wLure's Cheap Trout Swimbait: ODS HS5X374 Lure Review

ODS Swimbaits

The ODS HS5X374 from wLure is jointed, hardbody trout swimbait, selling for $8.99. It's a completely new bait to me, as I have never seen this model before. I ran into it on the wLure website and couldn't resist asking about it. I have purchased several Chinese knock-off (KO lure) or non-name brand lures in the past and had mixed experiences, so I was a little wary at the time. Thankfully, this swimbait turned out to be quite a keeper, with a great price, great motion in the water and a great design.

Size Comparison

wLure is a Chinese fishing lure website with a local US branch in Houston, Texas. I recently stumbeled upon their website and was amazed at just how low the prices on their lures was. Also, they offer free shipping, no matter how small the order, which is super nice on top of the low prices. If you do order from wLure, do expect to wait at least 15 days for your order. After all, it's coming over from China and is not going to arrive at your doorstep anywhere as fast as a TW or BPS order. Still, I don't mind the wait, as long as I order well in advance of major fishing trips.However, if you would like to avoid waiting roughly 3 weeks, consider ordering this same lure through Amazon, for slightly more (see sidebar).
(More after the jump)

Gill detail

The HS5X374 comes in a 6 1/2'' and in 4 different colors/patterns. Behind the front gill joint is a bright red, painted gill, certainly a nice touch. I've included several photos showing how this ODS wLure HS5X374 compares to the sizes of other swimbaits offered by wLure (more reviews on these to come).

There are several internal rattles in this trout swimbait, making it a little louder than the Megabait Charlie's I usually throw. I'm not sure how useful this rattle is, or if it might even be a deterrent to getting wary fish to bite it. I would prefer it to be almost silent, instead of the rattle. However, in some murky conditions this may be a benefit. The ODS swimbait casts quite well and handles well in the water.

Awesome detail

For a little lure trivia, the HS5X374 comes in a "ODS Lure" box. Never having heard of such a brand, I did some research online and found several Chinese eBay sellers offering these ODS lures, including this one, for the same or more than what wLure sold them for. Several foreign wholesale websites offered them in massive bulk lots, and I could find only one US-based retailer also selling them, albeit under a different name (hardbait hitch swimbait). The box comes with English and Russian script, I suppose ODS is a tackle manufacturer in China, selling a affordable line of swimbaits. Learning more about the slowly burgeoning tackle industry in China and looking at the different lures produced there is pretty fascinating. In general, most diehard anglers steer away from generic Chinese lures, but I've started to see a slow increase in quality from these overseas baits. 

More awesome detail

The pattern on this swimbait is pretty unique. It's closest to a trout, although not exactly a rainbow trout. There are four patterns to choose from for this exciting swimbait model, including two trout-style ones, a carp/rough fish patter and a baby striped bass pattern. wLure has a taken a photorealistic finish approach to the coating of this swimbait and it looks excellent. Paint job seems to be strong too, with no chipping or cracks despite being bounced around in my swimbait box a little too often.

 

YouTube video of trout swimbait in action

The HS5X374 swimbait from wLure has a very interesting performance in the water. It is a surface/subsurface swimbait, and looks just like a confused, terrified stocked trout when retrieved a medium to medium fast speed. It has an absolutely wonderful "S" swimming pattern, as you can somewhat see in the following video, where it really comes alive. I also found you could cast the lure, let it sit, then give it quick "walk-the-dog" style jerks to really get a unique action. It will dive from side to side, subsurface, sure to be a hit. It's worth noting that at very slow speeds, or on line that is too light, the lure's swimming action is impacted negatively and doesn't show quite as much motion. I haven't fished with a lure like this before, nor seen one on the market in BPS stores yet.

Second video showing this swimbait in action on top
Thanks to gf for video help!

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a chance to fish this trout swimbait in "real" conditions for striper or largemouth. The trial casts and videos I've posted above are from Ford Park, in Redlands, California (better known for its dog park and large swarms of aggressive waterfowl). While the lure seems durable, only intense use over time will really tell how strong it is. I am curious to see how it holds up to larger fish, as it is certainly designed for heavier fish than the usual city park pond bass. I'll be posting more updates on to how this swimbait works for me as the season progresses.

|Summary|
The HS5X374 trout swimbait from wLure is a interesting lure for a very affordable price. It is the the best example of a no-name, generic, Chinese-brand bait that has excellent swimming action and a great selection of lure color patterns that I have used so far. I have no complaints about it, only praise, at least at this early stage. For swimbait collectors, or those interested in trying out a really affordable swimbait for a fraction of the cost of name-brand models, the HS5X374 from wLure may be a good choice.

