Well there's a new bass fishing lure on the scene for 2020 and it's not your usual jig, we all know how the grubs, tube jigs and ned rigs kill it every spring out on Lake St. Clair for smallmouth bass, along with drop shot rigs. I know everyone likes to toss a swimbait mid-spring when the water temperatures increase, but what about a bladed swimbait? Probably nothing you thought of right? Considering none of the local shops or any of the online fishing stores carry the 4.5" Suissex Shad Spin Blade. And without a doubt nothing the locals have used and definitely nothing the smallmouth bass have seen before either, especially in March when I lit up the smallmouth over at Lake St. Clair Metropark.

Now I have to say, Northern Mike is a great finesse fishermen, I've seen this guy crush the smallmouth bass with tube baits and drop shot rigs when they have complete lockjaw, usually he beats me up pretty bad, but "not this time Johnny Utah!" lol I had a secret sauce this spring and it was the 4.5" Suissex Shad Spin Blade. Now you might look at the weight of this lure and thing it's too heavy, 3/4 ounce will just sink to the bottom like a rock and jigging will be too aggressive with the heavier weight in the spring. Not at all when you have a willow blade in back that slows it down, when it's jigged off of the bottom.

Now here's the thing, I think there's going to be not just two or three different ways to work this blade swimbait, possibly five or more. I think this is going to become a very popular fishing lure to use not only in the spring time, but all year round because it can be worked in so many different ways. The Suissex Shad Spin blade will become a very versatile lure here in the States. Question is, why hasn't this French bladed swimbait along with the other different bladed swimbaits (Daiwa, Biwaa Divinator, Colorado, Effzett) listed at the European fishing store Precheur.com, sold by any of the US based online fishing stores or even local brick mortar stores like Bass Pro, Cabelas or Sportsmans Warehouse?

Weird huh, this style of bait is quite popular over in Europe. It just mind boggles me we don't have these on the US fishing market!!! I'm just very appreciative Suissex decided to pick me to test it out on some smallies on Lake St. Clair. I had a feeling that the Suissex Shad Spin Blade was going to kill it, but I didn't think the swimbait would work this effectively in March when the smallmouth bass are kind of sluggish during pre-spawn. What I think is going on is, the larger wider willow back is slowing down the 3/4 oz swimbait is slowing down the presentation in the cold water temperatures so the smallmouth are able to move up on it and not get spooked, so they're interested in feeding on it in the really cold temperatures in March

It's definitely one hell of a bait, I just hope that once Suissex opens their doors back up, that they can send me more of these magical lures. As one Youtuber put it in the comment section on YouTube, "deadly!" I think that word describes the Shad Spin Blade perfectly!!!

Now it's hard to remember everything I like and don't like when reviewing a fishing lure in a video, that's why I made this forum, so I can get more in detail how this lure can be worked, what's great about it, and what's not so great about it. To be honest with you, there's not many negative things to say about the 4.5" version. Now the 7" on the other hand whcih I was using on musky last summer, the musky were ripping the willow blade right off the bait when they struck it. Crazy huh? Considering this is a pretty heavy duty through wire construction. So far I haven't had any bass do this with the 4.5." In fact, after catching 10 smallmouth bass on this bladed swimbait, I haven't noticed any tears, slices or scuffs in the soft plastic material. It seems to be holding up pretty good to the smallmouth bass, however the eyeballs do seem to pop off after a few fish. But that can be easily prevented with a thin layer of Mend-It glue like a clear coat over the eyes before using the bait. As I'll show in a future musky video, the break with the 7" version is happening right at the round barrel sleeve where it's crimped. Back when I talked to Suissex in 2018, they said they planned to make a 10" version for musky. That's an awesome idea, but they better use beefier material and definitely use double barrel sleeves instead of the standard round, which if crimped wrong, can weaken the wire.

Anyways, talking about how I work this swimbait in March at Metro, I first cast it out and let it sink all the way to the bottom. After I just raise my rod tip up very very slowly and down, kind of like how you would work a standard blade bait, but a lot less aggressive since this is March and the smallmouth bass are a bit sluggish on biting with the water temperatures being down. As I explained in the video, I think the bass were hitting it when I jigged it up, along with letting it fall back to the bottom, as well as sucking it right off the bottom like they do crayfish and gobies. What's so unique about this swimbait jig, is that willow blade is always spinning in back, whether it's being jigged up or down, so it's giving off an incredible action at all times.

