Havoc Sick Fish - Any New Reports? 2024
Felix77 reply :
Guys,
There is more about the Sick Fish vs the Trash Fish on this forum than there is anything about catching fish on the Havoc Sick Fish. Has anyone had any experience fishing this thing? How to best rig it? etc.
I am heading to Texas this weekend and would like some ideas on successful they have been for others.
Thanks
TNBassin' reply :
I bought two packs, but have yet to fish them. I have one rigged up on a 1/2oz chatterbait just waiting though.
bassh8er reply :
My only report is that I have too many packs of these (27) to have never fished them yet.
You've won this round bait monkey/marketing/cool packaging.
Felix77 reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 2:13 AM, bassh8er said:My only report is that I have too many packs of these (27) to have never fished them yet.
You've won this round bait monkey/marketing/cool packaging.
That's quite the collection there! Better get to fishing them. 
RyneB reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 2:13 AM, bassh8er said:My only report is that I have too many packs of these (27) to have never fished them yet.
You've won this round bait monkey/marketing/cool packaging.
bait monkey got me too. At the bps spring sale i picked up 15 packs. They better catch fish lol
ripinthem reply :
I got a bad feeling ya'll got took!
Hooligan reply :
They fish well. They're different than the trash fish, really. They're similar but harder plastic and don't have the same "thump."
The entire key to the bait is using the right hook. My preference is the Owner Beast 4/0 on the 4.5" version and the 6/0 on the 5.5". Using a standard swimbait hook places the hook too far back in the body because you have to use such a large hook to get the clearance.
I DO NOT like them on a jig head at all. Some will say it works fine, but the action is dead and you lose the horizontal glide of the bait.
I've caught a few fish on them at Table Rock and on Beaver with them this spring.
War Eagle 44 reply :
I haven't caught a bass on one yet but I have thrown the 4" a few times. I think it has good action and I fully expect to catch plenty of fish on them once the water warms up. They have a more subtle action than a Basstrix type bait which is good IMO. The water in the lake I normally fish is a lot more stained right now than normal due to lots of rain so I don't think this is a great choice due to the more subtle tail action but I will be right back fishing them as soon as the water clears.
I've only rigged one so far and it's on the same hook already suggested, Beast 4/0. It has good action rigged this way and I have a lot of faith in these hooks so I'm happy as of now.
Comfortably Numb reply :
I have been fishing the 3" on a drop shot with good success
Bluebasser86 reply :
Still catching fish on mine on a belly weighted swimbait hook. Still impressed with how many fish I can catch on a single bait. Quickly becoming my favorite non prerigged soft swimbait. Going to take some of the 3" ones to the White River in Arkansas the first week of April to toss at some big brown trout hopefully
jhoffman reply :
I wanted to buy one but you all are a bunch of sick fish hogs. My bass pro didnt have a single one on the wall... not one. Do you really need 100 packs before even seeing if they work?
TheKingFisher reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 2:10 AM, TNBassin said:I bought two packs, but have yet to fish them. I have one rigged up on a 1/2oz chatterbait just waiting though.
Ooh that sounds like a good combo. I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to rig them considering they have a more definitive fish shape than most plastics.
Felix77 reply :
I bought 2 packs to test them out in the Texas waters this weekend. I rigged them on a 3/0 weighted EWG hook. Seemed to fit just right in the slot.
I also added a treble hook trailer to it based on some reviews on other sites. We shall see how it works out.
:-)
TheKingFisher reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 1:51 PM, War Eagle 44 said:I haven't caught a bass on one yet but I have thrown the 4" a few times. I think it has good action and I fully expect to catch plenty of fish on them once the water warms up. They have a more subtle action than a Basstrix type bait which is good IMO. The water in the lake I normally fish is a lot more stained right now than normal due to lots of rain so I don't think this is a great choice due to the more subtle tail action but I will be right back fishing them as soon as the water clears.
I've only rigged one so far and it's on the same hook already suggested, Beast 4/0. It has good action rigged this way and I have a lot of faith in these hooks so I'm happy as of now.
Is that the standard split ring that comes with those hooks? It looks pretty beefy.
5fishlimit reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 2:10 AM, TNBassin said:I bought two packs, but have yet to fish them. I have one rigged up on a 1/2oz chatterbait just waiting though.
Great idea!
RyneB reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 10:50 PM, jhoffman said:I wanted to buy one but you all are a bunch of sick fish hogs. My bass pro didnt have a single one on the wall... not one. Do you really need 100 packs before even seeing if they work?
yes, I got 15 packs, thats 30 baits. Once i rig up an umbrella rig, rig em as trailers on swim jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits. That doesnt leave much left over. I do the same with Shadalicious swimbaits, when i see them on sale i grab as much as my wallet will allow.
War Eagle 44 reply :
On 3/7/2013 at 1:48 AM, TheKingFisher said:Is that the standard split ring that comes with those hooks? It looks pretty beefy.
