Showing posts with label Secret Ponds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Secret Ponds. Show all posts
Dynamic Lures HD Trout Jerkbait Review
Dynamic Lures Fishing in Action
Dynamic Lures is a new company on the proverbial fishing lure block. They offer an impressive range of affordable jerkbaits and swimbaits. Based in Colorado, their products have been heavily advertised online and recently picked up by several large fishing tackle retailers, namely Bass Pro Shops, Sportsman's Wharehouse, and Cabelas. I was particularly interested in their HD Trout series of hardbait lures. After getting in touch with the company, I have several of these fine jerkbaits to show you along with them in action on video.
Design
These HD Trout jerkbaits are 2.25'' long and weigh in at 0.10 oz. I was most impressed with the unique patterns these lures come in. With 12 different patterns, ranging from Glimmer Trout to Fire Craw, you can be sure they have something for every water type. One of my favorite patterns they offer is the Ghost Perch, a semi-translucent brown baitfish pattern. Bass readily hit this and the Trout patterns that I threw while fishing.
Action
HD Trout jerkbaits feature a tantalizing wobble in the water on medium retrieve. I was still able to coax decent action out of them on slow retrieves, and a fast "burner" retrieve also worked to draw strikes. However, most of my hits came on a medium retrieve, often near weedlines with the HD Trout. These lures look great in the water, with a slow-sinking fall when not reeling.
Durability
Of the four jerkbaits from Dynamic Lures, one did lose an eye after a particularly bumpy retrieve near rocks. However, on the whole, I found these lures to be fairly durable. The finish held up great, even after repeated catches and some rough snags. None of the hooks bent out or left me with any problems. Retrieves continued to be consistently good even after multiple hookups (no re-alignment was needed during my use). Lures ran great out of the box too!
Price
Dynamic Lures HD Trout jerkbaits are priced fairly reasonably. They sell for $4.95 each online, although the Gold Natural pattern is listed as $2.95 at the time of this review. I think most people will be comparing these to Rapala's and the $4.95 price of t he Dynanmic Lures definitely gives them an edge on the market. I haven't spotted the prices on them at Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas, it'll be interesting to see what they sell for at those stores.
Dynamic Lures HD Trout jerkbaits are priced fairly reasonably. They sell for $4.95 each online, although the Gold Natural pattern is listed as $2.95 at the time of this review. I think most people will be comparing these to Rapala's and the $4.95 price of t he Dynanmic Lures definitely gives them an edge on the market. I haven't spotted the prices on them at Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas, it'll be interesting to see what they sell for at those stores.
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| Great packaging too! |
Summary
I'm really happy with the Dynamic Lures range of HD Trout jerkbaits. It's tough to come out with a solid line of new lures in the cutthroat fishing lure industry, but I think these guys have a winner on their hands with this set of jerkbaits. While the company has received rave reviews on their lures for trout fishing (a must in Colorada), I found the HD Trout to work great on bass at my urban creek and pond locations. They are the perfect size to throw on the light tackle that I use. Plus, the great lure patterns and decent prices will keep me throwing the HD Trout jerkbaits in my hunt for urban largemouth for sure!
I'm really happy with the Dynamic Lures range of HD Trout jerkbaits. It's tough to come out with a solid line of new lures in the cutthroat fishing lure industry, but I think these guys have a winner on their hands with this set of jerkbaits. While the company has received rave reviews on their lures for trout fishing (a must in Colorada), I found the HD Trout to work great on bass at my urban creek and pond locations. They are the perfect size to throw on the light tackle that I use. Plus, the great lure patterns and decent prices will keep me throwing the HD Trout jerkbaits in my hunt for urban largemouth for sure!
Other Lures from Dynamic Lures
Also, I'd like to note that Dynamic Lures carries several other interesting lures. The Dynamo series is a set of unique big swimbaits for big fish. Coming in 7'' and 2oz, the slow sinking Dynamo LP looked great when I threw it at Lake Perris. I haven't' been able to fish it extensively, but I'll definitely be posting more shots of it when I do. It's a jointed hardbait swimbait with a nice array of patterns available. One of the really neat unique features of it is the sweet "embedded" hook on the front treble, helping prevent tangles on casting
Also from Dynamic is the Travado DP, a 4'' deep-diving jerkbait. Lots of great colors available for this hardbait too (seeign a pattern here?) I'm hoping to throw this when fishing the salt at the local jetties this summer, look for more reports on this soon!
Inland Empire New Secret Ponds + Fishing Video
There's something about discovering a new spot on Google Maps, driving to it and actually finding it both fish-able and accessible that really turns up the adrenaline. I've scoured the Inland Empire for new spots to try within a reasonable driving distance and just recently came across a really amazing fishing location. Poles and fishing gear in the car, I hit the road, parked in a safe area, find a clear path with apparently public access, and headed in. After a 10 minute hike, I was on the water-and what a spot! Clear, clean water with very little trash on the bank (quite a difference from my usual urban creek fishing spots), and lots of great bank access. It's hard to describe in words just how exhilarating this is.