When the wind storm hit out on Lake St. Clair and really messed the bite up afterwards, believe it or not I was still able to pull out a 4 pound smallmouth bass with the Suissex Shad Spin Blade when there was wind gusts of 30 mph+. I wasn't jigging it up and down anymore, but sideways. And with the swimbait having a 3/4 ounce jig head inside it's body, I was still able to feel the lure and the blade, jigging it sideways with the wind. I was still a little late on the hook set, but still managed to catch her and land the big bass no problem. What was even stranger is the smallmouth bass also had a lamprey on it, lol, pretty crazy or what? I think the added treble hook down below also gives double the catching power, sure you'll pickup more muck and weeds off the bottom, but it gives you a chance during early spring like March and April when there's less weeds, to get better hookups and not lose a monster smallmouth or a new PB. And if you want, you can always take that treble hook off in summer. I think as the water temperatures increase you'll be able to twitch it more aggressively, even rip it! Possibly burn it on top fast like I do with bucktails spinners for musky, but instead for largemouth bass in summer time in the shallows. And who's saying you can't change out that willow blade in back for a more hard thumping colorado blade or even a different colored willow blade. So far I'm pretty impressed with Suissex's patented three sided willow blade which gives off a unique medium vibration and flash, but what if you want something bigger or with a hard hitting vibration? I'll say this, the colors that come on Suissex's willow blades are out of this world. It matches the body of these swimbaits, they just pop when working them underwater, as I seen it with my own eyes when I stuck my GoPro camera underwater. One sides chrome and the other sides painted, so the fish see both a flash like a bait fish minnow and a high vibrant color when the water is quite murky.

Man my fingers feel exhausted just reviewing this fishing lure, again, just so many great and unique things to say about this bladed swimbait. Sadly I lost one at Metropark on a rock, it was the Fire Tiger color. I had switched over to this more vibrant color after the wind storm and hit, the water got all turned up and murky, sadly I didn't get to use it long enough to see if the smallmouth bass would bite it during these much tougher conditions. And with the Coronavirus Pandemic going on, even if I ordered up a whole bunch of these on Precheur.com, they probably wouldn't get here till two months afterward, maybe even longer with international shipping being in complete disarray. All I can hope for now is, to hear back from Suissex soon.

I also plan on fixing their 7" version, trying something different like attaching a treble hook on back of the wire, then tieing on a ball bearing swivel to the treble hook, then attaching the willow blade. If you listened to what I said, the musky were attacking the blade, if I put a treble hook back there it'll allow me to catch those musky that are acting finicky and just hitting the blade.

Now it's hard to remember everything I like and don't like when reviewing a fishing lure in a video, that's why I made this forum, so I can get more in detail how this lure can be worked, what's great about it, and what's not so great about it. To be honest with you, there's not many negative things to say about the 4.5" version. Now the 7" on the other hand that I was using on musky last summer, the musky were ripping the willow blade right off the bait when the struck it. Crazy huh? Considering this is a pretty heavy duty through wire construction. So far I haven't had any bass do this with the 4.5." In fact, after catching 10 smallmouth bass on this bladed swimbait, I haven't noticed any tears, slices or scuffs in the soft plastic material. It seems to be holding up pretty good to the smallmouth bass, however the eyeballs do seem to pop off after a few fish. But that can be easily prevented with a thin layer of Mend-It glue like a clearcoat over the eyes before using the bait. As I'll show in a future musky video, the break with the 7" version is happening right at the round barrel sleeve where it's crimped. Back when I talked to Suissex in 2018, they said they planned to make a 10" version for musky. That's an awesome idea, but they better use beefier material and definitely use double barrel swivels instead of the standard round, which if crimped wrong, can weaken the through wire.

Anyways, talking about how I work this swimbait in March, I first cast it out and let it sink all the way to the bottom. After I just raise my rod tip up ver slowly and down, kind of like how you would work a standard blade bait, but a lot less aggressive since this is March and the smallmouth bass are a bit sluggish on biting with the water temperatures being down. As I explained in the video, I think the bass were hitting it when I jigged it up, along with letting it fall back to the bottom, as well as sucking it right off the bottom like they do crayfish and gobies. What's so unique about this swimbait jig, is that willow blade is always spinning in back, whether it's being jigged up or down, so it's giving off an incredible action at all times.

