Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

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godshippy
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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by godshippy » Tue May 31, 2022 1:40 pm

I love Trokar dropshot hooks--those things are so damn sharp there is no need to set the hook or ever worry about a fishing coming off. The only time I lost a fish using a Trokar dropshot hook was when my palomar knot failed.

Big fail for me is the Storm Arashi Vibe lipless crankbait...thing is wonky.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by LowRange » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:50 am

SSS wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 3:36 pm
I have 3 Bearking ito shiners. Pretty darn good if you ask me. The slashing action on a jerk is not as intense as it is on the real thing, but it gets bit pretty well and i cast them where i wouldn't cast a $30 lure into.
I'll have to give mine another shot next spring. They cast super far and have strong hooks. Mine sink but that's not a bad thing because it's not a super fast sink in cold water. I think on those 20 mph windy days when the water is mid 40s and fish are moving along points from winter areas to spawning coves I can positon shallow and long bomb these into the wind. I got a bunch of bites doing this with a 110 max this year but it slow floated and was hard to keep deep.

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BARRAMANIAC
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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by BARRAMANIAC » Tue Jun 07, 2022 5:21 pm

here's one. Gliss Polyethylene line. its super fine , slick and casts well and was a very promising line but after a few months the stuff just starts to randomly break, happened to me on multiple line strengths after I had changed most of my reels over to it. I wasn't the only one, A friend was using it and had the same issues. found it was also bad for tip wrapping on spin gear.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by flipper502 » Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:47 am

Vanish line - Vanish is precisely what the bass does with your bait after you set the hook.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by oops » Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:03 pm

Only 2 bad tackle experiences the past few years

1. Googan Spinnerbait. Only owned 1. With or without a trailer this thing runs sideways to the right sometimes, to the left sometimes and upside down sometimes. But it has this magic ability to never run straight at any retrieve speed.

2. Zman Finesse Shroomz. Caught well over 1000 fish with all but maybe a couple dozen on the 1/10 and 1/15oz Finesse Shroomz, so I've gone through tons of packages of these things. My first many packages, the bait keeper kept falling off. Not a big deal, I just break it off now and super glue the bait to the head. Makes it so the bait lasts forever anyway, so in a way it was lucky the QC on the bait keeper is bad. I love the thin wire hooks, because with 10lb braid to 8lb fluoro, you can almost always just bend the hook out when it gets stuck, bend it back with pliers and catch fish without issue. Then about half the hooks started having the point break off even on tiny snags or after a few fish and bumping through structure. Again with the QC issues. My most recent few packs haven't had this issue, but now the hook is just flat out breaking at the bend when I'm pulling it out of structure sometimes. Not terribly inspiring when it comes to the idea of hooking up with a larger fish. Also had 1 jighead in the most recent package just be completely deformed with the point facing up and the barb being crooked and halfway flattened. The good ones are good but the bad ones are way too common. Shame that seemingly everyone else makes these with thicker wire hooks which is the last thing I want from a finesse open hook jighead. I will be spending a lot of money if a company ever has the sense to make a proper tungsten ned head with a fine wire hook. Swagger Flanders heads are phenomenal but I just can't do the thick wire.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by Mudhole basser » Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:08 pm

The Lucky Craft Kelly J topwater that I got one sank straight out of the package! The other one was OK.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by SteveSchmelzle » Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:07 pm

how did we go this long without mentioning the Phantom Owner Tube Hook.

Image

the weights that are attached the wire easily (and I mean extremely easily) slide off the end of the wire.

sometimes before you even throw your first cast (seriously).

you can still re-use the hook by adding a small egg sinker in replacement....but still, you shouldn't have to. The reviews on all fishing sites reflect the above.

(problem is, they work quite nicely)
1-2%

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by Somerdink » Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:36 am

This is actually a good thread, and giving good experience on products where some have good luck and others bad luck.

1. Strike king 6Xds lately have been complete junk for me. Sink right out the pack or have rusty split rings within a days use and hooks which to me is a deal breaker. Some i couldn’t even get to tune properly which sucks because a 6XD is a staple out deep.

2. Googan products for me general don’t like anyone of them other then the rattlin Ned which is cool idea. But the rest i just fine it’s junk

3. I know it’s not tackle but the “high end” Lews reels everyone over the $199 mark absolutely have been completely terrible for all have been grinding feel in them not smooth and over priced for what you get. The $99 speed spool is legit though great little reel for price and preformance wise.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by LowRange » Tue Dec 06, 2022 8:11 am

Somerdink wrote:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:36 am
This is actually a good thread, and giving good experience on products where some have good luck and others bad luck.

