Balam 300
The Balam 300 from Optimum baits just landed state side a little over a month ago and is already making its mark! I’ve been anticipating its arrival for some time and was lucky enough to nab one shortly after they arrived.
At first look it’s big, 12 inches long with a premium paint job and weighs in at 6.5 ounces. I had been watching videos of Kazuya Simada putting a serious hurting on some big fish with the prototypes in Japan long before its arrival.
So I was more than anxious to get out and see the action of the bait first hand. My first trip out with it I was blown away. It throws like dream! Some larger baits over 10 inches can be a bit cumbersome to cast, not the Balam. It sails! On the first morning out with it I started out with a slow and steady presentation. Whammy, it got nailed by a four pound spotted bass.
On a slow retrieve the Balam 300 has subtle tail swim, perfect for weary bass who have grown accustomed to glide baits. What was astounding to me was how slow I could retrieve the bait and it continued to swim. As the day continued on I started to play with retrieves. We began seeing bass chasing trout around, I got as close as possible to the schooling bass and tried burning it with short pauses. Bam! It was freight trained by a big large mouth.
I’m throwing it on the Flacon Cara Big Swimbait XH MF Rod, that rod is a perfect balance of strength for hook sets and give for keeping them hooked. The Balam 300 will continue to make a difference in my fishing, with every one so hung up on glide baits this is the perfect niche bait to show the big bass in my lakes something different. It’s not species specific either, a Sacramento pike minnow less then .03 away from the IGFA record also took a liking to it!
Product Review by Josh Parris
