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Posts: 126
| Between Bulldawgs, Curly Sues and Super D's...which is the best based on fish catchability, durability, and price? Thanks |
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Posts: 646
Location: In a shack in the woods | I like super d for the fact that they are cheaper, strong, and James is great if there are any problems. I got a super d last week and it had stretched out split rings. I emailed James to tell him and he quickly responded. I could tell he was actually concerned about my happiness with the lure. Needless to say a ski bit the tail off it Saturday morning but that's a different story with a few cuss words involved. I don't really think there is a bad plastic company out there. I just like the fact he is from my home state and is great to deal with.
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | I second the super d- all the stuff said above plus the colors are better- now hes added many different sizes and new colors for 09- the body loc harness he puts in his baits are hands down better than the others on the market- id think the only way they could be better would be to add another tail like the medussa, but other than that I like them alot |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | The Super Ds are priced very well, caught fish for me last year, and held up pretty well. Since last year, James has improved them with a better harness, tougher plastic, and a few other upgrades. I can't wait to get my hands on them - they sound awesome.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Curly Sue. More expensive but far from overpriced. They will likely catch MULTIPLE fish before they start falling apart. I have one I've caught a few on, had a couple hits, and lost some, and it still has a LOT of life in it. You can see where it's been melted back together, but the integrity of the bait still seems to be very near 100%.
Now we have the Bulldawg which is somewhere in the middle of the price range (by weight, it's probably close to the Curly Sue in price). They improved them this year with a harness like what James used in the Super Ds last year, and they hardned the rubber up from the soft goo they had been using for a few years now. I've only caught one nice northern on one, but it seemed to hold up well. They look and feel like a pretty tough, quality bait now. The Bulldawgs have a more pronounced side to side walk the dog than the others if you work them right. Not necessarily better or worse, but different.
They are all a little different. I do like the walk the dog action of the Dawgs, but I caught plenty of fish on the Super Ds and Curly Sues last year to know they REALLY catch fish. I think all three are good baits that each have a place in the tackle box.
Saying all that, I think your best value is probably still the Super D, especially now that the new improved versions will be coming out soon. They've all proven themselves in fish catching ability, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.
curleytail |
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Posts: 727
| Shack Attack products are the best quality out there, they are built like tanks and the price is fair. The curly sue has more of a hopping action were the dawgs are more of a pop and glide, and the suzy sucker gives off an amazing amount of vibration. |
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | Curleytail covered things pretty well. As far as fish catchability? They all do a great job with this and each one fishes differently. I wouldn't want to be without any of them in my box.
Aaron |
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Posts: 2024
| I've been messing around with the Medussa for the last week or so. Quite the bait... Hate tuning plastics? Not an issue with the Medussa. Anywho, that's another option (new on the market) to look into. Plastic is hard yet supple, and the three tails give wicked action. Not to mention that bait has a mohawk which is pretty sweet in and of itself  |
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Posts: 264
| we all know dawgs catch fish, and they are not known for there durability. IMO all dawgs are not created equall. some are made out of durable plastic and others are soft and are shredded easily. havenent tried super d's so i dont know about their durability |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | I'm putting together my first conventional tackle box, and have Dawgs and SuperD's. I'm cool with my regular Dawgs, but my Uptown is a bit of a disapointment. The eyes fell off the first day, and the paint skin along the back is coming off, and that's after one day. Not a huge deal, I mean the eyes aren't going to stop a bite, but for the cash, and a brand new bait, I'd have hoped for more. I like the SuperD's. I bought some here used, and they're tough, and it looks like their paint is thicker or more soundly applied. Haven't fished them yet. But I do like them.
Haven't tried a Madusa yet. Want to though. |
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| I like my SuperDs a lot too. Real improvement over the older Bulldawgs and 30% less price and more colors does not hurt either. Can't wait for the new SuperDs and MegaDs that are supposed to be out in a week or two. As for the newer Bulldawgs that are using the SuperD coil harness, I have not used those yet but I am sure they are durable now with the coil harness in them. Dawgs just need to work on the prices now. I like my Shack Attack lures too as they seem to work different than the SuperDs or Bulldawgs. Not tried the Medusa yet but want to get one.
