I haven’t looked at the Chinese calendar yet with the Innovations
in the Top water baits this year.
Zoom Bait Co. has always had a spot in my box but now I guess
I have to add more with another new, innovative product that flat
catch’s bass. Zoom's latest innovation, the
Horny Toad, is another example of how soft plastic manufactures
continues to get creative.
The colors are fantastic too (18 colors to date), and the product
design is flawless. Two of my favorite colors are green pumpkin/pearl
and watermelon/red pearl. Whether you flip, cast, pitch or buzz,
Zoom has led the way in so many areas and the Horny Toad is no
exception.
The
new
Horny Toad can be utilized at all depths, and it can be flipped
and pitched. But ultimately, it's at its best in the warm months,
fished weightless and buzzed or hopped near the surface. Pre-spawn,
spawn and post-spawn bass love them and because it's rigged weedless,
it can be fished around all sorts of cover elements.
Erratic retrieves work best and the Toad can be skipped and pitched
under docks and low-hanging tree limbs. This 4 1/4-inch bait is
available in five-packs. It has a belly slot for a 3/0 or 4/0
hook, and has the patented, tapered Ultra-Vibe split-tail legs
that produce a vibrating ripple effect. The bait's perfectly balanced
and it's too much for an aggressive bass to resist.
Of Course there are always those of use that want to push the
envelope and try improving the newest mousetrap. So far the top
modification I have can across was removing the legs and replacing
them with a single Reaction Innovations trixie shad tail. Another
great way to get the most out those dead plastics!
The Toad's frog-like appearance – with dual backbones and
froggy bumps – makes it a standout in clear-water environs.
But because of the vibration, it can be fished in dingy and muddy
water equally well. The V-shaped belly of the bait serves as a
keel for near-surface cranking, and because of the body design
and frontloaded weight, long casts are not a problem – even
in windy conditions.
It draws tremendous blowups when fished over and around vegetation,
and because of its buoyancy, it can be "dead-sticked"
on weedlines, on and around tree limbs and near shallow structure.
Back it up with a Fluke and the Fluke, the Horny Toad adds another
solid performer to my arsenal.
Moore has done it again with his recent release of the Swamp Donkey!
In what California Pro Art Berry described as being the right
compliment to the Horny Toad. I a recent FLW Event Berry described
the use of both lures together. California pro Art Berry made
a big move on day two in the FLW, and climbed from 39th to 9th
on the strength of his cow-spotting skills and frog bite.
"I
was catching them on a Zoom Horny
Toad, but I did something else that I think was really effective,"
he said. "A lot of the fish were missing the Toads –
maybe because they were on beds or guarding fry. Whenever a fish
blew up and missed the Toad, I cast back to it with a Reaction
Innovations Swamp Donkey. With that method I caught over 80
percent of the fish I missed. "All of my bites came within
a foot of an arrowhead plant."
What makes the Swamp
donkey so special? Take this frog for a walk and you won’t
believe your eyes! The Swamp
Donkey has been designed and tested to be the world's best
hollow bodied frog. This new bait features an original Gamakatsu
double hook made exclusively for Reaction Innovations, the hook
points are ultra sharp and strong enough for wicked power hooksets
with braided line. More important, it's "up-turned"
points prevent the hooks from digging into the body thereby dramatically
increasing hook-up ratios commonly found on inferior frogs.
The
New shape of the Swamp
Donkey has resulted in the best Out of the package frog I
have ever used. Even in the heaviest of cover, the Swamp Donkey
has gotten it done for me on Clear Lake and the Delta. The Swamp
Donkey's nose will never slip back like other frog-type baits
and the material, yet very soft, is extremely durable and will
rarely tear.
Like
Everything Reaction Innovations makes, no detail was left out.
The end result is the best frog available for open water or heavy
cover fishing. The most over-looked colors are Mossy Green, Pumpkin
and Lime Chartruse. Enjoy!
Dan
Mathisen
FishDelta.com
- All Species, All Delta
The
Ultimate Resource For California Delta Fishing
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