http://www.calfishing.com/files/Images/lures/swimbaits/reaction_strike_shimmy_shad/reaction_strike_shimmy_shad_side.jpg

I don't have any Shimmy Shads..so I can't write a review of that bait.

I have owned a few baits from Reaction Innovations, and I have to bite my tongue when I speak about these folks. Heck, I see a wrapped boat on the FLW Series (and this guy might even be on the Tour) rockin the Reaction Strike. Amazes me because flat out, I think the products are junk and their business model is a joke. If Rob will let me rant, here goes:

1) Lets knock off baits, sell them cheaper and make some different sizes and call ourselves a player in the space. Nah, I call you ridiculous.

2) You can bet whatever new bait comes to market, here comes Reaction Strike a few months later with a knock off. I had to go look at their website, and wallah! That Revolution Shad sure looks like the BBZ-1 Shad. Coincidence, nah, this is their business model. You can go down their product line and match it up with an original.

3) Colors...apparently these guys need to have their eyes checked or something.

4) Pro Staff: At one time, I know guys like Brent Ehrler, Gabe Bolivar, Fred Rombanis, etc where onboard with these guys. I noticed they are no longer affiliated with these cats. No kidding, Brent, Gabe and Fred are WAY TOO DOWN to mess with these clowns. Who gives these guys input on baits? I mean, their baits swim so badly and are made with such lack of understanding in some cases its shocking. For example, could the top hook on their Bass Harassers stick out any further from the bait? Or is that a weedless design? :P

5) Innovation: Besides their skills at knocking off other baits, I'm not aware of any contribution to the bigbait community. The companies I respect, like Yamamoto, Reaction Innovations, Huddleston, 22nd Century, 3:16, MS Slammer....you can make clear and concise statements to their contributions to the sport, and you can point to your photo gallery and point to fish you've caught on their baits or speak to how they helped you and your fishing or opened new doors.

6) I have nothing against Indiana. I get the impression these guys have roots in pike/muskie style fishing, which is cool by me. I think they should focus in that market, because they are really out of their league in the trophy bass fishing/swimbait space. They just don't have expertise/experience in swimbaits for bass, period. I enjoyed reading Robs review, because Rob is a tell it like it is kind of guy. I love dead honest, call out BS when you see it, no sugar coat it style information. Don't kid yourself, buy the originals and leave these guys to newbies you are fishing against.

OK, I'm done.

Matt

southernswimbait.com
BigBait Fishing in the South

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...