Lipless is definitely the "in" thing in hardbaits these days. The Tail Wagger is a Triple Trout clone made by Black Dog Baits. The bait pictured below is 9.25" long and weighs 6oz. This is the sinking model, and it sinks fast.

If you happen to have a 1.5oz weighted Triple Trout, the sink rate on this bait is similar, perhaps a little less. Hooks are Owner 2/0 stingers. Split rings look better than what come on the Punker.

I threw the bait a few casts to check it out. The action is good. It's very much like the Triple Trout. I think this will be a bait that people catch fish on.

Two things that jumped out right away. When I checked the bait just now (after fishing it one time) there is noticeable rust in all 4 of the joints. Also, before I made my first cast with the bait I held it by the nose and let it wiggle back and forth to check the action. When I did that I felt something hit my foot. That was the tail, which had fallen out of the bait. I'd add a drop of superglue over the metal pin that holds the tail on.

As usual, I am on the leading, and often bleeding edge of lure purchasing. I'd imagine that the rusty joints and the tail thing will get fixed in subsequent production runs of the lure, but I get what I get - just like everyone else who buys a bait. So I report the results here.

The theme I notice over and over with brand new baits is that the stuff that comes out of the U.S. is pretty good, and the stuff that comes out of China and Mexico is prone to a variety of problems. Such are the perils of doing business overseas. I have no doubt that everyone sourcing baits out of the country has high expectations for the finished product, but the reality is that the people making these lures do not have the same level of personal investment that a garage guy does.

This is not to say you can't get good product from China or Mexico. It's just a lot harder to get it right the first time. I'm sure the guys at Black Dog did not expect the joints to rust or the tail to fall out. I'm sure the guys at Skinny Bear did not expect the lead harnesses to turn the nose of their lures white. Castaic assuredly did not expect the Rock Hard Platinum to swim so poorly. But these are the lessons of the modern economy.

In June 08 I will be traveling to India and China for 19 days as part of my MBA program. We've been studying business practices in those countries over the past 5 months. It's a wild East over there, and the small businesses of the United States seeking to leverage it are in for an equally wild ride sometimes. It's the big trend in big-baits right now so it bears reporting on, and I will advise if I stumble across any fishing lure manufacturing operations over there ;)

Diatribe aside, I will have more to follow on the Tail Wagger in the full review in a few months.

http://www.calfishing.com/reviews/trout_plugs/black_dog_tail_wagger/index.html
http://www.calfishing.com/files/Images/lures/trout_plugs/black_dog_tail_wagger/black_dog_baits_tail_wagger_side.jpg

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