I haven't fished these much.Thought I'd try them maybe this afternoon on a small,weedy,shallow lake.Which one(s) would y'all recommend?I will either buy them at academy sports or dicks probably.
Academy carries both of my favorites, the Havoc Pit Boss and the Big Bite Baits YoMomma.
I recently switched from Gambler Ugly Otters to Missile Baits D Bomb and Baby D Bomb and the difference is night and day. They will out fish even a sweet beaver or a strike king rodent/river bug every day. However for a dollar cheaper a bag, Berkley does offer some very competitive options for creature baits that are very multifaceted and tournament tested. The Pit Boss like BB86 mentioned as well as the Devil Spear are very versatile and catch fish, plus the color options with Berkley plastics are enormous.
Rage bug and/or craw, brush hog if you want a lot of action.
Sweet Beaver, Pit Boss or D Bomb for less action and reaction bites
Mike
Rage Tail Structure Bug exclusively, J-rigged.
I like the sweet and smallie beaver from Reaction Innovations.
The sweet Beaver for fishing the nastiest cover I can fish and the smallie beaver on a Siebert Outdoors Zenith shakeyhead in and out of cover.
They are all fairly similar and I tend to not have a favorite. RI Beaver, SK rodents, SK Rage bug, Pitt Boss. Uggly Otters, Yamamoto Kreature, and Keitech Crazy flapper. The difference are available sizes, colors, actions, and some have scent and others do not. Cant say that I favor one over the other but they all see regular use as Texas rigged baits and as jig trailers. Some last longer and don't rip as easy.
I just started using Rage Bugs the 2nd half of this year, they're not my favorite in terms of fishing heavy cover (the action tended to get diffused as I'd pull it through), but their Delta Red color did definitely get crushed. I'd use them standalone in more sparse cover. Fished them sort of like a spooked craw around dock pilings, rocks and crevices, etc. Haven't used them as a trailer...yet...
I've used the Sweet Beaver for a while. I use Black and Green Pumpkin year round, both standalone and as trailers. Both can be deadly.
Though it's not really a craw/beaver style, the Berkley Devil Spear is actually one of my favorites in the heat of summer when the weeds are thick. Very dense/fat bait, moves water so the fish take notice, and slips through cover extremely well!
I use the Missile baits D-bomb and baby bombs. I'm a big fan of their color choice.
Rage Bug in Blue Craw & Delta Red until I used the D-Bomb in Diablo. A game changer for me!
I like the double wide 5.20 in big texan. I really liked the bps beaver bug in roadkill...wish they still made them.
When Big-O came out with the Rage Bug I gave everything else away!
Why?
Cause they catch!
Berkley Pit Boss, great action lots of colors and cheap
I started using the Reaction Innovations kinky beaver and sweet beaver this year and have caught some very nice bass on them.
Rage Structure Bug were one of my top baits this year. I did well with the standard colors. PB&J was the most productive for me under all water conditions. I've fished a few style baits, with very little success. I'm sure they all work just fine, but the Structure Bug was an immediate winner for me.
Havoc Pit Boss..............cheap, versatile, effective, durable, cheap,comes in all the colors and sizes I need/want,available locally, stays on the hook better than most when punching, and did I mention cheap.
rage bug for flipping wood and scattered vegetation, also throw the D Bomb. When punching, I use a Gambler why not
I don't know if you would call this a beaver or not, but I like the Zoom superhog. They seem to work very well in the neighborhood ponds.
I haven't tried the super hog,but have tried the brush hog and z- hog, love the z- hog,used it a lot.Baby brush hog will catch a lot too.But they are the only beaver baits I've used.
Got the pit boss in Cali.Caught 1 on one bite in 2 hours.To early to judge though.
Case plastics lil sweet pea.
So many answers, none are wrong, I have done well no the BPS River Bug, and I still really like to use the SK Rodent, and Smaller Gambler Otter, but beavers have different actions...Some glide more, some swim more with more appendages, then a bait like the Otter has paddle tails, different times, different days some work better than others.
For a standard beaver, I do as well with the RIver bug as I do with a RI Beaver, or any other brand that is a beaver style bait for most part. I like the Rage Bug but not for heavy weeds, I like it as a "Rage Rig" 3/8 oz or less for pitching and swimming, and love the Havoc pit boss, they have awesome colors online, hook stays in well even when going heavy, pound for pound with price are really good.
I think size and color matter more than brand. I can grab a D-Bomb and be just as confident as any other similar design if size & color are right...Just try a few of the most popular, in 3 best colors you prefer.
Netbait B Bug. I carry 3 colors which seems to cover every spectrum (Alabama Craw, Black Blue Fleck and Green Pumpkin). I use these as jig trailers as well.
On 11/28/2016 at 4:34 AM, ww2farmer said:Havoc Pit Boss..............cheap, versatile, effective, durable, cheap,comes in all the colors and sizes I need/want,available locally, stays on the hook better than most when punching, and did I mention cheap.
agree....
I use the missile baits Dbomb and it produces, especially when you dip the tail in spike it.
I think the d bombs last the longest hands down
I really like the Ugly Otter on a 1/8oz weight. The little kick that thing has on a slow fall is pretty productive.
The RI Double Wides are my overall favorite. I'm a junkie for large profile baits.
Pit boss in water above 65 degrees, D-Bomb in water below 65.
I'm a huge fan of the baby dbombs. I like the compact size it offers, and the colors are great for the waters I fish.
I never had much luck with the Ugly Otter and man do they stink! Id go with the Havoc Pit Boss.No wrong way to fish it.Plus the 3.5 makes a great swim jig trailer.Did I mention they are only 3 bucks?
SK Rodent, D Bomb, Berkeley Powerbait Thief, RI Sweet Beaver
On 11/26/2016 at 11:24 PM, roadwarrior said:Rage Tail Structure Bug exclusively, J-rigged.
I love the rage bug too! What is j rigged?
I was a loyal Havoc Pit Boss user until I tried the Missile D-Bomb. It's now my favorite.
It's also my favorite plastic bait to sneak out of the package and toss to an unsuspecting women in the boat (on the rare times I have an unsuspecting woman in the boat). They usually start screaming the second they catch it.
Tight lines,
Bob
Owner J-Rig
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=j+rig+fishing&view=detail&mid=DB6FFD84007A6BC6E1D3DB6FFD84007A6BC6E1D3&FORM=VIRE
Ive had the most success with Zoom Z-hogs. 2nd would be the Pit boss.
I have never thought of a brush hog as a beaver style bait.
Rodents, sweet beavers, d-bombs, Wooly bugs, all seem like the same bait with no action. Good for colder water situations and jig trailers in cold water as well. For warmer water flipping and pitching I grab a Pit Boss.
On 11/29/2016 at 10:53 AM, heavyduty said:Case plastics lil sweet pea.
My favorite as well but they do not make them anymore.
Allen
On 3/12/2018 at 1:06 AM, Munkin said:My favorite as well but they do not make them anymore.
Allen
Still available through Fishing Complete
On 3/12/2018 at 1:11 AM, heavyduty said:Still available through Fishing Complete
Can you PM me the info.
Allen