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MS Slammer

Author: Rob Belloni

History/Overview: The MS Slammer is made by Mike Shaw in Atascadero, CA. Mike first started making the Slammer to fish for stripers around 1993 and all of the original baits were 12" big boys. Over the years the Slammer has changed and evolved a little, but the basic style is largely unchanged. I look at the Slammer like the Japanese car of trout plugs. Every year a new model comes out that looks about like last year's model, but there's always some small improvements that make it even better than it was.

The Slammer is a basically a surface or trolling bait. Cast and retrieve it and it will dive to 3 or 4 feet tops. But it's real deadliness comes in it's surface waking retrieve. This bait throws a huge wake and there are really times when this action is super effective. The Slammer kicks up a huge disturbance of noise and motion on top and large fish tend to know that something big that is struggling around is going to make a really nice meal.

Pros: If there is one area where the Slammer out does all other trout plugs, it's night fishing. This lure kills them at night. Just kills them. Don't say I didn't tell you about it! During the day it's a grab bag, but typically your big bite on the Slammer will be in choppy/breezy condition. The buoyancy of the bait on top causes it to kick around erratically in chop and that drives them pretty nuts most times. There will be the super calm days where they will assassinate it with reckless abandon anyway, but the strength of this bait is really when you have some 'condition' going on.

The Slammer's two hooks make it one of the best big baits for hooking and landing fish, and the durability of the lure is also excellent. The paint jobs have been refined over the years and they are in the top sector of what few wood baits there are on the market. I have seen several baits chewed with almost 1/4" grooves in them that still get bit. You really can put 100 fish on this lure. The hooks are premium VMC's as of around 11/03, and I believe the VMC's are good enough to fish as is. If you have baits from before that time frame, I would highly recommend either sharpening or replacing the stock hooks.

Cons: Unless you troll, the Slammer is not a bait that can be fished at any kind of depth. It is a surface bait and lacks versatility in this regard. There are some older baits out there that had some paint issues so that could go as a con also. The tails on the bait typically last for many many fish, but when they do rip out, they can be a little tedious to replace until you get used to doing it.

Average Rating out of 5 voters
Erik Feb 11, 2006
awesome swimbait
Time and time again I find myself coming back to the Slammer. Out of the 6 Slammers I have owned they all had their own unique action. Some liked to stay on the surface more, while others seemed to just like being under water more... You will get differing opinions on the color to get but you can't go wrong with the light or dark trout.

The only real problem I have had with mine are the hooks chipping away the paint but it hasn't seemed to lessen the amount of strikes. I have never had the tails rip out so I can not comment on that.

If you want a handmade wood plug that catches all size of fish, the Slammer is HARD to beat.
Taylor Posey( Sacramento, CA) Dec 26, 2005
Great Night Bait
Here is what I have observed when fishing the ms slammer

The good...
1. Great wake bait
2. It has that slow wounded fish swim fish cant resist
3. Noisy bait great for getting a fishes attention especially at night
4. You will catch a great # on a slammer before having to replace it since its a super durable bait
5. Lots of color patterns new ones always being added

The bad...
1. Finishes are not very realistic
2. Baits are very un consistant (some are much fatter than others no 2 I have owned ran alike)
3. Clear coat (finish) could be alot tougher

Overall the slammer is a great bait anytime theres wind rain or its dark I have not done well with it on clear days. The only thing I dont like is the fact that no 2 baits will really run alike so when you get one that runs good make sure you keep it forever!
Kevin Linehan Jun 15, 2005
Slammer
Matt said it all! It has to be the best, most reliable wooden swimbait of all time.
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