MirrOlure MirrOdine vs. Rapala SubWalk Experiment (Day 1 Results)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
Not every fishing trip goes as planned…
On this particular day, I had planned to do a new lure experiment testing the MirrOlure MirrOdine vs. Rapala SubWalk, but the day was full of surprises.
The first unexpected event was actually a pleasant surprise!
As you’ll see in the video, the sun was barely up and I didn’t want to introduce the lure experiment in the dark, but I caught my first trout almost immediately, so I had to do an impromptu introduction.
Nothing like getting the party started as soon as you get out on the water, right?
But after that trout is when my experiment started to not go as planned… I had to introduce another lure.
And I got a surprise visit from an unwanted guest (often referred to as the “tax collector”).
Watch the video below to see why the result of day 1 of the multi-day experiment.
MirrOdine vs. SubWalk Experiment [Day 1]
Click here to see exactly where all of these fish were caught
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And in case you missed the full video, here are some important points that were highlighted:
1. Have a “go-to lure” for days when the bite it tough
We’ve talked with dozens of professional anglers on our podcast and in our community, and a majority of them consider some brand or version of a paddletail to be their most trusted go-to lure.
And I totally agree with that too.
During the best time to catch fish on this day (morning twilight period), I was struggling to catch fish with the hard plastic subsurface lures. But when I tied on my “go-to lure” (the Slam Shady), I immediately started catching fish and even landed a slam (redfish, snook, and seatrout) in less than 30 minutes.
Note: I rigged that Slam Shady paddletail the Z-Man Texas Eye jig head for the very first time in this video… I’ll do a detailed review on it soon to highlight its pros and cons once I get some more time on the water with it.
2. The flat calm days with clear skies often make for tough fishing
When I used to go fishing I would hope that it was a beautiful, calm, sunny day.
Now, I know that those days are when the fish are easiest to spook.
When it’s a little breezy and the surface is chopped up a bit, and there’s some cloud cover, you’re able to creep up on the fish much easier.
On days like this day, I had to be extra stealthy to not spook them.
3. Be mindful of the taxman when handling fish
Before I let that snook go, I made sure that the bull shark that just missed him wasn’t circling my boat waiting for redemption.
And if you’re wade fishing, be mindful to look for oncoming wakes when you’re about to reach out to grab your catch.
Conclusion
Although the day didn’t start out the way I envisioned it, any day where you catch an inshore slam is a good day!
I’ll go out again with the MirrOdine and the SubWalk lures to see which one catches the most fish under various conditions.
And I’ll post the results to this same page as the videos are completed… please leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for improving this 3 casts and switch experiment.
Have any questions about using paddletails?
Check out this paddletail mini-course we put together for our Slam Shady customers.
And if you want to see the full fishing report, including where I was fishing on the map, and how you can catch more inshore slams, too, join us in the Insider Club.
P.S. Know someone who’s struggling with hard plastics? TAG or SHARE this post with them!
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Related articles:
- How To Consistently Catch Redfish, Snook, & Seatrout [FREE PDF Guide]
- How To Catch More Redfish, Snook, & Grouper With Just ONE Lure
- How To Catch An Inshore Slam In 20 Minutes (Even In A New Spot)
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joe and luke,
just wanted to thank you both for all you do, keeping us all motivated and helping our personal desires to be better fisherman
Thanks so much for making time to leave the nice comment Brian!
Can you let us know what single hook you use to replace the treble hooks with on the Rapala. Thanks.
Hey Tim, the Rapala SubWalk actually comes with the single hooks which is another reason why I’m a huge fan of it. I believe the hooks they use are the same ones we offer at a discount in the Insider store (Owner Single Replacement Hooks – size 1/0): https://shop.saltstrong.com/products/single-hooks
For me I guess it’s the opposite lately with both menhaden and mullet being present I have found the paddletail for me isn’t working as well as if the baitfish run was not present when there is fewer baitfish I do well with a paddletail and also when they are not as big as they are now the live target pilchards in chrome is working great for me right now and i believe it’s because of the flash it gives off with a jerk jerk pause retrieve the lure really flashes looking like an injured menhaden unlike the paddletail that gives off hardly any flash at all plus the hardbait is a suspenders and the fish a lot of times hit it when it’s suspended where as the paddletail either sinks or is retrieved steady it still doesn’t suspend and also you got to remember you have been using paddletail for a while so you have great confidence in them I also do but the fishing here in the Jacksonville area of Florida is different and i can tell just by watching and hearing from other anglers they hit different and are located differently as well no seagrass potholes here only oysters sandbars and alot of docks but yes obviously your coarses and techniques still apply here it’s just some things at least for me work better great report Luke and as always thanks for what you do????
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Steven. Yes, it’s all about having a go-to lure that we spend a lot of time with to have the ability to get strikes even on the days/times when the fish aren’t feeding heavily.
Luke, how much help is that casting stand.. I’m trying to decide.
It helps out tremendously for doing these lure experiments given that it has the rod holder. And it definitely helps out for sightfishing given the higher elevation, but using one of the tough coolers can do that too (plus keep food/drinks cold).
Great vid/article???? Love the Texas head jig eye from zman. Started using it this summer and bought a bunch more after catching some NC slams. Haven’t used it enough up here in MD but definitely will use it tomorrow.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Gerald!
Good video with the paddle tail. Would like to get that white thin hoodie you are wearing. Good sun cover. Are they for sale? How much?
Be in Stuart Fl this winter for 3 months of largemouth fishing. Would love to get with you guys to fish your species.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Rich! We sold out of our original inventory a while back so we don’t have any in stock now, but I’m very pleased to report that we teamed up with a big apparel company in fishing industry who will be making a much better version of the sun protection hoodies… they should be ready for sale before the end of next month.
Had a big bull charge my lure to my rod tip wading up to my waste. We’re a huge problem on the flats by Fort Desoto . Hard time getting fish to the boat.
There definitely have been a lot of big sharks on the flats along the edges of Charlotte Harbor lately… this is the time of year when they are most plentiful, so it’s definitely time to be extra careful when wade fishing.
That shark encounter was cool! Looking forward to the upcoming experiment results.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Bob! I’ll be taking these two lures again soon.