For those living outside of Southern California, let me throw in a little more explanation. When living in an area of high urban density, especially in the more populated regions of Riverside, San Bernardino, etc, finding even a public park to fish in can be difficult. The sheer number of people, concrete urban sprawl and amazingly restrictive land access (both public and private) is often overwhelming and leaves anglers with very few places to "discover" as a new, relatively untouched fishing spots. Thus, coming across somewhere new is a special treat, to say the least.
Back to this new spot. There's actually two ponds, with a lot of depth. Casting out with my favorite Bitsy Pond Minnow micro crankbait, I immediately had strikes. I also noticed several large bass warily stalking my lure. Perhaps their hesitance indicated that this pond received more fishing pressure than I first anticipated, perhaps not. Regardless, I worked my way around one pond, working the crankbait for a few small dink bass. Eventually, I switched to a Gary Yamamoto Micro Ika (really unique scaled-down version of the Ika soft plastic) and worked it in cover along the shore. This lure usually scores stubborn bass for me, but it was not be today. Frustrated, I tied on a zipper-style 3'' purple worm on a lightweight jighead and began working it both parallel and straight out from the shore. After two missed hits, I changed spots and immediately hooked into a healthy largemouth bass. He wasn't a beast by any measure, but I was fairly satisfied-good fight on light line, leaping acrobatics and a couple of strong drag-pulling runs, roughly 12-14''.
New spot fishing video
While it was still relatively "urban", this new spot felt like a nice change of pace from some of my usual litter-strewn concrete jungle creek fishing locales. I'll be back as the weather continues to warm up and fish begin to move more and more shallower in the pre-spawn. Tight lines!
Riverside County Urban Creek Bass Fishing
Had a few hours to enjoy last Sunday. Not worth spending the $$$ to fish for such a short period of time at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. No way was I going to fight the skunk at city park lakes like Fairmount or Seccombe. Didn't care to try and catch deep water (50+ feet?) largemouth and sunfish from the shore at Lake Perris. Wasn't interested in chasing stocker trout or wild 'bows in the San Bernardino Mountains. Still, I needed a fishing fix, close by and with a fun bite. Solution?
Urban creek fishing time!
Urban creek fishing time!
The action wasn't fast and furious, but I caught 4 fish of two different species (largemouth bass and green sunfish) on small jigs in a little over an hour. Hey, it's January, and I'm catching warmwater fish, I can't complain. This last one (also in the video above), put up a nice fight on 2lb test monofilament. This particular urban creek also had a lot of used fishing lure wrappers on the ground, a new find compared to the regular dirty plastic bags, pop bottles and housing debris floating past. Pack it out!
Fall Bluegill and Happy New Year!
All too often I'll go fishing and leave the resulting photos on my computer for months before uploading them. This is one of those scenarios, from a trip back in October 2011. I went hunting for bluegill at a favorite lake spot (let's call it "Hill Lake"). Had to hike in, but it was worth it. Managed to land numerous healthy bluegill on microjigs tipped with mealworms.
Getting down to the water can be a challenge, especially at spots like this.
I love the fight even small bluegill put up. On ultralight fishing tackle (2lb mono, spinning rod/reel), they are a blast to catch. Tight lines and Happy New Year!
Urban Creek Fishing in the Inland Empire
Poison oak, litter and plenty of graffiti kept the trip interesting. Oh, and so did plentiful bites from green sunfish, bluegill and small largemouth bass. Also present were numerous large common carp, but they turned up their proverbial noses at my hardbaits and microjigs. I think the only pressure this spot received was from local kids, tossing earthworms under bobbers.
I didn't get to spend much time at this new-found fishing hotspot, but I found the short trip really enjoyable. It's amazing the little waterways and channels one may find in the middle of the concrete jungle, sometimes teeming with fishy life!
Fall Bass Fishing in the IE
As the weather transitions from the sweltering days of summer to the crisp, clear days of fall, bass fishing traditionally picks up. At least, that's what I told myself as I drove to yet another fishing trip this Sunday.
However, after a few hours on the water, my efforts weren't exactly paying off. I had nailed two fish, one a total dink and the other a ~1 lb fella (pictured above), but I had been dreaming of non-stop bass action and this wasn't it. The better fish was caught on a Texas-rigged Gary Yamamoto Ika, a really ugly lure that catches a lot of fish for me.
