Product Review: Yum Wooly Hawgtail

   Description: The Yum Wooly Hawgtail comes in two sizes, 3" and 4.5", and is a creature bait featuring a solid head with a body the thickness of a man's finger. The body is deeply ringed, and also features two thin tails and flippers on either side. The 4.5" version was used for this review.

   Review: (Note: 9/07/05 Since this review has been published, we have caught multiple bass over 4 pounds on the Wooly Hawgtails. Don't rule them out for big fish!) The Wooly Hawgtails performed remarkably well in stained and clear water. They have the ability to catch larger sized bass, and are less likely to catch small fish than other similar products. Yum's Wooly Hawgtails are excellent go-to baits when fishing for keepers. During testing, they produced quick limits in a myriad of conditions.

   Several unorthodox techniques proved to be the most effective: attaching a light weight 6-8 inches above the Hawgtail works well in presenting a slow-falling, horizontal lure to bass near wood or weed cover. Using this rig near weedlines and letting the bait sink to the bottom without any motion was the #1 technique, as many bass sucked in the lures before it hit the lake floor. If no strike occurs before the Hawgtail hits bottom, move it in 6-inch to 1-foot increments for several feet before retrieval.

   Adding a heavier weight makes the Hawgtail perfect for bass accustomed to typical flipping and pitching offerings, and produced plenty of bass throughout the testing period. Another productive technique was, rather surprisingly, reeling the Hawgtail rapidly under the surface, with or without occasional pauses. This technique produced well when used after deadsticking the lure.

   Colors: watermelon seed, pumpkin green with black flecks, and pumpkin/chartreuse were hands down the top producers, although watermelon red, chameleon, and other darker colors caught bass as well. As with any lure, match the color to the conditions. We highly recommend the pumpkin/chartreuse and watermelon seed colors, however.

   In summary, keep several bags of Yum's Wooly Hawgtails handy if you're looking for tournament-sized keeper fish. They have produced limits capable of winning tournaments during review.

 

Criteria	Score
Bass caught	4.5
Innovation	3.75
Strength	3.5
Overall	4.0

   The Breakdown:

   Bass caught: Wooly Hawgtails produced many limits several times over during review. The bass that were caught ranged in size, but averaged out at about 1.5 pounds.

   Innovation: The Wooly Hawgtails' high innovation ranking comes through their deeply ringed body, innovative twin tail design, and size. As a result, they are bulky enough to dissuade some small fish from striking, but provide enough water disturbance to be easily found. The thick body, flippers, and tails also make for a slow fall through the water column.

   Strength: being plastic, Hawgtails are not ultra-strong lures. Yum uses a different type of plastic than many other brands, and Hawgtails are no exception. Each bait lasted 3-5 fish.

   Overall: Yum's Wooly Hawgtails rank high: 4.0 out of a possible 5.0. They catch plenty of bass, are innovative products and definitely can bail you out in a tournament situation, or can provide a few extra bass when fishing for pleasure.

   Where to purchase:

   Yum lures are available in most tackle stores, as well as almost any place that sells bass fishing lures. A good place to order your Hawgtails is online at: www.lurenet.com.

By Brandon Shook

Images from Yum