Real Fish Bait HardBait Shad Swimbait Review + Video

There's currently a vast array of swimbaits being produced in Asia. Some of these are sold through major brands like Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas, while others may be found through more specialized fishing tackle distributors, with some very unique and interesting lures available. Such is the case with Real Fish Bait, based out of Modesto, California. Tackle Tour has featured Real Fish Bait on their website several times, mostly for their large selection of affordable swimbaits, both hard and soft. Most recently, Tackle Tour showed off some of the new offerings from Real Fish Bait at this year's ISE.  I was fortunate enough to get to try some of the latest swimbait offerings from Real Fish Bait, including their impressive Hardbait Shad lures. (More after the jump with video)

The Hard Shad comes in 4 different patterns: threadfin, pumpkinseed, crappie and largemouth. They are done in a photo realistic finish-style, similar to the ABT swimbaits. Colors are sharp and the photo transfer process seems fairly seamless. Further setting apart the Hard Shad lures from many other swimbaits is the nifty "broomtails" feature. I haven't seen too many swimbaits that go for the bristle approach to create a realistic fin appearance, and the tails on the Real Fish Baits look great. It's a smaller swimbait, at 4'', built with six jointed sections, connected by metal pins/wires.

The Hardbait Shad lures are advertised at sinking at roughly 6'' ROF. They have a very natural, lifelike action in the water, even on slower retrieves. Being able to slowly work a hard swimbait through an area is definitely a something I look for in swimbaits; as too many hardbait versions (including the Spro Baby BBZ) seem to lose almost all their action at slow speeds. The Hardbait Shads maintained a tantalizing "S" wobble at both slow and fast speeds.

Do bass like the Hardbait Shad? Indeed! I had a lot of followers and strikes on one short urban creek fishing trip with this small swimbait, and managed to get a fish striking it on film with my Kodak HD cam. You can actually see the fish come after the lure on the first cast, in the top left side of the screen, if you look closely (watch it on 720p HD quality for best shots).

                                       

  
Durability is one point I am concerned about in regards to the Hardbait Shad. In the above video, you'll see a bass hit the lure twice, hooking up and getting landed on the second toss.

After catching this bass, I've gone on to use this same swimbait lure on several more California fishing trips. It's landed me some of my biggest urban creek bass and I've very happy with it. After getting hit by a particularly tough bass, you may find that the joints get a bit stiffer at the 2nd section. A few quick wiggles should fix the problem.

The 4'' Hardbait Shad looks great, swims great and definitely catches bass. It's a smaller swimbait with a whole lot of potential, at a fairly reasonable price. I'll be updating this post as I fish with this offering from Real Fish Bait in the future. Until then, if you are intrigued by this smaller swimbait, check it out at their website, available online for $11.99. Tight lines!

[Update March 12, 2012: I've since used the Hardbait Shad on several other fishing trips and have been impressed with its performance. It's definitely a keeper of a lure for me on my urban creek and lake bass trips!]

Largemouth Bass and Common Carp: SoCal Urban Creek Fishing Video

Bass Strike on Bitsy Pond Minnow

Fishing small urban creek in the L.A., O.C. and I.E. region has become my new-found fishing pastime. Discovering these little concrete gems has been an educational experience, both from a fishing and ecological standpoint. I think it's important for everyone to realize the sad state of disrepair that has befallen most urban streams, thanks to our own greed and poor stewardship.


(More after the jump)


This past weekend I had the pleasure of tackling one of my favorite local warmwater creeks. Bass, green sunfish and carp all haunt these waters, struggling to survive amidst urban runoff, entrapping debris and the waste of modern society.

I've never landed a carp at one of these urban creeks, although I've definitely hooked up with several in the past, losing them on long, panicked runs. This time was different.

Bread ball on a hair rig (not too hard to tie once you've practiced it) was the ticket, landing me a wonderful 21'' common carp. If the water levels don't rise soon, he probably won't last.

