I had the opportunity to fish the ABT Wag Tail Soft Series during a couple trips this fall. Some things I liked right away were the quality paint job, realistic eyes, lifelike appearance and profile. The Wag Tail also features an eye behind the dorsal fin and an eye on the belly for attaching stinger hooks. The size of the bait should make it a good tool for tournament anglers and offer big fish potential as well. The swimming action is very similar to that of a Hudd and appears to swim well at all speeds. I was very impressed with the look of the Wag Tail in the water. The lure sinks slowly and will want to shoot towards the surface on the retrieve, similar to the BaitSmith.

One concern I had right away was the small gap between the hook point and the back of the lure. Just by looking at it I could see the potential for fish to not get pinned very well or come unbuttoned fairly easily. However, I spoke to Allen at ABT recently (great guy by the way) and he said that they have raised the stock hook up an 1/8 of an inch on the newer models and this has alleviated the problem. Another thing he mentioned is in the near future they will be offering a model with a faster rate of fall. I was excited to hear this as it should make the Wag Tail a great tool for structure fishing and deeper applications.

I did noticed that the paint on the back of one of my lures seemed to peel off fairly easily. By no means, though, has it drastically affected the appearance of the lure. The $30.00 price tag is right on par with the Baitsmith and Huddleston. You can be assured you are purchasing a quality bait, in my opinion.

Most importantly, the Wag Tail got bit well and I landed some quality fish on the lure, both largemouth and smallmouth. I am definitely going to purchase a handful of the newer models with the improved hook and faster rate of fall.

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