One thing that stood out for me last year with the recent shift towards more intensive,sporting styles of lure fishing was the creativity and DIY approach from people who may not have normally "made or crafted a bait" had they not been so enthusiatic about the sport they were enjoying...I was a classic example of this having made a few lures myself spending countless hours without the correct tools hunched over my latest pride and joy sanding and shaping all the while receiving "The Look" from my wife...

 

Sam (RealAppealLures) asked if I would like to try some poppers he had made, out on our local kingfish population.I was keen! I have followed Sam's work on another overseas forums and was really suprised when I found out he was here in NZ.Those of you that frequent the DIY section of this forum will have already seen ReelAppealLures work and may have even had the pleasure of painting and using some of his original lures.

 

Sam sent two lures up based on what had been working for me on previous trips,the finish was not as high as what Sam would have liked due to the time frame I gave him to get them to me.I was leaving the country in a few days on a fishing trip,anyone familiar with paint and epoxy will understand some things just cannot be rushed. Even so, I was impressed with the lures quality and finish.Any areas where the paint has been rubbed off in the photo's are from the epoxy not being set properly,this would not normally be an issue.

 

 

The lure I dubbed the "Little Blue Bomber" 100g

 

 

I snuck out yesterday,in short we jigged,stickbaited and popped for 12 hrs.

 

I will only talk about my experience with Sam's lure's.

 

This lure was recommended to be rigged with an assist and single off the front aswell as a rear hook,I thought I would try a Owner ST-76 5/0 on the rear,a large hook but effective - there were no survivors,this brought the lures rigged weight to 119g and was a pleasure to cast.

The lure itself lends itself to 70-90m casts easily,ensuring its in the danger zone for a long time.I am fast becoming a fan of less is more when it comes to hooks and kingfish.

 

The commotion it makes is really interesting,it bloops,swims,zig-zags and weaves....It throws out a great bubble trail and makes a really classic "thuwuck"  when you give the rod a good rip,really impressive when it is only 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the rest of my collection.

 

 

 

 

First cast with the Blue Bomber produced a fish after changing away from a high-end Japanese lure.It was so effective. Infact we never took it off after that - it became our "go to" lure for the day,even stickbaits were not as effective.

 

The fish we encountered were small but we had a real ball chasing them in the shallows.We were hopeful of somthing in the mid twenties as friends of ours got some nice ones popping only a few days before but it was not to be.

 

 

 

 

 

That is only a small handfull of some of the fish caught on the Blue Bomber.

 

All in all it swims well,catches fish and in the words of a guest on my boat "You could work this lure all day"

I was really enthused about the performance of this little popper when fished along side the high end stuff.Im going to try some different rigging to see what else we can get out of this little gem - it certainly has earnt its place in my fishing lure arsenal (You dont want them back do you ReelAppealLures?)

 

Great lures Sam,watch this space for some bigger fish on the next outing.

 

 

Hey Titahi, it is similar looking to an OTI wombat. I run a 10 degree face angle and no belly swivel.

 

choice as R.A.L........kiwi made goodness!!