flaswimbaiter Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 High Power Herring Review Description: The product under review is a floating 5†High Power Swimbait Herring with a lavender back and white sides and belly. First Impression: When I first saw the bait I was unimpressed by its realism and weight, it is very light for its size, has little detail, and only one front hook. These negatives were somewhat offset by a realistic eye, a solid hook (which appears to be an 2X Owner size 2) and a hair tail that is glued in place, so it does not lose shape when wet. The connections for the joints and hooks seem very solid and one interesting item I observed immediately is the doubling of the hardware connection for the tail section, which is normally the weakest point on any swimbait. As you can tell from the photos below it is a thin bait, that is a little narrower than the Spro BBZ Shad. The paint job is not very realistic, but it does fade well from top to bottom, to give somewhat of a natural appearance. The clear coat is very thick; I have dropped and banged it around a few times and yet to scratch the surface. Performance: Due to the lures light weight I did not even attempt to cast it with my swimbait set up, I opted to use my Abu Inshore on my 7’ 11†Cumara, extra fast, medium heavy rod. Even with this set up it did have trouble casting it in any cross wind. Under optimal condition, I could get about two thirds the distance I would normally get with other swimbaits. As you can see in the photo below, with the comparison to the FS Shad, the joint system is not nearly as flexible, this was also the case when compared to the Spro BBZ Shad. Even though this may be the case, the bait does have a decent swimming action, although a little stiffer in comparison to other similar baits. I found that the bait did very well when paused by continuing to swim and it took little effort to make it turn the other direction when twitched. Due to lures light weight and soft tail the bait did not produce much of a wake or literally no noise at all. This could also be a contributing factor to another issue when burning this bait. If you have your rod tip very close or in the water while burning it there does not seem to be an issue as long as you do not go too fast, if you raise your tip at all, the bait will roll onto its side very easily and come out of the water. In my opinion pictures are worth more than words, so I shot the following videos to really display the lures action. This video show a nice feature about the bait, it turns back very well with little effort. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hmu839E5dg This video show how well it moves at a slow speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MViLZQGGb-s Medium retrieve with twitches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b15C7j6SA0 Burning the bait with rod tip down and up, showing how the bait will roll over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcgZ1Z0AtyY Effectiveness: I have never had much luck using floating swimbaits, unless they made a lot of noise. With this bait’s quiet presentation, it made it a real challenge to catch a fish. I was determined to post a picture of at least one fish, no matter what size, with this bait in his mouth, but even with all the time and effort I put in, I could not catch a single fish and the only fish that took any interest were gars. I tried this bait at every spot that has produced top water bites in the past; I tried it early and late, but just could not bit. I do not believe however that this is a reflection of the lures effectiveness, I am sure it could catch fish under prime condition, especially when a subtle, finesse type bait is needed. If you were to catch a fish, I would be concerned with the one hook, this really gives the fish the advantage in tossing the bait. If I were to make any change to this bait, the first item would be to add a back hook. Conclusion: If you are looking for a basic, less expensive, beginner type bait and you fish mostly clear water, this bait could possible work for you. The only somewhat similar lure in the same price range that I could think to compare it to would be Nate’s 6†baits. This is not much of a comparison when you look at the profile and joints, it is very much apples to oranges. Which is why I believe this particular bait is a little overpriced. Another issue could be availability, but as swimbaiters, I think we are quite used to that. Would I purchase this bait? Not really, but after using this one and seeing its action, I am very interested in trying one of the larger slow sinking models, especially the top hook version. I am really looking forward to that review. Dave (Flaswimbaiter) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMac Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Very informative review Dave, thanks! I really like how the bait turns back on the twitch. Looks like it'll get that follower to eat for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Power Swimbaits Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks for the review. Although it sounds like it may not be the bait for you I think the review gave a good decription of the bait and what it does. To be honest I rarely use that size bait myself since I feel the 6 inch bait is much better for big fish. I built it off the HPH design because the demand was there from my customers for a slightly smaller bait with more of a shad profile. It was easy to shorten the herring and still get a good swimming bait that had a shad profile so I made the smaller bait. As far as castability to get the most performance from the bait or even the six inch bait a graphite magnum cranking rod is what is really needed. I am having a custom swimbait rod built to fish my baits that is built with a heavy crankbait blank (CB80H Rainshadow). Flipping sticks don't load up or cast well and most true swimbait rods on the market are overkill and take from the performance of the bait. Since the bait has a hard smooth surface, no raised details, and a slim profile a big crankbait rod that is a moderate fast or even more parabolic action that still let you control the fish sets the hooks deep and keeps fish on best. The bait does come with three different hook setups so there are two other options that include two hooks. Thanks again for the review, video and the time it took to make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomah21 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I like the videos you posted. I dunno the bait looks pretty good to me in the water....But I agree 7" + is what I would like to see. Not a huge fan of single hook options...so glad to see the bait is available in multiple hook configs. I might have to give this one a shot. Do you still offer custom paint options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Power Swimbaits Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 I like the videos you posted. I dunno the bait looks pretty good to me in the water....But I agree 7" + is what I would like to see. Not a huge fan of single hook options...so glad to see the bait is available in multiple hook configs. I might have to give this one a shot. Do you still offer custom paint options? Not sure about how many orders I will be taking and then making/painting to order. It depends on the amount of time I have. At slower times of the year like winter this might be an option. The paint on this bait is very quick to paint so it has a lower cost. It's a quick rattle can paint job and on the old models these baits sold for $35-40. There will be some air brushed baits and colors that will cost a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestabe101 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Damn dude you should be the official sbu tester..great review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1234567 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Damn dude you should be the official sbu tester..great review. Agree, thought I was on the tackletour site for a minute. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaswimbaiter Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I like to be thorough, I am hoping I can review one of Mickey's baits that is directed towards east coast fishing or maybe even saltwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oprcsr Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I ordered one of Randall's baits his last release. I actually believe it was the last bait he had, and funnily it was the pattern I wanted. Lovely bait, can't wait for the spring to be able to fish it! Figured I'd post some pictures as I don't think I've seen the perch before.... Side Top Joint Bottom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDBEAD Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 That's a nice looking pattern. Randall, you're holdin' out on me brotha!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridaswimb8er Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Nice review Dave, that little bait looks like it would be a killer in some of the golf course ponds I fish on the Gulf Coast of Fl. I might give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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