The creek was dangerously low when I visited, thanks to the very dry winter we have been having in SoCal.

The bass were tiny, poor specimens, but they were still a blast to catch. Watching a school of 'em in a clear portion of the creek was a learning experience, helping me better visualize how these finned beasts adapt to local conditions, current flow and ambush points.

The Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow was a solid winner on these fish, along with a micro crank from Bass Pro Shops (XPS series?) and a tiny tube jig. For the Bitsy Pond Minnow, I prefer either the Fire Tiger or the Baby Bass patterns. Both have been very solid producers for me, for a variety of warmwater species. It's really annoying how few tackle stores carry them in the area; Wal-Mart used to stock these awesome micro crankbaits but recently stopped. If anyone knows of good places to buy them for a bargain, let me know!

Bass and Carp Urban Creek Fishing Video

Finally, here's a video I put together, with the large carp and several bass caught on film during this urban creek fishing trip. It starts out rather slow (my apologies), but quickly speeds up. I'm still learning to get the best angles and my hatcam was not set just right. However, there is some nice shots of the carp fight in the video, definitely stay for those! Try and watch it at the top resolution for best quality.

wLure HS6 Swimbait Review

After taking a look at wLure's excellent trout swimbait and chunky sunfish swimbait, let me turn your attention to another interesting Chinese swimbait they offer. The HS6 from wLure is an affordable sunfish imitation lure, not frequently seen in the United States.

(More after the jump)

Design

The HS6 is a 4 inch swimbait, shaped after a basic sunfish pattern. wLure offers 4 unique patterns for this lure, including a black crappie one (seen in my photos). They all look pretty great, especially for a bargain Chinese swimbait. The joints are rather unique for a swimbait. Instead of using the typical hinge metal joints found in many swimbaits, wLure has opted to go with a flexible band of tough material to link the swimbait. It's pretty unique but doesn't seem to detract from the motion of the lure.

Price
The HS6 is priced fairly competitively, at a little over $7 with free shipping from wLure. For this price range, a comparable model is the H2O Academy Sports line of swimbaits, with one seen in the following image. The H2O swimbaits sell for a little more and are considerably more difficult to obtain, unless you happen to live in the South/Midwest. Bass Pro Shops also sells a similarly priced swimbait model, but I'd argue that the wLure model is much more appealing to the eye. 

wLure's HS6 in action at Ford Park

Action
I found the HS6 to have the best action at a medium to fast retrieve. It's not a lure that has to exclusively be retrieved quickly to get any good action, but a very slow retrieve is not recommended! Also, it reacts favorably to short pauses with rapid intermitent jerks and twitches. I'd estimate that it sinks at about the same rate as a Baby BBZ swimbait, and it falls horizontally in the water column (as it should). It's really not a lure I would throw for timid or lethargic fish, especially during the colder months. However, I think the HS6 will certainly shine and catch loads of bass when they are feeding more heavily on sunfish (Fall), or protecting their beds from hungry bluegills (Spring). Working it medium-fast past ambush points should also yield good bass.

Durability
The paint job on the HS6 appears to hold up decently well, even with a few errant casts on to the concrete shoreline at a portion of Fairmount Park in Riverside, California. As far the inner band that links the swimbait, I have no complaints. Anglers will certainly be wary of a non-metal joint material, however, I applied a lot of pressure to the joints and couldn't get the link material to rip or stretch easily. Of course, a massive strike from a hard-fighting bass may not be easily replicated with out of water tests and this remains an area I haven't tested yet.

Summary
The HS6 swimbait from wLure is another interesting and unique lure from this fishing company. With multiple patterns and a good swimming action in the water, it looks like a solid contender for an affordable swimbait. While I have not gotten to throw it in the conditions that I would consider the best (yet), I'll be updating this with more info on how it catches fish as my trips progress throughout the year. So far, I am pleased with the HS6 sunfish swimbait and I would recommend it if you are looking for a bargain-priced sunfish imitation swimbait.