Here's a new review to check out for the Bettencourt Baits Real Fish 7" Trout:

http://www.calfishing.com/reviews/trout_plugs/bettencourt_real_fish_trout/index.html
http://www.calfishing.com/files/Images/lures/trout_plugs/bettencourt_real_fish_trout/real_fish_trout_side.jpg

To add your own review comments, please use this link:
http://www.calfishing.com/reviews/comment.html?product_id=838

All I can say is AWSUM bait. after throwing the hudd and mission fish for hours with no results( and my arm ready to fall off) I finaly tied on the RT in a sinking model. The action of the bait and detail were eye poping. So it looks good, now lets see how it works. after about my tenth cast I hooked up with a little chunky 3lb black about 20minutes later another about 4lbs, then a smallie that went about 4.5lbs, then right befor we had to go, got a nice black about 8.5 pounds My partner for the day was in awh. After that last fish he was ready to throw me out of the boat. Too bad for him I only had one of these baits. Nathan you build some great lures, and if you havent done so already, you owe it to yourself to get some of his RT baits. check them out in the review section or go to bettencourtbaits.com



Vince Borges




http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5027-Resized.jpg

Thanks for adding your review comments Vince, I appreciate it :) I don't always have the time on the water to extensively fish each bait I review so it really helps to get some additional feedback from guys who have put in more time with the bait than I probably have.

Thanks for the great review Rob.,I appreciate it..Nathan
www.Bettencourtbaits.com

Great story, bait, and BASS young man. I have a floater but for some reason, I havn't been able to find any topwater biters.;( .

Dan

I was going to get one but now I am totally confused. That "report" sounded so much like a commercial. Is that bait honestly so much better than a Hudd that fish turned on to it and turned down the Hudd? If not, why would they need someone to come on here and spam the crap out of it. I guess I will make my own decision, and that is to get one. That is the most realistic trout paint job I have ever seen. It looks like a trout of that size should- not like a 18" trout painted on a 7 inch lure. Dave

Dave,
Thanks for the comments on my baits..I wish I could paint that well but the finish is a paint/decal combo.I took a actual picture of a trout,and built a bait around it (so too speak..)
I told Vince they had done a review here on the trout..He has done really well with my baits (You should see what he has done with some of my other baits..)but neither he or I wanted his review too be viewd as spam..he was just pumped about the review..Nathan
www.Bettencourtbaits.com

BIGUN,

Please understand, the review comments section is open to anyone who wants to give feedback on a bait. If a guy is pumped on a bait, he's pumped on a bait. If a guy doesn't like a bait and wants to say so, that's welcome too. There's certainly been a lot of feedback in both directions on the site and that's part of what it's all about :)

I have this little dream that maybe some day we'll build up enough momentum with the review comments that they'll become a really valuable source of information. Imagine being able to pop online and read 20 or 30 opinions on a bait... could be really interesting and useful! Some of the baits do have quite a bit of feedback on them like Triple Trout and Castaic Swimbait and I'm glad to see it. We've had over 100 review comments since I started that feature and I want to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post their feedback.

This kind of user submitted review thing goes on in other industries like digital cameras (check out www.dpreview.com) and computer hardware (www.newegg.com) but it just hasn't taken hold yet in fishing as something that people do. So slow and steady I'm working on it, and I'll keep working on it as much as I can, and we'll see where wind up.

Hopefully if you get your Real Fish series trout you can do some fishing with it and send in your opinion. I'll be glad to post it if you do.

-Rob

Fair enough and thanks for the replies. I will get at least one to try ( also came highly recommended from Jeff Jue). Please understand that I am a little tainted and skeptical from the waterfowl industry. I am a decoy manufacturer and some of our competitors have huge armies of guys paid to say the right things on forums. I will note that this is not the case here and I want to help in any way I can. Thanks, guys. Dave

I hear you as well. And I can't promise you that there isn't bias in the user submitted reviews as it's basically an open forum for feedback. I only screen reviews for things like profanity and things that fall way outside of the realm of good taste.

Because there can be bias in any review site, that's why it's so important to get a large volume of user feedback. The more feedback that comes in, the more likely that feedback that is unfairly positive or unfairly negative will stand out as obviously bogus.

In my own reviews (I write the main reviews for the site) I try to be as objective as I can be. I have my own inherent biases because of where I fish, how I fish, what lure types I like to fish, etc... but I make a strong conscious effort to be as objective and honest as I can be.

I hope that whether people agree or disagree with what I have to say, they can at least respect that I took the time to give my fair opinion. And I hope that if people disagree with my review they can take the time to post a fair rebuttal in their own comments. That's the beauty of the system I think :)

When I first set up the option for users to submit feedback, I wrote some review writing guidelines to address this subject. This might be a good time to revisit that writeup. It can be found at:

http://www.calfishing.com/help/review_comment_guidelines.html

Hope that helps some, thanks for getting involved.

-Rob

Thank you, Rob. Nathan, thank you for the message. Your 30 day policy is unheard-of. There is no way I would ever return a bait. I don't mind taking a small risk- I just usually order one at first, to try out. I ordered a sinking trout from your website. Make me a pretty one or, more importantly, one that swims like a fish. I will have one of maybe just a few here in Oregon. Thanks. Dave Smith

Hey Dave,

Glad to see you are going to get one. I think it will do really good for you around your docks that you like to fish. Just like we talked about a few months ago on the phone. There is a time and place for each type of bait and the time is coming for the Real Trout to shine. I'm not affliliated in any way with Nathan other than a customer but I will give praise when it is due and I think you will be VERY happy with this bait.

Good fishing!!!


Jeff

I have one of the sinking models, and although I dont use it as much as I should, Ive caught fish on it just about everytime Ive used it. However, I only fish it at night.

The bait has a huge tail swing, and its a loud bait; just the kind of bait that I like fishing at night. One way I like to fish it is to fish it like a huge jerkbait, when you rip it it really clacks! I like throwing it at night when the wind is up. Also, and Ive not done this yet cause thats not my game, I know this would be a great trolling bait at night.

I can second the opinion on the night bite. I've thrown this bait a fair amount as well and it gets bit pretty well at night, even when other big baits aren't producing!

Matt