For those new ProDawgs, anyone figure out why they removed the back wire harness from those? I tried one of my buddies and it always went right right right and we could not adjust it. Not sure that was a good move to get rid of the internal harness towards the back of that lure. Hate that you can’t adjust them to do those little tricks. Heard the same for the eyes and paint coming off the new ProDawgs as well as the Pounders.
My rank:
1) SuperDs (new MegaDs should make my list soon)
2) Shack Attack
3) Dawgs or maybe Medusa once I give them a try
kurt
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Posts: 283
| Love my super D's they are a great bait. They are very durable allowing them to catch more than a couple fish with a bait. I used to have bulldawgs acouple years ago but buying new baits after every fish gets old fast. |
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Posts: 208
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | I bought a brand new mag dawg and made about 5 casts with it before the harness started to fall out. I have never caught a fish on a dawg or super D. The harness on both of them always starts to push up through the back by the tail. Super D use the body lock which works great except there is nothing on the very back of the harness past the back hook loop. If they could add a coil there that would help the harness stay in the plastic. Just my .02 |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | jjmuskie - 6/30/2009 2:33 PM
I bought a brand new mag dawg and made about 5 casts with it before the harness started to fall out. I have never caught a fish on a dawg or super D. The harness on both of them always starts to push up through the back by the tail. Super D use the body lock which works great except there is nothing on the very back of the harness past the back hook loop. If they could add a coil there that would help the harness stay in the plastic. Just my .02
I'm sure James can speak for himself, but I think he improved that on the new Super Ds that will be out soon. I think he shortened the harness there and made the rubber a little thicker there. to prevent the back of the harness from coming out so easy. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | jjmuskie-No more back "nub" on the new ones and a thicker "ars" in them too! I heard the cry from a few so that was one of many changes I made for the Generation III SuperDs, MegaDs and MiniDs. The new regular SuperDs also come with 150lb split rings and the Mag and MegaDs have 175lb split rings on them. Hope you like them.
James |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | the original question is price, fish catchability, and durability.......
My opinion is fish catchability - they are all pretty equal but are thrown by me in different situations. Nothing has jumped out at me to make me throw one over the other constantly. Depends on depth I am fishing,the type of structure, and how fast I want to fish it.
Durability - Curly Sues and Super D's have both been very good to me. Bulldawgs have been falling apart on me sometimes before I even hook a fish. The new ones haven't been used enough by me to judge them but the pro dawgs so far are looking good. I have thrown a couple for a combined 4 hours or so and so far so good. The one I caught a fish on doesn't look ripped up at all - but one fish doesn't make or break a lure for me.
Price is obvious - just look at MTO and the price speaks for itself. They are all different though and I will continue to carry all 3 with me and use them all in different situations. |
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Location: Illinois | price-Super D
Durability-Curly Sue
catchabiltiy-Pounder Bulldog
The Medussa and CowDussa will be thrown a lot this year as well as the new versions I've created, PounDussa and the Cowly Sue!!
Big Joes have excellent "hookability" and the Twin Fins have a lot of flash. Variety is the spice of life type of deal for me. |
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Posts: 717
Location: Grand Rapids, MI | The SuperD and the Bulldawg both have situations that make them good. I find I can fish the SuperD a lot faster & a lot deeper than the Dawg. But while I'm sweeping it, I can tell that the Dawg "pushes" more water and the tail sends out more vibration. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | Why did you limit this to the three lures you did?
As mentioned the Joes are another great soft plastic. I used them in a different situation as I did with dawgs when I threw them. Price is good on them, durability is great, one of the best hooking soft plastics out there, and they catch fish! One of my go to's at night, and under tough conditions.
Also I haven't seen the H2O tackles Hardhead mentioned which is a shame. Price wise it is the most expensive but for good reason. Lots of work into making one. What you loose in price you gain in everything else though. The hook-up ratio with these are outstanding due to the hard head. Bar none the best hooking rubber bait (ok it's a hafl breed) out there. One of the main reasons I quit throwing the Mag Dawgs after 10+ years of using them.
The durability is what really makes up for the price. Due to the hard head the thing holds up well. Better than any other rubber bait out there I have seen. The Kalins tails that are used on the back also last a long time for the most part. You will always have exceptions where a fish may snip the curlytail off. If you do need to replace the tail it is as simple as unscrewing the tail, and screwing a new Kalin tail on. Two dawgs can easily be destroyed with two fish and there goes $30. I could almost guarantee you that you would save money in the long run throwing Hardheads even though they are more expensive. Only one way you'll lose them, and that is to break your line.
