June 11, 2013
By John Geiger
We know that many of our readers are hard-core bass anglers. So we weren't surprised by the passionate responses we received to the recent online survey for our annual fishing Readers' Choice Awards.
In the survey, we asked readers to select their favorite bass-fishing products — all introduced within the past three years — from a list of items in various categories. You responded by flooding us with answers, comments and opinions concerning your favorite gear.
Here are the winners, as chosen by you, our readers. We've included some of the comments that you submitted, as well as other interesting information from the survey. The winning gear companies will receive special recognition at the ICAST industry trade show in July. — John Geiger, gear editor
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SOFT PLASTIC SWIMBAITS POWERBAIT SPLIT BELLY
Favorite 33%
HONORABLE MENTION
Storm WildEye Pro Curl Tail,
26 percent.
Storm WildEye Pro Paddle Tail,
18 percent.
Storm WildEye Live Yellow Perch,
14 percent.
Sebile Magic Swimmer Soft,
9 percent.
CRANKBAITS RAPALA FLAT RAP
Favorite 36%
'My favorite lure, ' said PJ Bouroncle. 'Color, size and shape for every occasion.
I also find these guys deadly on everything. While bass fishing I've hooked lakers, pike and football-sized rainbows. Can't beat a Flat Rap, especially in the spring time. '
HONORABLE MENTION
Rapala Clackin' Minnow,
31 percent.
Storm Deep Rattlin'
Flat Wart, 24 percent.
TriggerX Probe, 8 percent.
TOPWATER RAPALA X-RAP POP
Favorite 51%
HONORABLE MENTION
Rapala X-Rap Prop, 22 percent.
Chug'N Spook, 14 percent.
Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug, 13 percent.
BRAIDED LINES SPIDERWIRE ZILLA BRAID
Favorite 51%
'I use this brand almost
exclusively when I'm fishing heavy cover and around rock piles that demand the strength €¦ to both pull through and pull out the big ones hiding
in cover, ' said Herb R.
HONORABLE MENTION
Sufix 832, 26 percent.
Sufix Performance Braid, 16 percent.
Seaguar Kanzen, 7 percent.
HARD PLASTIC SWIMBAITS STORM SWIMMIN" STICK
Favorite 29%
HONORABLE MENTION
Lucky Strike Live Series 3-Inch, 26 percent.
Storm Kickin' Shad, 19 percent.
Cabela's RealImage HDS Forked-Tail, 17 percent.
Sebile Magic Swimmer, 11 percent.
FLUOROCARBON LINES SUFIX-CASTABLE_FLUORO
Favorite 58%
HONORABLE MENTION
Berkley ProSpec, 29 percent.
Seaguar Tatsu, 14 percent.
WIREBAITS TERMINATOR T-1 ORIGINAL-TITANIUM
Favorite 51%
HONORABLE MENTION
Lucky Strike Closed Loop Spinner Bait, 26 percent.
Strike King Tour Grade
Night, 15 percent.
Sebile ProShad, 8 percent.
TREBLE HOOKS MUSTAD ULTRAPOINT STANDARD EXTRA
STRONG
Favorite 30%
HONORABLE MENTION
Mustad Ultrapoint Standard, 21 percent.
Mustad Ultrapoint Short Shank Ultra Strong,
21 percent.
TroKar Wide Gap, 17 percent.
MONO/COPOLYMER LINES TRILENE XL
Favorite 62%
'Berkley has a good reputation and this is a great line. Very tangle-free and responsive to a bite, ' Jerry W. Manweiler.
HONORABLE MENTION
Sufix Elite, 14 percent.
Berkley NanoFil, 12 percent.
Sufix Siege, 7 percent.
Seaguar Senshi, 5 percent.
SINGLE HOOKS TROKAR 110 EWG
Favorite 53%
HONORABLE MENTION
Mustad DoubleWide Dropshot,
18 percent.
Mustad Grip-Pin Max, 14 percent.
TroKar 130 Tube, 8 percent.
FLUKES ZOOM SUPER FLUKE
Favorite 62%
HONORABLE MENTION
PowerBait Power Twitchtail Minnow, 19 percent.
Havoc Subwoofer, 12 percent.
Zman StreakZ, 7 percent.
SPINNING REELS PFLUEGER PURIST
Favorite 28%
Anglers liked the Pflueger tradition for quality. 'Dependable while moderately priced, '
said Jack Sarcona.
HONORABLE MENTION
Abu Garcia Cardinal, 20 percent.
It didn't win but it's got a lot of fans.
Mitchel Avocet Gold IV, 16 percent.
Abu Garcia Revo SX, 15 percent.
