January 2011
The Bass Bureau
Power Tackle’s ‘Dying-Baitfish’ Design
By Billy "Hawkeye" Decoteau
Besides manufacturing one of the highest quality fishing rods on the market…Power Tackle’s owner Tim Reneau has designed the most unique dying baitfish lure I have ever had the privilege of field-testing!
Tim and his wife Judy have rightfully named their newly designed creation the Lateral Perch.
“The Lateral Perch, does actually what its name implies,” suggests Judy Reneau. “It swims on its side, falls on its side, imitating the natural movement of a wounded or dying perch or similar baitfish.” (www.PowerTackle.com)
I have been for many months field-testing a watermelon red flake, ½ oz flipping model Lateral Perch! That’s right, totally in secret, except for my wife Trish, long before Keith Combs utilized the exact same size and model Power Tackle Lateral Perch to win the PAA Lake Tawakoni September 11, 2010 tournament!
Setting a new record for the most weight in a PAA Series Event, Keith’s Power Tackle Lateral Perch accounted for five of his fifteen 60.48 lbs of record setting bass.
“The docks on Tawakoni were getting hammered, by the best anglers in the business! Although extremely pressured, I knew my docks still held quality bass. So, when the jig bite disappeared for me as I worked behind other anglers, I turned to the Lateral Perch,” says Combs a Del Rio Texas native.
Combs Tawakoni Lake arsenal consisted of Power Tackle’s Paragon Series 7’6” PG 104.5 Medium/Heavy casting rod; a 7:1 gear ratio baitcast reel spooled with 25lb Seaguar ABRAZ-X Fluorocarbon line tied to a Power Tackle ½ oz Flipping model Lateral Perch with a Palomar Knot. (www.Seaguar.com)
“The Lateral Perch lays flat on its side, has a strong 6/0 Owner (Flipping Model) heavy duty wide gap hook with weed guard, which always stays on top while the bait is gliding on its side after skipping, pitching or flipping,” informs Combs.
While other competitors tossed conventional vertical falling jigs, or ran horizontal crankbaits in and around the docks, the Tawakoni Champion’s Lateral Perch gave his pressured bass a natural realistic dying baitfish action with both a vertical and a horizontal presentation! “The design of the Lateral Perch’s flat configuration allowed me to skip my ½ oz bait all the way to the back of the docks,” says Combs. Something most of his competitors were unable to achieve!
“In fact, at times I actually saw the bass come to the surface and eat my bait as it skipped across the surface!”
According to Keith Combs, “The Lateral Perch is neither a jig nor is it a swimbait.
With its authentic appealing flat fish lead-head design precision balanced, the hook always remains in the upright hook setting position as the Lateral Perch glides through the water column on its side.”
Keith Combs, a Trophy Bass Guide in Texas continued, “The only similarity to a possible swimbait, is the Lateral Perch’s 3.5” soft plastic body, which resembles the exact silhouette of a small perch, bluegill, or bream. However, that’s where the swimbait look alike stops! Power Tackle’s Lateral Perch never duplicates the exact same action. Every time you make a cast it skips, glides, spirals and falls with an irresistibly enticing natural dying baitfish action.” (www.TrophyBassGuide.com)
East Texas Guide Stephen Johnston has been field-testing Power Tackle’s prototype Lateral Perch exclusively for almost two-years on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.
“Tim Reneau is one of the best heavy cover flipping experts in Texas. When Tim asked me to flip and pitch his Lateral Perch into the thickest and nastiest cover I could find, keep actuate records of my results and make any suggestions that might improve his Lateral Perch, I knew then he had designed something unique!” Johnston himself has a reputation for flipping big bass out of heavy brush piles as well as herding schools of bass from thick vegetation and deep ledges. (www.JohnstonFishing.com)
“The first thing I noticed were the Lateral Perchs Tim gave me had either a 5/0 or a 6/0 Owner wide gap hook, the weed guard on the 6/0 Owner hook was stiffer and thicker, while the 5/0 Owner hook weed guard was slightly thinner and a bit more flexible.” Johnston’s log book reveals the 6/0 Owner Hook model was designed for flipping, while the 5/0 Owner Hook model was designed for casting.
“Every minute detail of the Lateral Perch has a specific purpose. The line tie is vertical and in perfect alignment with the hook, the weed guards’ fiber strands need zero trimming or adjustment, and allow the Lateral Perch to slither its way through the thickest brush piles or punch its way like a bullet through the heaviest nastiest matted vegetation.
Reaching the open water below the mats, the Lateral Perch’s enticing spiral and glide are so natural the bass engulf the entire bait,” says Stephen Johnston.
Keith Combs is quick to agree with Johnston. “Bass don’t bite the Lateral perch, they eat it! And, it doesn’t matter if the bass in your lake average 3 lbs or 8 lbs, they always seem to have the Lateral Perch deep in their mouth.” Stephen Johnston believes this is one reason the Lateral Perch has a 98 percent hook-up ratio. Adding, “It also is sized perfectly drawing constant natural feeding and reaction bites!”
Zooming in on the Lateral Perch with a 360-degree perspective, every view reveals Tim Reneau’s discreet attention to reproducing an exact reproduction of the natural forage. If I didn’t know better, and I don’t, I think there may have been some ‘Devine Intervention’ in the Lateral Perch?
A front view of the Lateral Perch in a vertical position shows a realistically sized tapering body, with large lifelike protruding eyes. Turning in a counter-clockwise rotation, the Lateral Perch’s dorsal fins, tail and pectoral fins will move naturally when placed in a fish tank, as the protruding large eyes of the Lateral Perch imitate a bottom feeding baitfish. Yet, with a slightly off balanced sideward leaning position once again representing that of a dying baitfish!
According to both Keith Combs and Stephen Johnston, the Lateral Perch when laying flat on the bottom can be made to stand-up on the bottom, by applying a quick upward snap of your line. “Many times during the Lateral Perch’s descent to the bottom in a spiraling motion or a gliding motion it will land in an upright position.” This is due to Reneau’s accurate design calculations, hook placement and precision balance of his Lateral Perch’s flat lead-head.
Looking at the Lateral Perch from the rear, it’s thin tapering plastic tail moves ever so slightly in the same dying baitfish tilt to the left. While standing on its pectoral fins the Lateral Perch’s dorsal fin signals an enticing call to predators, for an easy meal. A final counter-clockwise turn resembles the last dying efforts of a baitfish to right itself. Leaning on the Lateral Perch’s weed guard, its Owner hook is just slightly off the bottom, allowing for a quicker more penetrating hook-set, as the tail and dorsal fins continue to move side to side.
“When laying flat in this position anglers can easily determine which size and model Lateral Perch they are working, by reading the printed model/weight (F1/2) under the weed guard,” chuckled Johnston. “I told Tim the only problem I had with the Lateral Perch was determining what size and model they were!”
Power Tackle’s Lateral Perch is available in five weight sizes ranging from ¼ to 1 ¾ oz and six colors, with two models scheduled for production Flipping and Casting. Each Lateral Perch is packaged pre-rigged with a spare plastic body.
“Attaching a new plastic body is simple,” say Combs. “Tim has a center hole mark for entry and an exit hole, for perfect alignment every time! However, don’t plan on replacing the plastic body very often. They are un-salted, extremely durable and can average 15 Bass before replacement is ever needed!” log on www.PowerTackle.com or calling 1.830.774.5222.
Next Months article will reveal step-by-step presentations, techniques and tactics for utilizing Power Tackle’s Lateral Perch from shallow to deep in a variety of cover and structure.
God Bless and Best Bass’n ■
