A Brawler Ready to Battle, the
Pike Team Six B52 Wake Swimbait (continued)
I
started out fishing
the B52 with a
classic Megabass
Orochi Destruction
rod but the action
was a little too
moderate and I had
trouble pinning fish
quickly and as they
breached some of
them would shake the
bait off in mid-air.
After switching to
the stiffer and
heavier powered
G.Loomis IMX-Pro and
Kistler KLX swimbait
rods I never lost
another fish, and
was able to better
lock fish down and
work them towards
the boat.
In a lot of the
pictures the B52
looks like it has a
boomerang shaped
body but in the water the tail comes
up a bit and
flattens out the
bait, and as it is
retrieved you can
actually see the top
of the metal tail
break the surface of
the water as it
whips back and
forth.
I quickly learned I
could fish the B52
at just about any
speed. This bait
will not wash out
even when burned
The B52 is truly a
wakebait, and best
worked right on the
surface. While the
bait can be worked
slowly what I liked
best about this bait
is how fast it can
be retrieved, and
even when burned the
B52 will not wash
out.
Some of the best
fish I caught with
this bait was
cranking as fast as
I could, and being
able to witness fish
chase and blow up on
this bait right on
the surface is worth
the price of the
bait alone. One of
the things that I
like most about the
B52 is that it is so
different from every
other swimbait in my
arsenal. It looks
different, it swims
different, and fish
that are feeding
close to the surface
react aggressively
to this bait.
A closer look at the
FireTiger pattern
that Cal threw all
season
The custom Dirty
Shad brown and
Firetiger patterns
that I was able to
test were excellent
for largemouth
throughout the
Spring and Summer
and as the fish
started to go deeper
in Fall they stopped
feeding on the
surface and a
sinking or crankdown
model would be more
effective. These are
custom
configurations that
can be ordered from
PT6, but I didn't
have the opportunity
to test. I also
threw the Dirty Shad
in the California
Delta and caught
bass on it but
wasn't able to get
any Stripers to hit
it. I think the
action of the bait
is perfect but the
pattern that I had
was too dark. I'd
like to try a
lighter, brighter,
pattern for stripers
in the future.
Bass really react to
this bait and
strikes can be
downright explosive
Price and
Applications:
The design of the
B52 is really what
makes the bait but
the team does a nice
work on the paint
work as well. The
painting isn't as
refined as what we
see on some other
custom baits but I
find that is part of
the allure of this
bait. The B52's
finish and paint is
not as refined as an
SlyGuy or Illude
offering for
example, but it is an
absolute
brawler, a bait that
isn't afraid to mix
it up with the
meanest fish out
there. The team also
isn't afraid to use
bright colors to
differentiate their
baits, patterns like
Orange Goby,
Psychedelic Perch,
and Wonderbread are
all examples of
this. Some of their
newer patterns like
Brown Trout exhibit
more detail and
display excellent
use of multiple
layers of paint and
spot work.
There
are a lot of swimbaits that look
absolutely
beautiful, and many are
exact replicas of
what shad or trout
should look like.
The PT6 B52 is not
an exact
reproduction of
prey, but rather a
truly original swimbait designed to
trigger fish into
striking. It seems
to primarily fool
fish with a
combination of both profile and action,
and is built like a
tank so that it can
stand up to viscous
strikes from the
meanest fish.
Warm overcast days?
Easy money with the
B52
Even after a whole
season of use there
are just a few chips
and hook scratches
in the bait. The
joints have held up
well and while the
tail did bend under
the stress of some
particularly violent
strikes it was easy
to bend it right
back into form with
my fingers alone.
Even after a season
of use the B52 has
held up well with
just a few chips at
the joints and minor
scratches
There was a time
when I thought
paying over a
hundred dollars for
a swimbait was a lot
of money, but the
custom swimbait
market is a whole
different ball game.
Anglers always ask
me if it really is
worth paying over a
hundred dollars for
a resin swimbait
and after learning
just how much goes
into the creation of each of
these baits the
answer is a definite
yes if that bait
swims and catches fish...
which
the B52 absolutely does.
No two B52 baits are
exactly alike, and
for those that
really want
something unique
paying just $135
dollars for a custom
build, specifically
tuned rate of fall,
and paint finish is
a killer deal.
Fish are still hot
after landing with
the B52 because they
are caught on top,
and often not too
far from the boat
Ratings:
(We've
re-calibrated our
ratings standard for
2008 and have
included a key at
the bottom of the
following matrix as
a guide):
|
Pike
Team
Six
B52
Swimbait
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
Pretty
much the
opposite
of a
mass
produced
swimbait.
Each and
every
B52 has
a unique
finish.
This
resin
bait
looks
raw and
yet each
build is
consistent
in
quality
|
8 |
|
Performance |
This is
truly a
wakebait
and best
reserved
for days
when
fish are
feeding
high up
on the
water
column.
The B52
is
absolutely
excellent
when
fish are
aggressively
targeting
baitfish
near the
surface
and the
ability
to work
it
quickly
can
incite
some
awesome
blowups |
8.5 |
|
Price |
Retailing
for $125
dollars
the B52
is an
excellent
deal for
a truly
handmade,
hand
painted
custom
bait.
Want
something
truly
unique?
$10
dollars
more
gets you
a custom
build! |
9 |
|
Features |
Unique
profile
and
durable
construction
and
quality
hardware.
The
paint
finishes
are
artistic
and each
bait is
really
unique.
No two
B52's
are
exactly
the same |
8.5 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
Light
enough
to be
cast
with
lighter
swimbait
rods or
even
conventional
heavy
casting
rods but
found
the bait
is best
fished
with a
true
heavy
swimbait
rod to
really
get on
fish the
second
they
blow up
on the
lure.
The
ability
to work
the B52
at any
speed
makes
this an
easy
bait for
swimbait
anglers
of all
skill
levels
to enjoy |
9 |
|
Application |
The wake
version
that I
tested
is ideal
for
shallow
water
situations
or hot
seasons
where
fish are
eager to
fish on
the
surface.
This
bait was
designed
for a
wide
range of
freshwater
fish and
can hold
up to
strikes
from big
Largemouth
and Pike |
8.5 |
|
Total
Score
|
8.58 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