No, these hooks do not come with split rings. I read somewhere a long time ago about putting one through the eye on hooks that are going to be used for "swimming" type baits because it lets the bait have a little extra movement in the water as opposed to tying directly to the hook eye.
The split ring is a Bass Pro brand split ring, fairly cheap and easy to get. They've performed pretty good for me though, nothing bad to report.
WhiteMike1018 reply :
On 3/6/2013 at 1:51 PM, War Eagle 44 said:I haven't caught a bass on one yet but I have thrown the 4" a few times. I think it has good action and I fully expect to catch plenty of fish on them once the water warms up. They have a more subtle action than a Basstrix type bait which is good IMO. The water in the lake I normally fish is a lot more stained right now than normal due to lots of rain so I don't think this is a great choice due to the more subtle tail action but I will be right back fishing them as soon as the water clears.
I've only rigged one so far and it's on the same hook already suggested, Beast 4/0. It has good action rigged this way and I have a lot of faith in these hooks so I'm happy as of now.
does the split ring on front give it better action?
War Eagle 44 reply :
I believe it does. It lets the bait rock side to side more than if you tie direct.
BenB54 reply :
On 3/7/2013 at 12:30 AM, Felix77 said:I bought 2 packs to test them out in the Texas waters this weekend. I rigged them on a 3/0 weighted EWG hook. Seemed to fit just right in the slot.
I also added a treble hook trailer to it based on some reviews on other sites. We shall see how it works out.
:-)
Whereabouts in Texas will you be fishing? I'm wiling to bet you will enjoy the climate just a little bit better than up north, lol!
Felix77 reply :
On 3/8/2013 at 11:47 AM, BenB54 said:Whereabouts in Texas will you be fishing? I'm wiling to bet you will enjoy the climate just a little bit better than up north, lol!
I will be in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I am so excited to be in warmer climates. Hope I catch a lunker to post online!
Felix77 reply :
I got a chance to see them in action this weekend and I must say that I am extremely disappointed in them. The tail had no action at slow retrieves. I found I needed to retrieve it pretty fast to get action out of the lure.
I bought them under the pretenses that it would be an effective slow roll swimbait. I'm sure when the faster bite is on it will work well but for slow presentations this is NOT your bait.
deep reply :
A guy I know from another forum caught a 8# in Oregon (2/3rd of state record)... but it was on a Trash Fish, not the Berkely bait.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
On 3/13/2013 at 10:26 PM, Felix77 said:I got a chance to see them in action this weekend and I must say that I am extremely disappointed in them. The tail had no action at slow retrieves. I found I needed to retrieve it pretty fast to get action out of the lure.
I bought them under the pretenses that it would be an effective slow roll swimbait. I'm sure when the faster bite is on it will work well but for slow presentations this is NOT your bait.
This is where you will see the difference in price and craftsmanship.
Definitely one of the places you will see what "hand poured" and "mass produced" really means.
J Francho reply :
On 3/13/2013 at 10:26 PM, Felix77 said:I got a chance to see them in action this weekend and I must say that I am extremely disappointed in them. The tail had no action at slow retrieves. I found I needed to retrieve it pretty fast to get action out of the lure.
I bought them under the pretenses that it would be an effective slow roll swimbait. I'm sure when the faster bite is on it will work well but for slow presentations this is NOT your bait.
You can use a razor to remove some of the plastic where the tail should bend. Just start with small subtractions, since once cut, you can't go back.
Felix77 reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 12:22 AM, J Francho said:You can use a razor to remove some of the plastic where the tail should bend. Just start with small subtractions, since once cut, you can't go back.
I will try that. Thanks.
War Eagle 44 reply :
I don't remember what size you said you had but I've fished the mid and large sizes and the large baits have a much better action when reeled slowly than the middle size.
Gone_Phishin reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 12:05 AM, SPEEDBEAD. said:This is where you will see the difference in price and craftsmanship.
Definitely one of the places you will see what "hand poured" and "mass produced" really means.
Does this mean the Little Creeper version is a good bait for working slowly? That is exactly what I am looking for.
J Francho reply :
The 6" ones I think I have are OUTSTANDING baits. Fast, slow, dead stick, all works with them.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 5:18 AM, Gone_Phishin said:Does this mean the Little Creeper version is a good bait for working slowly? That is exactly what I am looking for.
Get the thing wet and the fins wiggle. Move it forward the slightest and the tail gets going.
Winner, winnner, chicken dinner!
Gone_Phishin reply :
On 3/14/2013 at 10:53 AM, SPEEDBEAD. said:Get the thing wet and the fins wiggle. Move it forward the slightest and the tail gets going.
Winner, winnner, chicken dinner!
Outstanding; just what I am looking for.
Thanks.