Want a sneak peak at my next set of fishing lure reviews? Enjoy my Flickr page!

[Update]: I did a little more research online and found the actual producers of this lure. It's from a Chinese company called ODA Fishing Tackle, in Canton, China (southern area of China). They have a fairly extensive line of "photo-finish" lures, and a pretty decent website, located here. It looks like they are trying to break into the US market, with plenty of lure options for anglers. Here is a photo from their website of some of their baits being produced.

Lake Perris October Bass Fishing

I hit Lake Perris for some late October bass fishing on the 23rd. Hadn't been back to this SoCal bass gem for a couple of months, was really eager to get in on some bass action. The local fishing forum was buzzing with quality reports on sunfish and bass, wetting my appetite.
I started out around 8:30am at the public launch ramp cove. Fished it hard from the east side, while watching the day's boat traffic prepare for launch. I threw jerkbaits, dropshot plastics, and micro crank for nothing. This was not the way I had envisioned my trip going. Only had one decent bass follow the jerkbait back, but he wouldn't commit (c'mon!).

Spoke with a guy on a sweet red/black bass boat who cruised by. He said he usually fished Castaic and this was his first time to Perris.

After growing tired of my shore spot, I hit up the area around the launch ramps, careful to avoid active launchers.
First cast, on the BPS XPS jerkbait, BAM, fish on. Just a 1lber, but he had some fight in him! Next cast, BOOM, another small bass (see below).

I hit one more dink, then the bite slowed down. By now, the sun was doing its best to bake me on the shoreline. Figured it was time to hit up some PB&J/water break from the car. Love it.
I went back down to the docks and kept fishing. The fish were definitely in the area, as I would see baitfish schools split and jump while they were being pursued by aggressive bass. Too much forage, maybe, couldn't fool 'em into biting?

Nope! Finally got another fish, this one a really solid 15'' bass on my the same jerkbait. Success! I was throwing on 4lb test, ultralite gear and this bass absolutely smashed the jerkbait at the furthest limit of my cast. He gave me an epic fight, despite probably only pushing 2lbs or so. I'm really pleased with how his photo turned out as well!
Spoke with another angler who was throwing a dropshot/roboworm rig. He was picking off some smaller bass, but he said the fishing had been much better last week from the shore. Found out he also fished Fairmount Park in Riverside and he let in on some tips about that urban spot. Thanks!

Eventually, I decided the docks area was just not producing, packed up and drove over to the dam. Immediately, I caught 3-4 baby largemouth bass on my microcrank and flick shake. Unfortunately, one of them popped my 3lb mono (second rod) off against a rock, and swam off with my favorite microcrank bait, a Strike Kind Bitsy Pond Minnow. Ugh. It's a 3/32 ounce, tiny crankbait that really seems to produce well for me, especially at Lake Perris. It's also hard to find at local tackle stores, sadly. The baby bass pattern and the fire tiger patttern are some of my favorites for this Strike Kind crankbait.
Afterwards, I worked my way further down the Lake Perris dam and nailed another decent bass on my flick shake worm, wacky rig style. He was right up next to the shore and I could see him engulf the plastic worm as it hit the water. The photo above and below are both of the him.

After that, I fished a few more spots, including around the marina, but did not have any more hits. Called it a day and headed home. This was one of my better trips to Lake Perris. It's a pretty daunting lake for a shoreline bass angler. Hopefully, I'll get a kayak or float tube to properly fish this Inland Empire lake with in the future.

Lake Perris

I fished Lake Perris for bass and sunfish a couple of weeks back. This report is super old, but better late than never, right?

Tried exploring the shoreline of Lake Perris for a few hours, hoping to find some hidden spots. It's really overgrown, but at least they don't fence it off, like at other lakes. Spotted two deer, couldn't get very close.

Somebody is missing their floatie.

The bite was slow, to say the least. The boat traffic was insane, loads of people jet skiing, and racing around on the water. Really choppy, and much more algae than I have encountered before. The topwater action at dusk was awful, nothing like spring or early summer. Only managed this dinky dink largemouth bass.

I stopped by Fairmount on the way home, hoping to score with some night bass. No dice, but I did run into this hoodlum. Raccoons and people compete for the trashbin leftovers at night here, fun to watch.