Finally, as the sun set, I switched up to a Gene Larew Three-Legged topwater frog. I initially tried some Sizmic Toad Jr. frogs, but I after missing two blowups, I decided to change lures. Finally, as I was casting near some reeds, I heard the tell-tale sounds of a large fish hitting surface forage nearby. I flipped the frog out, and three seconds later- BAM! Hooked this big largemouth bass, 4 lb category, 17.5''. One of the best fighters I've had the pleasure of encountering on my fishing trips in the last few months. Definitely an epic memory. Video quality above isn't the greatest, but it sort of shows off how big this fish was. Tight lines!
Finally, as the sun set, I switched up to a Gene Larew Three-Legged topwater frog. I initially tried some Sizmic Toad Jr. frogs, but I after missing two blowups, I decided to change lures. Finally, as I was casting near some reeds, I heard the tell-tale sounds of a large fish hitting surface forage nearby. I flipped the frog out, and three seconds later- BAM! Hooked this big largemouth bass, 4 lb category, 17.5''. One of the best fighters I've had the pleasure of encountering on my fishing trips in the last few months. Definitely an epic memory. Video quality above isn't the greatest, but it sort of shows off how big this fish was. Tight lines!
San Bernardino Mountain Fishing
Somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains...
Fished a small lake in the San Bernardino Mountains with a friend. Beautiful scenery, crystal clear water, trout and largemouth bass. It's amazing just how idyllic a lake less than an hour away can be, with a wonderful feeling of isolation from the rat race of the IE.
Little bass were all over the lake. Hit 'em on cranks, soft plastic frogs, Senko's, and a topwater BAss Pro popper. Lost a mama largemouth thanks to a thrown hook.
Also managed two rainbow trout on a micro crankbait (Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow) of all things. This one was around 13 inches, full tail, beautiful colors. Great trip.
Rock Quarry Fishing Video
Look at the date of the last post. Back to this post. Back to the last post. Now back to this post! Sadly, it's painfully obvious that updates have been few and far between as of late.
Bass fishing hasn't been terribly amazing these couple of months. I have two recent trips to Diamond Valley Lake down, several to Lake Perris, and countless stops at the local city parks. Most of the bass have been fairly small and caught on jerk baits or wacky-rig soft plastics. I'll post pictures of these trips shortly. In the meantime, enjoy this short video I shot using a makeshift head cam (note to self: STEADY when filming) at a local quarry pond a little over one month ago. I'm throwing a Strike Kind Bitsy Pond Minnow, one of my favorite micro cranks, on 4lb test. I mostly caught chunky green sunfish, but a few largies came along for the ride as well. Enjoy the video!
Anything is possible when you go fishing.
Bass fishing hasn't been terribly amazing these couple of months. I have two recent trips to Diamond Valley Lake down, several to Lake Perris, and countless stops at the local city parks. Most of the bass have been fairly small and caught on jerk baits or wacky-rig soft plastics. I'll post pictures of these trips shortly. In the meantime, enjoy this short video I shot using a makeshift head cam (note to self: STEADY when filming) at a local quarry pond a little over one month ago. I'm throwing a Strike Kind Bitsy Pond Minnow, one of my favorite micro cranks, on 4lb test. I mostly caught chunky green sunfish, but a few largies came along for the ride as well. Enjoy the video!
Anything is possible when you go fishing.
Something's Fishy
Despite my astounding lack of updates to this blog, I have been fishing. Unfortunately, the bass bite hasn't been the best for me as of late. Still, whenever that happens, I turn over to my friends the sunfish. Fishing at dusk with topwaters is my preferred method for angling for sunfish. While they don't inhale a lure with quite as much strength as a beasty largemouth bass, they are certainly plentiful and fun! Dry flys, homemade topwater jigs, Yo-Zuri lures and soft plastics have all been my go-to lures for these plate-shaped fish.
Check out the fantastic colors on this Fairmount Park sunfish I landed!
Here's a few more fun bluegill from the last few weeks.
While I haven't been doing too stellar on the bass, I did manage this hefty chunk from Fairmount Park in Riverside, California. I didn't get to weight it, but it was around 15'' long. Got him right near the bank on a senko, far side, and he put up a super fight before I landed him.
Here is one of my best bluegills of the year, landed at a private reservoir in East Highland. Got him on a dry fly, wow, what a fighter! Measurements were 10 inches long, certainly not the biggest but still a great fish compared to others I've caught there.
Road Trip
I love fishing forums. Got a tip about a new place to check out. Did a little research and it is all open to the public, just not heavily advertised.
Weather turned out to be pretty awful. Cloudy/sunny, on/off, but really cold for April (this was a few weeks ago). Still, despite the wind and cold, I landed three chunky bluegill and one largemouth.
Caught this guy deep in cover. This new place has loads of submerged logs and trees to fish, most excellent!
I love exploring new places and successfully catching fish while I'm at it. I'll be back for sure.