When the wind storm hit out on Lake St. Clair and really messed the bite up afterwards, believe it or not I was still able to pull out a 4 pound smallmouth bass with the Suissex Shad Spin Blade when there was wind gusts of 30mph+. I wasn't jigging it up and down anymore, but sideways. And with the swimbait having a 3/4 ounce jig head inside it's body, I was still able to feel the lure and the blade, jigging it sideways with the wind. I was still a little late on the hook set, but still managed to catch her and land the big bass no problem. What was even stranger is the smallmouth bass also had a lamprey on it, lol, pretty crazy or what? I think the added treble hook down below also gives double the catching power, sure you'll pickup more muck and weeds off the bottom, but it gives you a chance during early spring like March and April when there's less weeds, to get better hookups and not lose a monster smallmouth or a new PB.

I think as the water temperatures increase you'll be able to twitch it more aggressively, even rip it! Possibly burn it on top fast like I do with bucktails spinners for musky, but instead for largemouth bass in summer time in the shallows. And who's saying you can't change out that willow blade in back for a more hard thumping colorado blade or even a different colored willow blade. So far I'm pretty impressed with Suissex's patented three sided willow blade which gives off a unique medium vibration and flash, but what if you want something bigger or with a hard hitting vibration? I'll say this, the colors that come on Suissex's willow blades are out of this world. It matches the body of these swimbaits, they just pop when working them underwater, as I seen it with my own eyes when I stuck my GoPro camera underwater. One sides chrome and the other sides painted, so the fish see both a flash like a bait fish minnow and a high vibrant color when the water is quite murky.

Man, my fingers feel exhausted just typing all this and reviewing this fishing lure, again, just so many great and unique things to say about this bladed swimbait. Sadly, a few days ago I lost one at Metropark on a snag, it was the Fire Tiger color. I had switched over to this more vibrant color after the wind storm hit, the water got all turned up and murky, sadly I didn't get to use it long enough to see if the smallmouth bass would bite it during those much tougher conditions. And with the Coronavirus Pandemic going on, even if I ordered up a whole bunch of these on Precheur.com, they probably wouldn't get here till two months afterwards, maybe even longer with international shipping being in complete disarray. All I can hope for now is, to hear back from Suissex.

I also plan on fixing their 7" version, trying something different like attaching a treble hook on back of the wire, then tieing on a ball bearing swivel to the treble hook, then attaching the willow blade. If you listened to what I said, the musky were attacking the blade, if I put a treble hook back there it'll allow me to catch those musky that are acting finicky and just hitting the blade.

So the big question is now what? Where do I plan on trying my last Suissex Shad Spin Blade next? Will I go back to Metro in April, will I try using it at Kent Lake, will I try it on a river like the Spillway? Well, I was really planning on trying to use it offshore on my boat, until they shut down the marinas, but then afterwards after pulling my boat, I realized my Mercury is leaking oil at the prop shaft oil seal, which I planned on fixing, then I just heard today that the Governor banned boating all together. Damn this Coronavirus, one big cluster fuck, lol. But hey, better safe than sorry! I think it's great the Governor is taking this pandemic seriously! However, now I'm thinking I should of ordered up the kayak I was planning to order back in March, it would of been here by now, lol.

Well, I think I may trying to use the Suissex Shad Spin blade maybe at Kent this spring with my waders from the shoreline, that may be a great idea, especially since the weeds are down. Put that treble hook to work for more fish catching power, before the weeds sprout back up. I tell you what though, out of all the colors Suissex gave me, I'm glad I still have that Ayu. It's one of the best colors that mimics bait fish and other forage. I gave Northern Mike 2 of the 6 swimbaits that Suissex gave me , he's got a 7" version in the perch color and a 4.5" in the Roach color. I know he's crushing the bass with the chatterbait now, but I sure hope he gets to using the Shad Spin Blade soon, I think he'll end up having some real successful days out on Lake St. Clair and Kent with this magical swimbait. Those are two great words for this lure, "magical" and "deadly!"

So that about sums up my review of the 4.5" version, be sure to register on the forum if you have any questions, shoot down below, I'll be reviewing the 7" version in a future video. Or you can comment on my YouTube channel. Last year after I caught a tiger musky and great lakes spotted musky on the 7" Suissex Shad Spin Blade. I went over to Lakeside Fishing Shop and asked one of their employees if he thinks the owner would be interested in selling this lure, as I hinted to him, it may even work on walleye vertical jig fishing on the Detroit River. But I don't know, as the current is very strong and may take hold of that willow blade. Maybe Sportsmans Direct will take notice and contact Suissex... I know they're itching to find a dealer, sadly after they gave these too me in 2018, I wasn't able to get a video up till 2020. I really thought by now that they would of found a dealer in the States, well hopefully I can finally change that!