When I was first contacted by Bob Rickard of Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits in 2001, asking me if I'd like to become a Field Tester for these lures, I thought "Sure, why not? Free spinnerbaits, a guy can ALWAYS use free spinnerbaits." Bob told me about the properties of this lure and the revolutionary "quick change system." I thought "Yeah, right, what can you do with a spinnerbait design?" So when I received the package and opened it up, I was expecting to see the standard spinnerbait, maybe with some new colors.

I was blown away by the concept that I was seeing. Here was finally a workable solution to carrying a myriad of different spinnerbaits! Wow, easily changed blades, I can run a single blade, a tandem, I can mix and match colors and sizes, I can even try a triple blade!

I started throwing these lures, impressed with how easily the blades turned, at how slowly I could fish the bait and still feel the blades working, I was even more impressed with the fact that I didn't have to tinker with the lure to get it to run straight. But what impressed me the most was the way that the fish responded to it.

After a couple extremely successful days of fishing Secret Weapons, I started thinking, "Well, maybe it's been a couple days of a very good spinnerbait bite and anything would have worked." So I took my guide service partner Gil along with me for Test #1. He fished standard spinnerbaits and I fished Secret Weapons. I smoked him! But Gil is not into spinnerbaits as much as I am so I thought "Maybe it's just a confidence thing or maybe I hit the spots first and got the active fish." So I devised Test #2. Giving the Secret Weapon to clients that have NEVER fished spinnerbaits, I paid particular attention to how well they did. These clients that had never fished a spinnerbait in their lives were catching more fish than I! It appeared that I had a winning lure in the boat.

But the final answer came when my son and I were muskie fishing on a clear, northern Wisconsin lake. We both cast at the same time, me with the Secret Weapon (it just happened that way... honest) and Jim with a "regular" spinnerbait. Within a couple cranks of the reel handle, I could see the wake of a muskie following Jim's lure. I watched in astonishment as the muskie veered from Jim's lure, sped over and slammed my Secret Weapon! THAT told me there was something special about this bait.

I don't know, maybe there's a different flash, a different vibration to the lure. I'm not exactly sure what it is. I only know that it works, and works well. Sure, they catch bass like no other spinnerbait, but another thing that has impressed me is the variety of fish that have hit the Secret Weapon. I've caught bluegill (BIG ones), perch, crappies, walleye, northern pike, muskies and even lake trout on Bob's lure. That's impressive.

So, do I think that these lures are worth using? Look in my boat; you won't find any other brand of spinnerbaits there. Don't buy these lures if you don't want to catch more fish, use these lures only if you want your arms tired at the end of the day from hauling 'em in!

Steve Huber Email
G & S Guide Service
119 E. Frederick St.
Rhinelander, WI 54501