June 14, 2011

The Smooth Rico Suave Topwater



Lobina Lures is well known for making quality topwater baits, the Rico is a bait that raised the bar for quality and color patterns. The Rico is without a doubt their most popular bait, but the Rico Suave walking topwater is just as good.  

At first glance, this bait might look like any other walking bait, but on the top of the water, it is obvious this bait is different.  The bait is even more smooth than the 90's one-hit wonder with the same name.  It is really an easy bait to walk and it is almost impossible to fish without a great action on the surface. The action is very natural and subtle as it glides side to side.

The bait itself is 4 1/2 inches and weighs 1/2 oz.  One thing I immediately noticed about the bait was the hooks, not just the quality of them (they are super sharp), but more the size and thickness of them.  Often on high-quality topwater baits, the hooks are really thin and often too small.  This results in missed fish and the need to change them out after they get bent and twisted from all of those vicious topwater strikes.  I like seeing the hooks on this bait and know they will last.


Tackle Warehouse carries the bait in four great colors, but the Lobina website has a few more colors to choose from.  One thing I would recommend is to get onto the Lobina site and sign up for their newsletter.  They are very active in doing promotions and sales. Some of their promotions are very creative and make it much easier to spend $20+ on a single bait.  

Overall, I like this bait.  It's smooth and easy to fish and the quality is there.  Bass West USA magazine just finished a three part story on Rick Clunn and fishing Lobina Lures.  It is an amazing group of articles and shares some great tips.  Check out this sample of the article and if you aren't a subscriber...you're missing out.



 Scoring for the Lobina Lures Rico Suave

Price/Value: 2 
$25.00 is a high price, but I still think it is worth it.
Durability: 4
The Suave is hand-crafted and great quality.
Performance: 5
Easy to fish and a great action.
Innovation: 3
It's a walking bait, everyone makes one.  The difference is the subtle changes than make it so easy to fish.
Availability: 2
Online at TackleWarehouse and LobinaLures.com.  You won't be finding this is Wal-Mart.

Total Score: 16  - Good Buy!

12 comments:

samuel groves said...

The RICO SUAVE looks like a great walk the dog type lure.That pearl white color looks awesome.I will have to say LOBINA LURES do have very high quality paint jobs but $25 is a little high in my opinion.

TBRINKS said...

It is a great walking bait. The pearl is smooth looking for sure.

Greg said...

I have had the only Lobina Lure I ever bought for 3 years it never goes anywhere near danger lol. But the paint job has held up even after a lot of violent strikes

@Bassman_Euge said...

A $25 lure might be hard to swallow for the angler -- but not for a nice bucketmouth! Definitely not a mainstream lure company. Looks good...

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I retwit it on my Twiiter
Bob Peters, CA

Basspastor said...

There is no doubt a very good topwater bait is worth $25, but here in pike/ski country that isn't money well spent.

TBRINKS said...

@Greg...don't be scared! I used to be afraid to use them, but then started thinking of it like this" "these are my tools to catch fish"

@Bassman_Euge - i agree. If you don't use it, you won't ever catch anything on it.

@Thanks Bob!

@BP...I can see what you mean. Would hate to lose it on a pike.

Tommy E said...

I dont use walking baits alot for bass and 25 dollars is a little high for me but this one is interesting, I like the thinner body design, it may be worth trying.

TBRINKS said...

@Tommy - I think it's worth the price. Looking at it compared to other baits you can see the added quality..and thus..a reason for higher $

Ace2 said...

Looks great never heard anything about this brand. First review I have seen on these at $25 I'm not planning on trying this one.

TBRINKS said...

@Ace- Lobina has been around for a long time. The quality of the bait justifies the price. They are worth it

TBRINKS said...

@Ace- Lobina has been around for a long time. The quality of the bait justifies the price. They are worth it

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