Diggy reply :
Bought a pack yesterday from Gander for 3 something. Chart Shad color. Its on a vmc 5/0 swimbait hook. I tried 2 hooks and noticed there isnt much gap between the hook and the sick fish's stomach. I was worried about the hook not exposing itself enough. I looked on the video and Skeet's hook was the same. Cast it a few times to see how it looked. Not much body wobble but the tail is action packed! Used it today and this is my 1st fish on it. The bait looks unscathed. I can see these lasting a bit especially with some mendit around
Diggy reply :
caught 2 more on it, still looks brand new.
Hooligan reply :
Neither the Trash Fish or the Sick Fish are made with body roll. It is strictly fins and tail. They didn't want the bait to roll at all, unless I'm mistaken there is a video of Skeet and the guys from Creeper talking about it. Also if you want more thump in the tail, trim the top tail as on the Trash Fish.
One thing I learned today is that the Sick Fish can be steered much more easily than the Trash Fish. Offset the hook point and you can make it swim under docks or under a tree that is laid down. I had a hellish hard time getting the Creeper to do that. That said, they both have a place in my assortment.
BONZ reply :
Played around with hooks on the sick fish yesterday. After mutilating the bait with a 4/0 VMC swim bait hook, I tried the 5/0 and it fit the bait much better. The bait looks good in the water with decent tail action. Only problem I had was that I could not get the bait to swim straight. It kept leaning to the left. The nose of the bait was a little beat up from rigging with a bunch of hooks and jig heads. Could this be causing the problem?
Diggy reply :
On 3/24/2013 at 11:16 PM, BONZ said:Played around with hooks on the sick fish yesterday. After mutilating the bait with a 4/0 VMC swim bait hook, I tried the 5/0 and it fit the bait much better. The bait looks good in the water with decent tail action. Only problem I had was that I could not get the bait to swim straight. It kept leaning to the left. The nose of the bait was a little beat up from rigging with a bunch of hooks and jig heads. Could this be causing the problem?
Possibly, see if the other one swims fine, rigging it once.
This bait works, every time I use it I catch fish. Gave it some use again yesterday and caught 3 on it. The biggest fish is still 4lbs 4oz. Ive caught about ten fish now on the same bait and its still in tact.
JimmyKing reply :
BPS has these on sale for $2.50 so I picked up a few packs. Can't wait to give them a try.
jhoffman reply :
The smallest ones the eyes fall out easy. Havent fished my biggest ones yet.
Diggy reply :
I only have tried the 4inch version, 2 in a pack
TNBassin' reply :
I tried them on a 4/0 swim bait hook, and like some of you said, there isn't much room between the hook shank and the belly. Gonna try some 5/0 and see how they fare then. I wasn't too impressed with the tail action though.
JimmyKing reply :
Someone on the BPS site recommended using a deep belly hook like the Owner beast. I ordered some 4/0 to go with mine.
gr8outdoorz reply :
Owner Beast hooks fit perfect. 4/0 for the 4" and 6/0 for the 5.5"
Felix77 reply :
I was able to get out and try out the smaller Sick Fish. The action on that lure is much better than it's mid-side counterpart. Landed my first Sick Fish Bass on it.
gr8outdoorz reply :
On 4/24/2013 at 9:31 AM, Felix77 said:I was able to get out and try out the smaller Sick Fish. The action on that lure is much better than it's mid-side counterpart. Landed my first Sick Fish Bass on it.
The little ones make a sweet drop shot bait 
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 4/24/2013 at 12:01 PM, gr8outdoorz said:The little ones make a sweet drop shot bait
They work well on a 1/8oz jighead or a scrounger head also. The 4" was spanking the bass at a pond for me this last week.
TNBassin' reply :
Anyone try these on a scroungers jig head or a sworming hornet? Seems like a good bait for both.
Felix77 reply :
On 4/24/2013 at 12:01 PM, gr8outdoorz said:The little ones make a sweet drop shot bait
I can't wait to try it on a drop shot
kylek reply :
Whats the best time of year to throw these? I might pick up a few to try but don't want to buy a bunch and not be able to properly use them for a long time.
thanks
gr8outdoorz reply :
On 4/25/2013 at 5:08 AM, kylek said:Whats the best time of year to throw these? I might pick up a few to try but don't want to buy a bunch and not be able to properly use them for a long time.
thanks
You can throw them all year. The only time I don't throw them is in winter due to the fact they don't slow roll as well as some other swimbaits. Winter swimbaits for me are Huddleston 68 and Little Creeper Trash Fish. You can fish these VERY slow and still get great action. There has been a lot of bass caught on the Sick Fish so I will continue to use them, just not in winter.
ww2farmer reply :
I tossed a 4" sick fish all morning. Bass were having none of it, but Pike liked them. I was tossing them on a VMC "Ike approved" swimbait hook, 5/0, 1/4 oz. IMHO it was just right for that bait. Durability was excellent as far as I am concerned. 5 pike on one plastic bait, and it's still usable, if five of them can't rip it up, it will last a good long while when bass actually start biting the thing. I found it swam at slow speeds very well. I like it, I will fish them some more and see what happens when bass want to play.
mtaag3 reply :
I just bought a couple and can't wait to try them
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