Ease of Rigging : Rarely do I ever fish a spinnerbait without a trailer and quite often when I do, my trailers are unconventional - like a six inch Roboworm Straight Tail. I use trailers to give the bait a different profile and sometimes to add a splash of color. With the Hiramen skirt material on the SV-3 spinnerbait pre-installed, I feel like it already has a built in trailer and am more comfortable experimenting with slinging the bait straight out of the package. Fortunately, for those times I revert back to my old habits, the SV-3 comes with a standard looking bait keeper making the attachment of trailer baits simple and straightforward.

The SV-3's bait keeping system

Ease of Actuation : Once you begin your retrieve, the SV-3 goes right to work swimming true at all speeds. However, one thing surprised me with this bait, it actually gives off a little thump as it swims that you can feel through your rod. I'm not sure I've fished a double willow leaf spinnerbait that gave me feedback like this. I've had spinnerbaits that thump but those always involve baits with a Colorado blade on them. I'm not sure how this is accomplished since the blades on the SV-3 are average in size and the wire diameter is not noticeably thinner than average. Maybe it was my combo. Regardless, I found it to be very welcome feedback.

A look at the blade attachments

The Fall : When you stop your retrieve with the SV-3, the bait falls at a slight head down position, with the blades helicoptering all the way down. Pop your rod tip, or begin your retrieve anew and the SV-3 straightens up and starts to swim again no issues. Everything here seems pretty status quo.

Left to descent in the water column, the 3/4oz sized SV-3 will come to rest on the bottom like this

Position at Rest : Now, one behavior this spinnerbait has, that I know none of my previous spinnerbaits do, and even for this bait, it only exhibits in the largest, 3/4 ounce size. If left to descend all the way to the bottom, the 3/4 ounce SV-3 will sit upright. Those willow leaf blades slow the bait's descent so well, that when the 3/4 ounce sized bait, with its larger base, touches bottom, it balances and stands upright. I couldn't believe it when I witnessed this in my swimming pool and immediately tied on a couple other brands to test, then the smaller sized SV-3s. They all fell over. So I tied on a couple other of the 3/4 ounce sized SV-3s thinking maybe it was just that one bait, but they also stood up. I don't believe this was an intentional behavior for this bait, otherwise, the smaller sizes would exhibit the same capabilities, so take it for what its worth. I found it most intriguing.

Size designation on the underside of the bait's head

Durability : Though I've had an SV-3 spinnerbait for many years, I've only begun to throw them, and after that standup behavior I uncovered, I ordered a bunch more enroute to this write-up. All this is to say, I still can't speak to the long-term durability of the wire or skirt material other than the bait feels like it's built for the long haul. A hand tied skirt is key for me there because the only real failures I've experienced with a spinnerbait is that skirt eventually falling off when fastened with a rubber or plastic band. Durability of the paint on the head is fair. It just depends how you're using the bait. I cast one of mine up against some rocks a couple times trying to cast as close to shore as possible and lost some paint at the jawline.

The SV-3 is available overseas in different sizes and blade configurations including this tandem config