Last week I lost my favorite spinner, a gold Blue Fox vibrax and replaced it with two more. I shared my new purchase with my community members from the GoWild app, and was asked to put away the mass produced lures for a hand crafted, American made spinner. The solution? Steve Lamb from Northwest Extreme Outfitters reached out and told me to try their products, while it felt like I was cheating on an old friend I made the purchase.
Located in Boise Indiana, Northwest Extreme outfitters was established in 2014 by Steve Lamb. As a small family and veteran owned company, they take pride in their fully American made top quality lures. While many small companies are trying their hand at the market, NWEO has been working on their product for a few years. Many spinners on the market aren’t heavy enough for the fast moving waters many of us fish. I know I constantly add weight to my Blue Fox lures, especially during the early spring Thaw out here in New York.
“Several years ago we decided that spinners on the market, although good, were not heavy enough to fish properly on most waters”
When I received my order in the mail yesterday, I could tell right away that they put extra time and effort into their work. Even with the extremely cold conditions for April and high, fast moving water I decided to take the lures out for a spin.
Quality
For my review, I thought it was best to compare apples to apples. I normally use Blue Fox Vibrax #2 spinners in either gold or silver. So one of my purchases was the classic Tactical Tackle spinner, #2 size in silver. NWEO prides themselves with a heavier lure than the competition to keep their lures down where the big fish are. The #2 size spinner is .25 ounces, or 7 grams. The Blue Fox #2 is .21 ounces, or 6 grams. While some may argue that is a small difference, the Tactical spinner has a shorter body and not having to put extra sinkers on the line gives a more natural look. While the Blue fox vibrax has the patented body design, it has a larger body that is hollow for that extra vibration. Speaking of the body, These bodies are made in house to give that signature weight, threaded through the body is top notch .031 shaft wire, more durable than most mass produced spinners on the market. Also the body doesn’t move on the Tactical tackle lure, compared to the hollow vibrax body that makes it feel flimsy.
Protection through design
On top of the wire being stronger, as you can see in the above photo the wire is wrapped around the closed eye shaft three times on the Tactical tackle spinner. I didn’t notice it before but the Blue Fox eye shaft is only secured by being wrapped one and a half times, by a lighter wire. If you were to go onto field and stream and look at the vibrax reviews, while many agree they are good lures most of the cons are that the body chips easily and the wire bends, which keeps the clevis and blade spinning properly. Spinnerbait blades were believed to be used for fishing in the late 1800’s by John Hildebrant, and his three designs are still used today. Colorado, Willow, and Indiana. Both of these blades have an Indiana design, it’s worth noting that the Blue Fox has a deeper cut on their blade, which slows down the blade rotation. While this may give off more vibration and maybe a little more flash, it also has a higher chance of not spinning properly, especially if the lighter lure is on top of the water in a fast current. I like the faster blade going deeper concept, after casting these twenty time I never reeled in a blade that wasn’t spinning on the NWEO design. I also like the American made treble hook that’s on the Tactical spinner. Its smaller than the Blue Fox and seems to fit the body better. I think it’s more versatile having this size hook on this size body and blade.
Options
On top of the classic lure, NWEO also provides anglers with their Para-punisher spinners, which has the added scent holding hoochie skirt and comes in vibrant and dark colors. A limited edition rainbow trout spinner that comes with a crazy looking blade and fitted with a single hook. And a glitter coated spinner, which a portion of the purchase goes to one of four charities of your choice. The black glitter lure like the one pictured will be matched by NWEO for the Fallen outdoors. This contribution by Steve and his team goes to show the passion they have for both the outdoors and veterans.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun with taking these lures out yesterday. While it was a bad day of fishing due to the late winter and nothing has been stocked yet, these spinners did exactly what Northwest Extreme Outdoors said they did. No added weight, and they stayed under the water getting down deep where the fish are. I am proud to say I own a few of these products, spinners are the perfect bait for many reasons. They are lightweight and don’t take up a lot of room when backpacking. They can be used on a number of species which means you don’t need a ten pound tackle box, and they can be easily learned by kids looking to get away from worms. I will continue to support this brand, I’m not sponsored by them, but I believe in what they are doing and when asked about a good spinner bait I will be pointing Northwest.
www.nwextremeoutfitters.com
www.timetogowild.com
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