Hands down the Slammer wins this one. I might be just a little biased when it comes to the Slammers. The action just flat out catch fish though. My money slammer was made in 01 and has caught well over 100 fish. Including two over 10. I've put on a few coats of epoxy over the years and it's held up fine. That thing is a work horse.

All the baits that have proven themselves over the years are the ones you can go out and throw with confidence. Mike Shaw's baits have done this.

I do have a 7" Optimum and it's not a bad bait. It seems to swim with a tighter action which could be useful at times I guess.