Daiwa Ballistic, 14 percent.
ARTIFICIAL WORMS HAVOC 8-IN JUICE WORM
Favorite 46%
'These worms have my favorite type of tail. I think that action is a classic that gets those hard-to-resist fish to bite, ' said Mark Dillon.
HONORABLE MENTION
YUM MightEE Worm, 24 percent.
TriggerX Paddle Tail, 13 percent.
TriggerX Spadetail, 12 percent.
CASTABLE UMBRELLA RIGS MANN'S ALABAMA RIG
Favorite 47%
'It's the original and innovator, ' according to one angler.
HONORABLE MENTION
Berkley Schooling Rig, 30 percent.
YUMbrella FlashMob, 24 percent.
BAITCASTING REELS ABU GARCIA REVO SX
Favorite 33%
'Seems to retrieve smother and faster, ' said Glenn Chase. 'When it comes to reels I'm fussy. I want a strong reliable reel and the BassPro brands have not failed me yet, ' said Kris Plamondon.
HONORABLE MENTION
BassPro Johnny Morris
Carbonlite, 22 percent.
Shimano Calcutta D, 14 percent.
Quantum EXO, 12 percent.
BAITCASTING RODS BASSPRO JOHNNY
MORRIS CARBONLITE
Favorite 37%
Doug Isaacs said the price matches the
quality. 'I cast right-handed and I like to keep
my rod in my right hand. This rod is light yet strong enough that I have caught walleye
on it, too, and I am happy
with its strength. '
Anglers most often said the Carbonlite is strong yet sensitive. 'It's light and flexible, and I can feel the fight on the end of the rod better, ' said Todd Rains.
HONORABLE MENTION
G-Loomis GLX, 34 percent
Fenwick Aetos, 13 percent.
Cabela's Platinum ZX, 12 percent.
Pinnacle Perfecta John Crews, 5 percent.
JIGHEADS BERKLEY GULP! JIGHEAD
Favorite 29%
HONORABLE MENTION
VMC Stand Up Shaky Head,
24 percent.
VMC Hammer Hear, 18 percent.
YUM Pumpkin Ed, 17 percent.
RAIN GEAR CABELA'S GUIDEWEAR BASS ANGLER
Favorite 57%
'The cost and effectiveness are a good combination, ' said Eugene V. Lenarz.
HONORABLE MENTION
Frabill Stormsuit, 25 percent.
Simms Contender, 18 percent.
SUNGLASSES COSTA DEL MAR DOUBLE HAUL
Favorite 46%
Dan Caison, like most voters, liked the features of the model and his past experience with the company. 'They will always protect your eyes, and you can see the fish when sight-fishing. '
And for some, their vote just runs in the family. 'Because my Uncle Casey wears them, ' said young Conner Byrd.
HONORABLE MENTION
WileyX Rout, 38 percent.
EYEKing Hobie Rockpile, 19 percent.
SPINNING RODS ABU GARCIA VOLATILE
Favorite 43%
'Good established brand, ' said J. Risner. 'I bought one this year and absolutely love it. For the money it is a real contender. '
Andrew Byington said he likes the backbone in this rod. 'Yet it also has great sensitivity, so you never miss a bite. '
'Nice action, good quality, light. High quality line guides, ' said Pat Duncan. Another voter especially liked the
sensitive tip for drop-shotting.
HONORABLE MENTION
BassPro Johnny Morris Carbonlite, 22 percent.
Shimano Calcutta D, 14 percent.
Quantum EXO, 12 percent.
ELECTRONICS HUMMINBIRD 1198C
Favorite 46%
Kyl Cabbage said the 1198c 'gives me all the buttons, whistles and bells I need. I am confident in the GPS system and really like side view. '
HONORABLE MENTION
Lowrance Elite-5 DSI, 35 percent.
Garmin Echo 550c, 16 percent.
LX7 MarCum Sonar System, 2 percent.
REALLY?
Besides asking you about your fav tackle, we were also curious about you.
If you can be believed — you are fishermen after all — you fish a lot! Don't worry, we won't tell your wives. In fact, on average you spend nearly 40 days a year on the water. More than a full month a year. Nice.
And when it comes to catching, some of you are really excelling: more than a third catch more than 50 bass a year. We figure you're only counting the ones over minimum size, of course.
About half of you consider yourself Intermediate anglers (52 percent). But 40 percent of you think of yourselves as Advanced.
The 3 Top lures you use most often are No. 3, Spinnerbaits, No. 2, Crankbaits, and No. 1, Artificial Worms.
Most fish mono/copolymers (64 percent); about half fish fluoro (47 percent), and a good amount fish braid (38 percent). — John Geiger
