The thing is that if these baits swam straight, I'd be on here saying hey - here's an alternative for the guys who want the original Basstrix but can't find it. I get that email every couple months from someone looking for original Basstrix, so clearly the market is there. Unfortunately none of the baits I have swim straight so that's what I write about.

To your point Matt - it is true that the majority of knock-offs don't perform anywhere close to the original. But some do. I write it all up either way, and view it as a service to the fishing community. Case in point; I think it's pretty weak when a company like Berkeley makes an exact copy of the Basstrix Paddletail Tube, but they do swim good and so that's what my review says. I'd fish with them too if I thought it would catch more fish for me, just like I tie on the BaitSmith Magnum Trout from time to time. Above all else I'm a fisherman who likes to catch big bass and I use whatever lures I think will accomplish that goal.

In spite of my open mind and the fact that I own way too many swimbaits, I've found that when I'm fortunate enough to catch a 10lb bass on a trout imitator, it's almost always on the baits that are hand-made original-design type stuff. The baits that have put 10lb+ fish in the boat for me are the Hudd, Slammer, Triple Trout, Stocker Trout, Castaic Trout Softbait, Castaic Trout Hardbait, Optimum, Rago Generic Trout, Generic Live Trout Softbait, and ... well ... that's it.

What's the common thread with those lures? By in large they were hand made by one guy in the USA (the Castaic Trout that I caught three over 10 on was the old version that I'm pretty sure was made in the US). It's the guys like Ken Huddleston, Mike Shaw, Scott Whitmer, Sean Donahan (sp?) and Jerry Rago that I have to thank for my double-digit catching toys. There's a strong lesson in lure selection here folks.

The thing that's hard about writing these reviews is that inevitably someone will email me and tell me that I must have just gotten a bad batch, and that everything is fixed now, and I should take another look. Or I'll get an email that so-and-so uses the bait and they've caught a bunch of big fish on it and I'm way out in left field. It could be that I somehow just stumbled in to the bad batch that wasn't cured long enough after being removed from the mold or whatever, but like I point out in the review - I got these baits just like any other consumer would get them. So I write about what I see.

If someone at Reaction Strike wants to revisit the issue and send some new baits, I'll be glad to take a second look, just like I will be doing with the El Grande swimbaits here in the near future. If not, I rely on you - the reader of the site - to chime in with your own review to let me know when and if things change. It's part of the beauty of the system.

In the end, my goal above all else is to help fishermen with lure selection. Especially now with the economy in the tank. Who wants to waste money on ineffective lures? I have biases just like anyone else, but I try very hard with each review to be as objective as possible. Calfishing.com isn't the biggest fishing site on the west coast but when it comes to quality of content I'd like to think the site ranks high on the list. Now, what should we review next...