Does it live up to the hype? Sure!!! But does it hold up? Not at all  .. Just as I expected, after I landed my first 4 pound largemouth bass on a modified X-Rap Deep Jerkbait with a VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble and got all hyped up, I caught a few bass afterwards then the small willow blade popped off, doh!!! It's hard to like a product that works so well but only lasts a days worth, if that. However, VMC does give you two bladed treble hooks in package, so you do get a backup! It kind of reminds me of the Yamomoto Senko, for instance the super soft plastic texture that creates the unique incredible wacky action is also the reason why worm splits in two after only catching a few bass or make 30-40 casts. Now, the Mend-It Glue fixed the splitting problem and extended the life of the pricey Senkos, maybe I can find a way to beef up these VMC bladed treble hooks or just end up making my own.

Viewing the underwater footage I captured with the GoPro Waterproof Action Cam in the superview setting allows you to view what the bass are seeing, you can see how much extra flash and action the VMC Bladed Treble adds to the X-Rap Jerkbait, I sense it also give offs a little bit of vibration too that the bass may be able to hone in on. The X-Rap is already packed with rattles, so it's not like I need more sound anyways. I really think the glass ghost color and bladed VMC treble made for a killer combination after the three weeks of rain we received in Michigan, we had dams fail in Michigan for Christ Sake. I had to wear rubber boots to get to my boat on the dock because of the flooding... The water wasn't completely stained from all the rain we had, but it was murky enough where the glass ghost color and and the reflective flash from the VMC blade made one hell of a difference in these tougher spring conditions, considering this wasn't the typical May in the Lake St. Clair Marinas.

Question is, is the VMC Bladed Treble worth it? I'd say most definitely, comparing a set of VMC treble hooks to the fishermen that go out and buy a days worth of emerald shiners every time they go out fishing, I can totally justify this modification on one of your favorite jerkbaits. Considering what a bass magnet the Megabass jerkbait is, I would love to try one of these VMC trebles on the Megabass Vision 110+1 for some smallmouth fishing out on the main lake. Arcasting swears by these, I've heard many other fishermen claim this is the best jerkbait on the market as well.

But for now, I'm pretty happy with my X-Rap Glass Ghost! I just spent $350 on a new baitcaster and rod, so money's tight if you know what I mean. Right now it's tough justifying $25 on a single jerkbait like the Megabass... And really, here's another good comparison. Considering how much some fishermen spend on the Megabass and Lucky Craft hard baits, another reason why I could easily justify buying these VMC bladed treble hooks. But still, there's gotta be a way for VMC or should I say Rapala, who now owns them, to make them much more beefy and resilient? Knowing how corporations think, if a fisherman keeps buying a quality fishing product that works but fails, more profits right? I suspect Rapala had to at least known what they were doing when they created this product, all fishing lures go through a testing phase right...? Just a hunch, I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely made the product to fail after 8 hours of fishing  I have to say, the swivel they use underneath the treble hook has to be the thinnest and most weakest looking swivel I have ever seen, makes for better action right?  I guess that just how it goes, I did hear on Facebook if you report the defect to Rapala, they'll send you a new package of VMC Hybrid Treble Hooks. Ahhh, Rapala just keeps feeding the addiction, lol.

Truthfully, there really may be a good reason why they decided to use a lightweight swivel, like keeping a proper balance on wide range of hard baits, especially jerkbaits, where if the balance is off, can really distort the action of a slash-bait. One of the main reasons Megabass jerkbaits are so effective and popular is how properly balanced they are for casting and ripping, you can't keep the smallmouths off the hook. Still, gotta find a way to extend the life of this bladed treble!

While some might think that Rapala/VMC was the first to make this style of bladed treble hook, believe it or not a fishing company named Decoy from overseas was the first. Now what makes me wonder is, if Decoy's version is much more resilient? Not many reviews online about this bladed treble hook, considering it's made in Japan, someone in the Review Section on Amazon said. "Waaaaaay to expensive for 2 hooks. Bad quality. I got hosed!" I'd say that's not a good sign, however there was another two reviews that seemed positive on a different sized Decoy Bladed Treble. I guess the only way to find out is to try them myself...