Which brings up a huge advantage to using the Hardhead. Replacable tails (anywhere from 2-3.50 a piece depending on where you buy them) simply attach to the bait by twisting it on and off. No need for super glue to keep it in place either. Do to this attachment you can now mix and match colors while on the boat in seconds. Also, depending on whether the tail is up or down you can change the action and drop orientation of the bait. Up acts like the old dawgs with a wobble during the straight retrieve and drops slower at more of a 30-45° angle, and down you get the non-wobbling action (or no action from the bait except the tail like new dawgs) with a faster drop that is closer to vertical like a mag dawg. What makes the Hardhead even more versatile is two threaded in inserts for screw in weights. With this you have all kinds of drop weights and falling orientations the bait can have. Can't get a much more versatile lure than this with a couple of extra tails, and a JoMusky weight set.
Catchability...I'll be honest and say I had my doubts the Hardhead could be what the Magnum Bulldawg did for me. I was quickly convinced that the Hardhead was everything the bulldawg did, and more. Not only do I get as many hits with the bait in certain applications, I was also outfishing those that were using bulldawgs.
Sorry for such a long post, and to stray away from the original three mentioned, but you are plain foolish to disregard the Big Joe and the Hardhead. Two baits I have complete confidence in, and flat out produce. They saved plenty of days in my boat that is for sure!
If you want bulldawgs let me know, I have plenty to sell! |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I never think to bring them up since they are new to me and I have just been trying one out this year, but the Hardheads do seem to really rock. I haven't had much action this year, but a lot of the action I have had has come from the Hardhead. Early I used it with no weight, and it (they) can be fished quite shallow. Lately I have added a medium/small weight to the front weight insert for a little deeper, and quicker hopping action. Later in the year, I can see adding relatively heavy weights to the front and back to make it fish deep and fast.
I have been running the tail up, and it gives the bait a really neat wobble on the pull and pause/sink. I dont have a lot of water time on the bait, but it looks like something that should put a lot of fish in the boat. Not only that, the body of the bait is built like a tank. The most you'll have to replace on this bait is the $3 tail, which also seems really durable.
If you catch enough fish on one of these to have to retire the whole thing, it's paid for itself over and over!
curleytail |
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Posts: 208
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | Cant wait to try the new ones. When and where will the be availiable, also how will I be able to tell If I am buying a new gen III or an older one. These are good baits and I am not trying to bash them or knock them down, just wanted to point out what I felt could be done to improve an allready good bait. I will definately pick up a new one. |
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Location: WI | I have to second what Travis said about the Hardheads. I personally caught 114 fish on Hardheads last year. And they are off to a great start this year too. Most versatile bait out there IMO. There is no wrong way to work them. Right out of the package you can fish them tail up and no weight. But where I found they really shine is turning the tail down and adding 1/2 to 1 oz of weight in the front. Just grip it and rip it. With the hard head the hookup % is outstanding! I usually find myself cutting hooks more often than not. They just smash these. No more " I think its a weed, no wait its a fish" like you get with most soft plastic lures, when they hit these you know it! The tails are very durable. On the original prototype I had 44 fish, and was only on my second tail. I could have easily caught many more fish on it but being the original I gave it back to Roger because I was too afraid I would end up losing it. If you buy one and dont love it, I will buy it from you! Hows that for a guarantee.
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Posts: 169
Location: Houlton, WI | i agree with 619 musky, one 2 of my bull dawgs ive used for a month or so and one of mine tore apart within the first week |
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| How about the new pro dawgs? Do they seem to hole up better? |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | CATCHABILTY - SUPER D DAWGS #1
DURABILITY - SUPER D DAWG #1
PRICE - SUPER D #1
Mag Dawgs are $12.99 and you can tune them, Pro Dawgs are very hard to tune and cost HOW MUCH ???
SUPER D is coming out with a MEGA D DAWG / pounder for $19.99 and a SHALLOW dawg for the reg, mag and the NEW MEGA D.
CURLY SUES are also great swim baits, very different action/fall and are built like tanks, they do cost more but are worth every penny !!!!!
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Soft Plastics