Basstrix Paddle Tail Swimbait 6 inch

3 per pack -

EVERY once in a while a product comes out that spawns a whole new industry.  Cell phones come to mind, as do iPods.  In the fishing world, one such product is the original BASSTRIX paddle tail swimbait.

Make no mistake about it; swimbaits have been around since the original VIVIF swimbait arrived on our shores from France in the early 1960's.  Swimbaits caught on like wildfire on the salt water front.  It seems like any fish that ate another fish for a living could be caught on a swimbait.  Particularly in southern California, you could not open a salt water angler's tackle box without bumping into at least a few rubber fishies.

The history of swimbaits in fresh water has not been as spectacular.  While worms of every length, size, shape, and color crowded out a basser's tackle box, soft baits that looked like fish were far and few between. There is a small following of anglers who used the smaller two to three inch swimbaits mounted on 1/16 - 1/8 oz. ball shaped jig heads for various panfish and the occasional walleye (in the central states), but almost no one would throw a swimbait for bass.

Who knows why this is the case.  Perhaps the jig head in front of the fish body didn't look "right" to a basser.  Maybe rigging on a jig head snagged up to often.  Maybe a jig head with weed guards on it looked too "phony".  Whatever the case, bassers and swimbaits didn't match.

Until BASSTRIX.

The BASSTRIX paddle tail swimbait was like none other.  BASSTRIX swimbaits were the first of the hand poured hollow body baits.  Like their hand poured worm cousins, the colors and finishes were beyond anything injection molded.  The was a shine and a shimmer to the lure that only the hollow body design could give.  Their hollow body design and soft plastic composition allowed them to swim at slower retrieves. The softness of form and construction also made them feel "squishy" and lifelike when a bass sucked one in; and the bass ate them up!

This ground breaking lure just begged for an innovative rigging system. Sure, like any other swimbait you can impale them on a jighead and go at it, but rigging them "Texposed" style really lets these lures shine forth in all its glory.  

There are two styles of hooks that work well with the BASSTRIX; 1)  the weighted wide gap worm hook like the Falcon Lures Bait-Jerker hook or the Gamakatsu weighted EWG Monster, and 2) the newer, innovative twistlock hooks such as J.P. Jigs' BassTwitchers hook and Owner's weighted Twistlock Beast hook.

By popular consent,  BASSTRIX lures tend to catch larger than average bass and can be considered a big bass bait.  These lures are best fished with a firm rod and stout line.  Don't say that we didn't warn you should you decide to throw this bait with wimpy tackle!