Fat Swing - Impact Media Images
but tungsten generally rules the roost.
That comes as a shock to some of us who 20 years ago never could have contemplated even using an ounce and a half punch weight, let alone paying ten bucks for us, but that’s the reality of the world we live in. Tungsten is simply more compact and transmits more feel – that is not in dispute.
There are still some disputes at the highest levels: Should the weights be black or should they be matched to your bait? Are inserts better than weights without inserts? How should you peg them?
While the Reins weights may cost a little bit more than the competition, I’ve repeatedly gotten in the boat with pros using them – either they tell me or I notice the distinct look.
Why? Well first of all, they’re smaller than others’ weights, meaning they penetrate cover better. They’re denser, with a higher percentage of tungsten, so they transmit signals better. Finally, they’re available in all sorts of “tweener” sizes like 3/32, 5/16 and 7/16, as well as massive versions up to 2 ½ ounces, to fulfill every precise need.
KEITECH FAT SWING IMPACT
With little advertising and no national pro staff, Keitech created a new lure category with its Fat Swing Impact, a ribbed paddle tail swimbait that can be fished alone or as a trailer on a swim jig or vibrating jig, and has a supernatural action on the retrieve or on a dead fall.
Pretty quickly, you started seeing it on the decks of winners’ boats everywhere from the
grass bowls of Florida to the clear smallmouth waters to the north.
Not surprisingly – as with the Senko a generation ago – success bred copycats. Now every major soft plastics company seems to have its own version of the Fat Swing Impact. Some have their own twist while others are almost exact copies, event down to the oddball sizing (e.g., 3.8”, 4.3”, 4.8”).
Nevertheless, many anglers must still have faith in the more expensive original, because when you get in the pros’ boats – even pros sponsored by companies that make their own version – you often see a big box of Keitech’s distinctive clamshell packaging.
ROMAN MADE GLIDE BAITS
Just as I never thought I’d spend $10 on a worm weight, but eventually did, I always assumed that hundred dollar swimbaits were the territory of a few mentally-deranged big fish hunters. Four hundred bucks? Out of the question for something that might get lost to a toothy critter or hopelessly snagged in a patch of standing timber. Then along came Roman Made, with their “reasonable” (i.e., hundred dollar range) Negotiator and Trick glide baits and their $400+ Mother.
I started to notice more and more pros posting GoPro footage of them using these lures and relaying stories of their success on typical tournament fisheries, not just trophy bass factories. I even heard about several pros sponsored by a rival hard lure company
FALL 2016
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