1. Strike king 6Xds lately have been complete junk for me. Sink right out the pack or have rusty split rings within a days use and hooks which to me is a deal breaker. Some i couldn’t even get to tune properly which sucks because a 6XD is a staple out deep.

2. Googan products for me general don’t like anyone of them other then the rattlin Ned which is cool idea. But the rest i just fine it’s junk

3. I know it’s not tackle but the “high end” Lews reels everyone over the $199 mark absolutely have been completely terrible for all have been grinding feel in them not smooth and over priced for what you get. The $99 speed spool is legit though great little reel for price and preformance wise.
I like the Googan rage craw like craw thing. I caught a bunch of fish on them as punch bait and trailer so it's a confidence thing for me. It's not like I picked it out of many flappy craws on the market. I just bought a pack at my local BPS where I buy most of my plastics and have continued to do so because it just werks. :whistle:

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by DirtyD64 » Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:06 am

Got a new one I hate to add. Haven't caught a fish yet with it, but the rigging is terrible and these hooks damage big expensive plastic swimbaits.

The hook I am talking about is the Gamakatsu Spring Lock Monster Hook. The hook is strong, very sharp, and is sized great (I used the 12/0, 1/2oz), but the angle is terrible. If you compare it directly to the Owner Beast hooks, the eye is way to low. By putting the hook eye so low, the point will be angled up out of the back of the swimbait. It prevents baits like the 7.8" Keitech I used from being weedless, and doesn't hold well. Again these hooks work, and they offer sizes others don't, but the angle keeps them from being a good swimbait hook. Will post a picture to show the angle.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by DarkShadow » Wed Jan 11, 2023 11:23 am

Lol @ the Vanish nomination for worst FC ever made. My buddy didn't believe me that I had spooled a brand new reel with it, and by the time I had come back home from a trip, the line was sitting in the trashcan at the dock.

But, he decided to try it anyway.

"You wanna know why they call it Vanish?" I ask him.

Then 5 minutes later, my buddy is setting the hook on a jig fish, and he comes back with nothing on the end of the line, even his jig is gone.

"That's why," I responded. "Your *hit vanishes."

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by flipper502 » Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:37 pm

HaHa.

Vanish has to be the worst line ever made. I found it virtually impossible to get a hook into the fish without the line breaking. Set the hook and the fish vanishes with your bait.

Rapala crankbaits are pretty bad. Slap some weeds off and the baits split in two. The X-Raps have a habit of breaking at the nose if you knock them. Otherwise, they were good fish catchers.

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by DirtyD64 » Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:13 am

For me, the D&M Piranha 2, along with any other split ring attached chatterbaits, are on this list. The original D&M Piranha was a identical copy of the chatterbait with high quality components. This got them sued by Z-man though, and changing the design yielded an inferior product. The second version had a split ring to attach the blade and it just wasn't it. Originally they tried an oval split ring, but switched to a round one to try and better the lures action. The ring shape size didn't make much difference, just still wasn't the same. The second version has quality components and is well made, but the action isn't there. Really this is not a dig on D&M, all chatterbaits with a split ring attachment don't work great for me. Direct blade attachments work best, and then maybe Picasso and Phenix have the second best idea.

If you do want to experience the original D&M Piranha, you can buy an open hook swim jig they sell, then buy their blade, and attach them yourself (this was the better idea to circumvent the patent).

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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by John G » Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:35 am

I'm surprised that Mr. BFS himself is using Berkley Vanish. :lol:

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DarkShadow
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Re: Bad tackle thread (what to avoid)

Post by DarkShadow » Wed Jan 18, 2023 9:25 am

Here's some random ones...

I spent a few days in March on some insane action on an unnamed body of water.

We kinda stumbled upon the place not knowing you can legally fish it, it just requires a 2 mile mountain bike ride.

In any case, there were 2 baits that straight up broke on me.

1 was an OSP High Pitcher 1/4 ounce blade. I ended up breaking 4 in 4 trips. NOW, I understand that a lot of these JDM blades use lighter wire (which probably contributes to their success) and I can understand catching 50+ super aggressive fish on one may decimate the blade at some point in time. It was hilarious bringing in just my 2 willow leafs and my wire, or sometimes just the head without the blades. Grant it, there were a few DD catfish that destroyed the thing, so perhaps this isn't bad construction, but rather bad ass fish tearing it up.

2nd was a 1/4 ounce Jackall Break Blade. Again, GREAT bait. Super sharp Owner hook, and it contributed to my 3 largest fish of the year. BUT, at this place? The fish opened up the nose time and time again. I'd reel in a blade and nothing else. It happened 3 times during that period in March when fishing was insane. I think I might have my buddy weld the eyelet shut. Who knows.

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