Smile Blade & Slow Death? Everybody s Happy But The Fish!

Transcription

1 Smile Blade & Slow Death? Everybody s Happy But The Fish! By Stan Fagerstrom It s enough to give those walleyes out there in your favorite lake or river the willies. If walleyes could talk you could probably have recorded the conversation a couple of them would have been having in the Columbia River recently. That recording would probably have sounded something like what you see in the following paragraphs. Have you seen those new things those dang nightcrawlers are wearing? one young walleye asked its companion. It was bad enough when so many of us got in trouble messing with those worms that came wiggling along behind that bright little piece of plastic spinning just ahead of their noses. That s what got old grandma a couple of weeks ago. The Mack's Lure Smile Blade Slow Death rig has an action unlike anything you---or the fish---have ever seen.

2 But now those doggone worms have gone plumb crazy! They must be on steroids or something. They re still wearing those little blades but now they re making moves the fish down there around New Orleans haven t even seen at midnight during Mardi Gras! Just what the heck is going on? If those big river walleye were capable of communicating with the cagey dudes who call the shots at Mack s Lure over there in Wenatchee, Washington they could come up with the answer. Mack s, you see, has just come up with a brand new product and that s what s got em worried. You may not have heard about the new lure yet yourself. It s easy to understand the shivering shakes those walleye are having. Just the name the Mack s Lure folks have selected for their new lure doesn t do anything to ease the nerves of old guys like me. The Smile Blade Slow Death rig is ready to go right out of the package. Just attach it to your line and you're in business So what s it called? The name of this new set up is the Mack s Lure Smile Blade Slow Death rig. The two main ingredients that make up the new product have long since both established their own fish catching ability.

3 Let me break it down for you. I can do that because I ve talked about it at length with the Mack s Lure executives who are responsible for putting it together. If you re a regular reader of my columns at this website I probably don t have to tell you much about Smile Blades. You already know that these little slip-on plastic spinner blades have been setting records all over the place in the relatively short time they ve been on the market. What you may not know is that Mack s is now combining its Smile Blades with a special Mustad hook that has also been getting all kinds of attention, especially from dedicated walleye anglers. It's the kinked back of the Slow Death hook that adds special action to the bait used with it. If you ve used Smile Blades you re aware they continue to spin at extremely slow boat

4 speeds. They also impart a special wiggle to whatever bait they re used with. The special Slow Death Mustad hook has attracted its own share of attention because the way it s made also imparts a fish-attracting action to the baits used with it. Combine one of these Slow Death hooks with a Smile Blade and the resulting action often drives the fish bonkers. The Slow Death hook, says Bob Schmidt, general manager of Mack s Lure, was designed by professional walleye anglers including Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajeez. The hook has a

5 kinked shaft. This hook, when rigged with a nightcrawler and fished at slow speeds, produces a wild action. In its smaller sizes, the Slow Death hook has also been effective for trout and panfish. If you eyeball one of the Slow Death hooks you ll find it looks like something that should visit the nearest chiropractor who specializes in straightening the shank of fishing hooks. But it s that kink in its back that gives the hook its fish-catching qualities. In recent years expert walleye anglers have used Smile Blades to take walleyes that rank right up there with the largest ever caught anywhere. One of these fish at 19.3-pounds holds the all time Washington State walleye size record. Mike Hepper, the man who caught that whopper, will tell you how he got results. He says it was because his Smile Blade continued to spin at such slow speeds that he was able to get it and its trailing nightcrawler down there where the record fish was holding. The Smile Blade also gave his worm the special action it imparts to any bait used it. It doesn t take any great stretching of the imagination to imagine the results when you use a Smile Blade just ahead of a hook that also gives the baits it holds its own big time action. It's no wonder those poor fish that have been exposed to this latest item from the Mack s Lure Dirty Tricks Department are going bonkers! You get some moves with our new rig that you don t even see on Dancin with the Stars, says Bobby Loomis, Mack s Lure s director of sales & marketing, and the Smile Blade Slow Death rig also continues to do its thing at the extremely slow speeds sometimes necessary to put fish in the boat. Both Schmidt and Loomis will tell you they didn t bring this new rig to market until they had it tested by select walleye anglers and fishing guides around the country. The reports we received, they say, proved the new rig was extremely effective. We used feedback we had from these walleye specialists to perfect the rig s final design. Schmidt points out something else that you need to know when you use this new rig. The Slow Death hook is made of light wire, he says. The light wire is necessary to give the hook the action it imparts to a worm. Be careful when you hook a big fish with it. The Smile Blade Slow Death rig is now available in 12 different colors. The colors you ll find are those that have proven effective with other Mack s Lure products.

6 The Smile Blade Slow Death rig is available in the 12 fish-attracting colors you see here. If you re looking for additional details you ll find them here at this website. Go to the home page and click on Fishing Headlines. When that page comes up, scroll down to the Fishing Lure of the Week.

7 I m always interested in knowing how a new lure makes it to market. That s why I like what I m hearing about this one. It isn t just somebody s idea of what might work. It s a new lure that s been tried and tested by some of the top professional experts and guides in the field of walleye fishing. That s good enough for me. The walleyes in the lakes I get a chance to fish this year are going to see this new rig just as soon as I have a chance to get there! -end-