Lure Review

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	Stanley Top Toad May 15 at 9:00 am A leading artificial lure manufacturer’s newest pride and joy jumped like a real frog to the forefront of bass fishing circles in and around Louisiana very quickly in early 2013.

	The Matrix Shad April 17 at 9:00 am There are sound reasons behind the growing success of one of the hottest soft plastics for saltwater and, even, freshwater fish from Biloxi, Miss., to Houma and beyond in the Sportsman’s Paradise.

	Bass Trap back in action March 14 at 9:00 am A machinist’s touch has made all the difference in the world to a spinnerbait made in the Sportsman’s Paradise. Just ask some bass anglers by the name of Shaw Grigsby and Kevin Van Dam, who make sure they get their hands on the lure any time they get to Louisiana. Or ask accomplished Louisiana bass angler Jamie Laiche of Gonzales.

	Bass Kandi’s Coastal Crippler February 13 at 9:00 am Mike “Redbone” Holland of Ragley, who owns Bass Kandi Baits — a Southwest Louisiana artificial lure manufacturing company specializings in soft plastics — and his 11-year-old son Payton were deer hunting the week before Christmas near Kerrville, Texas.

	Vision Prop Limited Edition Buzz Bait January 14 at 9:00 am Leave it to someone with great vision for designing artificial lures to put a “boat prop-style” blade on a buzz bait that consistently catches bass coast to coast. This Vision Lures’ Vision Prop Limited Edition Buzz Bait is the latest in a line of innovative buzz baits made by David Trantham in Springfield, Mo. Trantham’s Honeybuzz buzz baits have been triggering strikes since the mid-2000s.

	Poppa Chop Jigs December 17, 2012 at 9:00 am Got a Poppa Chop? If so, chances are you are using the fine-hair jig and catching sac-a-lait on the creation Paul “Chopper” Viator and his wife Angela make at their home in Delcambre.

	Bass drawn to the Poc’it Craw November 19, 2012 at 9:00 am When a Port Allen bass angler needed to cull some fish in his livewell during a recent Bassmaster Southern Open on Lewis Smith Lake near Jasper, Ala., he started fishing with a soft plastic that had been on the market no more than three weeks. It’s a safe bet no one else on the water had those in their bass fishing arsenal.

	KVD crankbaits are proven winners October 15, 2012 at 9:00 am During his meteoric rise to the top on the B.A.S.S all-time money list with more than $5.3 million won in tournaments around the United States, Kevin VanDam relied on artificial lures he had utmost confidence in.

	Not your typical creature bait September 10, 2012 at 8:00 am Just look at those rows and rows and rows of soft-plastic creature baits, the success story of the 21st century, on the shelves at the main outlets and the local fishing tackle shops. It can be a mind-boggling challenge to pick up the right one(s). How’s a man, or woman, to choose one that does the job — which is to get a bass to open its mouth and chomp on it?

	‘D’ Shad does its job August 13, 2012 at 10:00 am Take it from some people who don’t throw this particular soft plastic as often as others: the “D” Shad catches bass after bass after bass. That may sound strange at first glance, but let me explain. Texan Gary Yamamoto, the artificial lure-manufacturing wizard, and his son Derek Yamamoto for whom the “D” Shad is named because he started designing it in the mid-2000s confided that it isn’t one of their favorite soft plastics.

	MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait July 16, 2012 at 7:00 am What’s 2 5/8 inches long, weighs 3/8 of an ounce, has a wide-body profile, hits the surface and sinks a little bit before suspending and drives speckled trout, redfish and other saltwater species wild with side-to-side movement and sound from fish-calling rattles? It’s the L&S Bait Co. Inc. MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait that has joined a long list of proven MirrOlure artificial lures made in Florida.

	Chug’n Spook sure to be favorite June 29, 2012 at 10:00 am Is anything sacred any more? Yes and no. A prime example is the revered Heddon Spook, which for more than half a century has done its walk-the-dog act to trigger so many strikes coast to coast and around the world. As Heddon Lures would say, it was like capturing lightning in a bottle when retrieved in the hands of a skilled angler.