Savage Gear Cutbait Herring lures are so well finished that when Davy Proudfoot first saw them he didn’t know whether to fish with them or frame them!
When I first clapped eyes on the Savage Gear Cutbait Herring, shad-style lures I really didn’t know whether to fish with them or frame them! These are a quality product, beautifully finished and well produced from soft plastic that is designed to last longer than your average similar lure.
The robust, detailed finish on the tails of the lures is formed, for the most part, by using an “under the skin” painting technique, whereby the final coating protects the lifelike features from wear and tear.
The attention to detail is continued to the weighted head which features natural looking eyes, mouth and gills in colours complimentary to the tails. The hook in the leadhead manufactured from forged carbon steel and in the larger lure is around 12/0 in size. The hook point is extremely sharp straight out of the packaging and requires no touching up with a file prior to use.
The Scandinavian design origin of these artificials is reflected in the overall body shape which resembles a well fed herring. The large paddle tail imparts a terrific action even at slow speeds with the rapid wiggle of the tail section merging into a gentle wobble of the main body and head. While this lure can be fished on a straight retrieve it is at its most effective when fished sink and draw. If using the lures for monster coalfish I’d recommend a fast retrieve up through the water, I doubt if you can ever fish this style of lure to quickly for the coalies.
At 20cm and 25cm long the Cutbait Herring is not a lure for small fish but I would have no qualms in fishing these wherever double figure cod or coalfish are found. With the smaller lure weighing 270g (approx 10oz) and the 25cm version 450g (approx 16oz) the artificials can be fished directly off the mainline without the need for a boom and trace which eliminates the risk of tangles when the lure is descending. I would however recommend attaching the hook to length of substantial monofilament to allow the hooked fish to be controlled by hand when it reaches the side of the boat as well as providing a measure of protection from abrasion.
Click on the screen above to see a 168cm halibut which fell for a Cutbait Herring
Unfortunately lures of this quality and size don’t come cheap and at prices ranging from £9.99 to £15.99 I’d hesitate to use them when bottom bouncing over rough ground or a wreck. However anglers fishing in the northern waters around Norway and Iceland, where the fishing is generally over a muddy seabed or in mid-water, will find these plastic fish to be an excellent lure when targeting coalfish, cod or giant halibut. A stinger treble hook attached to the leadhead eye and located in front of the tail section, like that on the Savage Gear Saltwater Sandeel, may increase hookups at times.
Replacement heads are not available separately at present but the bodies will work well with the Seawaver head and both UK Hooks and Sharnbrook Tackle have larger sized leadheads.
The available eight colours range from the natural looking herring and mackerel baitfish imitations through the orange pearl popeye, which resembles a redfish, to the frankly weird and wonderful puffin replica.
To sum up, the Savage Gear Cutbait Herring is a class, quality lure which is durable and liable to produce the fish of a life time when used in the realms of the big cod and halibut. Available now from Glasgow Angling Centre.
