wLure's Bargain Chinese Bluegill Swimbait

For the second lure in my series on wLure's Chinese swimbaits, I have the HS145F2, a jointed, chunky swimbait somewhat shaped after a bluegill. It sells for $5.49 online, with three different color options, length of  5 3/4'', and a weight of 1 2/3oz. 

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The HS145F2 swimbait is pretty chunky. It's certainly not a "knock-off" of any specific lure I've encountered, and it seems to be a hybrid swimbait/crankbait style lure.
The entire lure is hard plastic, complete with a nice set of fins sticking out both dorsally and laterally. However, the tail is a soft plastic/rubber piece, attached by two pins. If any part of this lure was to fail after repeated hits, this may be it. Still, it's fairly well attached and shouldn't present too much of an issue.

This swimbait will float, diving around 2-3 ft on retrieve. When using the HS145F2, I found it had excellent action, even at slower retrieval speeds. The added crankbait lip really helps increase the bait's enticing wobble action, for the better. Here is a few YouTube videos of the HS145F2 swimbait that I took while trying it out at Ford Park, in Redlands.You'll notice the excellent side to side action upon retrieve.

Details on this lure are fairly impressive. The paint job isn't amazing, but it certainly looks much nicer than many generic Chinese eBay lures. Of the three color options available for this lure, my favorite is the bluegill-style pattern. The other two, a goldfish (?) and a striped bass pattern really don't appeal to me. The finish on the lure seems quite durable and didn't chip, despite some rough handling on rocks on my part. Will it hold up to the smash of a toad largemouth or striper? I'm not sure, but the joints and attachments certainly feel tough.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the HS145F2 bluegill swimbait. It's cheap, has great action in the water, and looks decent. I'll post updates with how it performs on the toads as the water starts to warm up. Tight lines!

Dirt Cheap Swimbaits from wLure

Coming soon: Exclusive, in-depth look at a previously-unheard of, dirt-cheap, line of swimbaits never before reviewed in the USA, courtesy of wLure. Expect photos, videos and complete reviews of these impressively-affordable swimbaits. Stay tuned.

Fall Riverside County Bass Fishing

I have been fishing a new spot in Riverside County quite often. The weather has been fantastic, but the water clarity has decreased, keeping the bass fishing a challenge.

Little bass, caught on a Yum Dinger.

This tarantula was more than happy to pose for the camera. Hairy, eh?

Blastin' the Fly

When I'm not fishing, I'm probably perusing the myriad of fishing videos on the 'net. Feast your eyes on this awesome YouTube find:

Someday, I'll leave my spinning gear at home and try to learn fly fishing, properly (Top secret: I do have a fly rod, just haven't bothered to use it much). While I love fishing conventional gear, there is something magical about fly fishing. Forget skinny trout, I'll be chasing the fat greenies, throwing topwaters frogs and mice.
P.S.Fishing tomorrow and Sunday. Hooray!

California Bass Lures

Remember that 7lber I caught a few weeks back? I lost the lure I was using and thought I would stock up on a few more. eBay came through for me and I scored on the above lures for about $1 each. They are cheap and ugly, but they'll work. Hooray for Chinese knock-off lures!