

Im waiting!! The reg HPH I recieved will start getting more work as the water heats up, but fishability wise, this bait is great. I rip, stall, burn, slow roll, alot of stuff you throw at this bait it handles no problem. I can work it very aggressively and not foul the bait and also slow roll it or fish it like a rip bait, work well on most all retrieves. will be a fun bait here soon.

[Ceaser]

So I started fishing this bait the last week. I have been rolling the small baits this year lately, lost alot of BIG fish early on big glides and rat baits, used the smaller ones to get confidence back. Headed out on a storm front with the intent of throwing big baits, but started with the HPH as I approached my first spot. Put three fish in the boat before I got up to my prime structure and never put it down. Caught 20+ fish over the next 2-3 hrs ranging from 1-4 lbs. had a blast but I was wondering why no big bites. Well headed out for an hour or so to toss the HPH around again the next day and put this 6-2 in the boat and farmed one just as big, brain fart LOL. The effectiveness of this bait orved its self within 4 hrs total fishing time.

 

Bait

The bait is built very well. I will agree with everything Nick said. I have docked it, rocked it, treed it, still looks new. 20+ fish, looks new, the fiber tail is still great looking. The profile of the bait is the best part to me. It is like the same thickness as a baitfish. thin. I also like the subtle scales and features. Shad and other baitfish have small scales, fins, everything, so this bait is very natural.

 

Action

HPH can be fish anyway you want, but the stop go stop jerk, erratic style retrieve is awesome, very natural and darts left and right. I also like that it doesnt turn a full 180 to easy. It will dart at 90 degree turns just like small baitfish. the bait juts fits the right profile.

 

all in all I think this bait will catch everything. Big small spots smallies LMB stripers catfish super awesome bait.... if you want to sell me yours PM me!!!

[smalliebigs]

Everything that has been said is true. The action, stability, durability all top notch. Even stripers can't hurt this thing. Best of all, it flat out catches fish. Unfortunately, I have a habit of losing baits to gar/stupidity before documenting their still intact finish after nearly 100 stripers and bass.

 

After becoming a believer in the bait last year, this winter I found out how effective a slow roll bait it can be in cold water. I (and those with me) caught several 6+ fish on the bait reeling the bait over "buck brush" and docks along creek channels sow slow it almost didn't appear to have any wiggle. From my vantage point, anyways. The fish liked its subtle wiggle at that extremely slow retrieve, and that's all that matters.