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An
Easier to Fish Schooling Bait - The PDL Rig
(continued)
  Fully
rigged the bait weighs almost 1oz. making this lure a whole lot easier to fish
than a traditional full sized A-Rig. It is light and compact enough to be cast
with normal casting gear and I found that I could easily fish it with any heavy
power rod, and pitching rods were actually perfect for this bait. Casting all
day with this bait doesn't put much strain on your arms and shoulders and I
really liked the ability to fish this bait at varying speeds.
Casting the PDL Rig all day long was a whole lot easier than throwing an A-Rig
There are a number of patterns
available and my favorites where the "White Pearl" for use in stained water and
the "Alburno Comun" and the even more translucent silver flaked "Alburno Plata"
for clear water presentations. Over the last few weeks I have continually been
surprised at just how effective the PDL Rig is for targeting largemouth bass.
They work well in any bodies of water where baitfish is on the menu, and even in
the end of winter the lures were able to draw both followers and strikes when
fished it slow enough. There are other times when I was burning the bait back to
the boat only to get absolutely hammered in shallow water, the bottom line is
that these baits just plain work.
The PDL swimbait tail has a thinner more angular design than most paddletails
Hold it together:
Durability on the PDL Rig's swimbaits is just average and I seemed to lose one
of the smaller PDL 200 teaser swimabaits every trip where I fished the baits.
The good news is that Longas Baits does sell the teaser swimbaits separately for
$8.99 per pack of eight. These mini swimbaits can also be fished by themselves
on a darter head and I actually found them decent on a drop shot rig too. The
main 5" swimbait tail can also be replace and retails for $8.99 for a pack of 3.
Alternatively if you want to mix it up the company also sells just the PDL head
for $8.99 each. I tried the heads with other swimbaits and the Keitech Easy
Shiner was excellent. The Keitech bodies performed just as good as the original
and are offered in many more color options to better match the hatch.
It
is a good think that Longas baits sells replacement swimbaits because you will
lose some
Price & Applications: The
PDL Rig is a unique new bait that is effective for catching largemouth bass in a
variety of water conditions. Maybe because it is new, but the bass that I put
the bait in front were eager to follow the bait, and it proved effective both
slow cranking and burned near the surface. The PDL Rig is also a good solution
for tournament anglers who want to employ a schooling bait style lure but are
restricted by either tournament rules or regional regulations. Overall I was
surprised how effective the new bait was. It won't win any beauty contests but
as we have learned many times over, sometimes the best looking lures are far
from the most effective, and what catches fishermen is not always what catches
the most fish.
A
look at a PDL 200 swimbait tail, these small 2" swimbaits are used as teasers
but can be used by themselves on darter heads and drop shot rigs
While I love the ease of use that
entire PDL Rig and system offers when you look at the quality and refinement of
the plastic baits themselves and the detailing on the head they do seem somewhat
expensive. You are paying for an innovative patent pending design, and the baits
work which is more than I can say for many other "prettier" baits so all things
considered I doubt that PDL will have any trouble selling out of these baits
once the secret gets out. This bait will be a hot commodity during early spring
when there is a buffet of baitfish for predators to feast upon.
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):
|
Longas
Baits
PDL
Rig
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
Build
quality
is
"good"
and the
bait
basically
consists
of the
PDL head
and the
swimbait
tails.
Both
parts
are
built
well but
are a
little
rough in
terms of
detailing |
7 |
|
Performance |
If the
predatory
fish in
your
river or
lake
like
chewing
on
baitfish
this
lure is
an easy
to fish
schooling
bait
that is
basically
a cross
between
a
traditional
paddletail
swimbait
and a
A-Rig. I
was
surprised
how good
this
bait
performed
right
out of
the
package,
especially
when I
was
admittedly
unimpressed
with the
fit and
finish
of the
baits at
first |
9 |
|
Price |
Though
certainly
innovative
the bait
is still
expensive
when you
consider
the
elements
that the
bait is
constructed
out of
as well
as the
overall
refinement
of the
bait.
Nonetheless
based on
the
lure's
effectiveness
I'm
loading
on a few
more
before
they
sell out |
6 |
|
Features |
Best
feature
of all?
Ease of
use. The
PDL Rig
comes
fully
rigged
and
ready to
fish.
The PDL
head
design
is very
clever
and it
can be
used
with the
swimbaits
of your
choice
if you
want to
mix it
up. I
found
that
Keitech
swimbaits
also
worked
well on
the PDL
Rig head |
8.5 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
Easy to
fish,
this
lightweight
schooling
fish rig
does not
require
a beefy
swimbait
stick to
toss, a
heavy
powered
casting
rod with
medium
fast
action
will do
the
trick
beautifully |
8 |
|
Application |
The PDL
Rig
proved
to be an
effective
fish
catching
tool.
This
bait can
be
fished
at
varying
speeds
and
around
light to
medium
structure
effectively.
It will
be a
good
choice
in
everything
from
cold
water to
the
spring
when
baitfish
are
plentiful.
It also
can be a
hot
ticket
for
tournament
anglers
that are
prohibited
from
using
traditional
A-Rigs |
10 |
|
Total
Score
|
8.08 |
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 |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
+
Innovative
new take
on a
schooling
bait |
- Not
the most
detailed
or
refined |
|
+
Ready to
fish
right
out of
the pack |
- Price
runs on
the high
side for
each
bait |
|
+ Able
to be
fished
at
varying
speeds
and
depths |
|
|
+
Replacement
parts
available,
and the
PDL Rig
head can
be used
with
other
swimbait
bodies
of your
choice |
|
|
+
Enables
tournament
anglers
to fish
a bait
ball
style
bait
when
A-Rigs
are
prohibited |
|
Conclusion:
The Longas Baits PDL Rigs were
first available in Europe and originated from Spain. Some lucky American Anglers
were able to import some of these baits, or had friends on the other side of the
pond that sent a few them stateside. Anglers here have been keeping the bait
relatively quiet but the secret is out, the PDL Rig has landed!
I'll admit when
I first got these baits from Europe I didn't even fish them right away, and I
wasn't even that impressed when I first inspected them. Maybe I'm jaded but my
first thought was "gimmick," but I couldn't have been more wrong.
The
PDL Rig proved to me that I should not judge a book by its cover and was a
surprisingly effective alternative to the A-Rig, this is a good bait!
The PDL Rig may not be the most
refined bait but the concept is a good one, and most importantly fish really
like them. The good news is anglers don't even have to import them from the
other side of the world anymore, and more e-tailers and retailers are now
starting to stock them, including Tackle Warehouse, which has an assortment of
the PDL Rigs, PDL Heads, and replacement swimbait bodies. If you are looking for
an easy, and fun to fish, alternative to the A-Rig the Longas Baits PDL Rig is
absolutely worth tying on, and is a perfect example of not "judging a book by
its cover."
Looking for Longasbaits PDL Rig? Try
Tackle Warehouse
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