Thru and Thru, Savage Gear's New Trout Inspires Confidence

Total Score: 8.83 - INNOVATION, BEST VALUE and EDITOR'S CHOICE!

Introduction: The big bait market in California is saturated. There are so many baits that seemingly do the same thing, it's just difficult to navigate and select a bait that works. Quite often, by the time supplies have caught up with demand, the next hot bait is already yesterday's news. Yet despite the simple law of nature that big fish eat smaller fish, throwing and fishing big baits in the rest of the country and most parts of the world is still a relatively new phenomenon. This is evidenced by the onslaught of new product each and every year as new and established manufacturers try to catch the big bait wave.

Introducing Savage Gear's new, Line Thru Trout.

There is, in this big bait space, two distinct categories of product - the soft bodied baits and the hard bodied baits. Most of the time, hard bodied baits are characterized by one or more joints and a pair of bottom rigged treble hooks. The majority of soft bodied baits have a solid body, with some type of tail that moves as you retrieve the bait in the water. Most of these baits have a jig style hook out the top of the bait. There are crossovers and exceptions of course, but generally, this is how the two categories play out.

Savage Gear took a computer scan of a real trout to make this bait hence the crazy detail.

However, it is in these exceptions to the rule where some of the more interesting products play out. Today, we take a look at one of these exceptions built by up and coming Savage Gear lure company. Introducing our review of their new, Line Thru Trout!

Impressions: The Savage Gear Line Thru trout is an eight inch, soft bodied bait with three body sections. It is built in size, proportion, and detail just like a three piece hard bodied bait. This includes the tail which is not a paddle or wedge or any other type of swimming tail design. Viewed in its packaging alone, the bait is so classically proportioned in its sections that it's easy assume that this is a hard bodied bait.

Even the gills and side fins are articulated.

The reason for the realism? Savage Gear took a computer scan of a real trout and translated that scan into the mold for this bait. Then, instead of adding the typical swim tail to a soft bodied bait, they engineered three sections to the bait connected by a nylon mesh that runs the bait's length. This nylon mesh reinforcement is there to mitigate against tears. Next, instead of pre-rigging the bait with the usual jig style hook or providing an internal harness for two hooks hanging off the bottom, they provide a channel for your line to run through the bait's head and out the top.

A soft plastic swimbait with the hook on top is not new.

Out the top you ask? Yes, out the top where you can then tie on a treble hook (one is supplied with each bait) and secure it behind the head of the bait in a slot that's made to accept one of the treble hook points. This slot secures the hook for fishing and protects the bait against additional tearing that would occur if you simply stuck the hook point into the soft plastic body of the bait. Savage Gear really went all out to make this bait about as perfect out of the packaging as you could expect.

But the fact this is actually a line THROUGH bait is what has us smiling!