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A few weeks ago I emailed Evolve Baits to praise them on a lure of theirs that I used for the first time with astonishing results. After speaking with the creators of Evolve, they decided to send me some samples to test and write a review about.
If you have not heard of Evolve Baits, here is the rundown. Evolve has been running hard since last year, 2011. They specialize in creating new designs to lures, effectively improving concepts that are already in use. California is known for being the birthplace of the swimbait and Evolve Baits will soon be known for evolving the design with the DarkStar Swimmer. As corny as that sounds, Evolve Baits is truly a company that is its own name. Evolve looks at proven designs that catch fish, they flip them over to feel, look, and perform better than originally produced.
The DarkStar Swimmer is a 5 inch swimbait that really thumps. The eye popping glitter and high vibration tail really make the design stand out. Where the DarkStar really starts to separate from the pack is when you tie it on. The naturally heavy body of the lure makes it easy to cast that country mile, while the big paddle tail is durable yet flexible, allowing you to reel it in painfully slow while maintaining a full tail action. Most of all the DarkStar Swimmer does catch fish!
The lineup that Evolve Baits is putting together is really starting to turn my head to another brand to trust in. I was fishing a tournament a while back on a body of water that I had never fished before. Usually I take the stance of researching that water for success, however on this trip I decided to wing it and a buddy of mine handed me a bag of VibraGRUB's. I had no idea about these lures, but they instantly caught my attention. The package has what is called a Rig Selector, telling you the ways you should rig the particular lure, reassuring me of the possibilities that were flying through my head.
The VibraGRUB to me looks a lot like a cuttlefish with the membranes on the side of its body moving erratically as it moves through the water. The thin plastic sides to the VibraGRUB has an insane action that I have really never seen on a lure. So I rigged the lure with a jig head and wound up catching something around 23 fish in 6 hours without moving. For saltwater use, the VibraGRUB responded for me with amazing results. I only wish that I had these a year ago when I was fishing for walleye and smallmouth in Colorado. This is a lure I will be tying on with confidence for a long time.
What is a company without variety? Well, Evolve Baits has a lot of it and again amazed me with their Shot Goby Leech for use on a drop shot and the Helgrashad, the most realistic cross between a worm and a swimbait I have ever used. The design was actually a cross between a Hellgrammite and a shad, that resulted in real swimming action. I would tie one of these on before I would tie on a live bait, it is that real. Evolve Baits offers a variety of hard plastic lures as well that I look forward to t
