New Thundersticks

[Lund_Dude]

Has anyone else gotten their hands on these? I went to Gander Mountain on Sunday afternoon, to dream of spring. A rep that I know fairly well was talking about the "great new look" of the thundersicks. I noticed that instead of the molded bill, they have one that is glued on. I told the rep that I thought the bills were Hokey. He pulled one out of the pack to show me. He gave it a quick "test" and the bill snapped right off. He proceeded to bring a manager over and repeated the "test". The manager's response was "Storm will see a lot of those go back" and he continued on with his business.

I had a bit of problems with Shadrap bills pulling out last year and I stopped using them for big fish. I had 2 taildancer bills give me problems before they even hit the water.

Will these bills rip off in the water? Will these baits be a dirty SOB to tune? The answers seem to point to YES. Any input is appreciated!

[ShadMan]

Lund Dude Now you tell me after i bought a few last night ShadMan!!!!

[chuck]

keep in mind that Rapala bought Storm.

Looking at Bomber because it the purchase & they dropped colors

[Bob G2]

Commentator: Well, Mr. Horse, just what do YOU think of theese
neww and immmprrooovvvved Storm Looores ?!?

Mr. Horse: (hoofs folded with a quizical look) Hmmmmm.

Commentator: Yessirreee! New and Improved! And in all new fish
catchin colors!

Mr. Horse: (still in deep thought) Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmm.

Commentator: And look at that action, look at the wiggle with
that lure! It'll call fish in from a mile away!
Mr. Horse, whaaat is youur opeeenion?!?

Mr. Horse: (Decidely) NO SIR, I DON'T LIKE THEM!


Editors note-Thanks to Ren and Stimpy for the characters.

[coondog]

I cant belive Rapala would screw up on of the best walleye baits on the market, But they did, I,ve been buying as many of the old style as I can afford. Last year on Little bay Denoc the purple prizm AJ was the hot bait, been looking forthem everywhere, seems that they were discont. BIG MISTAKE if any body out there knows where I can buy some please post. THANKS

[Powdered Toast Man]

POOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWDDDEEEEEEERRRRRRDDDDDD TOOOOOOOAAAAAASSST!

Coondog, Bayshore Resort in Gladstone still has a few Purple Prism, at least they did a week ago. Look for them on the links page on Walleye Central.

[Weyes1]

Lund Dude,
Check the site! Absolutely no where to contact the company. That there sir shows how much they care about their customers.
Best thing one could do is to find as many of the old models and buy them up.
The new paint jobs suck also.
But why would they care? They're making the big bucks, but for how much longer?
I guess I'll have to find some other company for cranks.
Look out Reef Runner you're probably next on the takeover list.
Just my thoughts!

Weyes1
Kevin Clark
weyes1@wamego.net

[Hutch's Tackle & Guide Services]

Coondog hit the nail right on the head. What a shame. I've hads a couple dozen given to me. Most have run true out of the box, but a few of them won't run true no matter what I do. I already know what's gonna happen once I start banging them of the wing dams. That's why I went to 4 different DIST. and bought 800+ bucks worth in the last month or so. I won't go without for a while anyway. Are you listening out there Rapala Guys????

[Craig]

With that said. Remember the quality you get in Reef Runner!!!

[tstick]

well, after seeing the "new thunderstick" I was sorely dissappointed. I knew normark was gonna screw it up when they bought it and yes they've totally eliminated one of the best lures on the market. the new one has niether the shape or the quality of the original, in fact is a dressed up husky jerk,- yuck!- I am a retailer and refuse to put anymore overpriced normark lures on my shelves, and that's the only way the company will sit up and take notice. if they got boycotted. because I have already made my opinion known directly to the guy responsible for all this and still they turn deaf ear. so I'll buy someone else's product from now on, thank you. I have around 25 orginal tundersticks left in the store but no prisms. guess I'll hafta change my handle too!-

[Another thought]

That is a good example why OMC will never be the same no matter who buys them. New owners like to change things and they often cheapen a great product that has built a solid reputation on quality. Do not assume OMC motors will be the same a year from now. As for the Thunderstick lures, a big thanks for the posts last summer about what was happening. I have a lifetime supply now, and also the gold and black shad raps, thanks to this board. My wife has instructions to sell them here if anything ever happens to me.

[Lund_Dude]

Sorry Buddy! Can you still take them back?

[GullGuide]

I don't know....
I have faith in Bomardier, they seem to be on the cutting edge of technology...guess we'll have to wait and see.
>"////=<

[Bandito]

Did Storm sell to Rapala at gun point? How about..."Look out Rapala your quality sucks." Reef Runner may just bump them out of the market.

[SUPERTROLLER]

I agree with you GullGuide. Bombardier is a well run company. By the way, does anybody know what the horsepower rating will be on the new ROTAX Evinrude. That ought to get your boat screaming down the lake!

[coondog]

Reef Runner has a very high quality product, the deep little Ripper worked on bay Denoc last year, although I think they have a pretty aggressive action, maybe to aggressive. I like that they come with premium hooks and alot of color patterns, but nothing will take the place of the slow roll of the old T-sticks. Maybe in a year or two Rapala will get the hint, maybe not. Thanks for letting me know where to get some of the purple prizms, I called bayshore motel and had them send me a dozen, and she said they were almost out of the purple, but had some black andsilver left. THANKS

[Weyes1]

I have to disagree with you there. Bombadier (spelling) should improve OMC motors. As it is now, I wouldn't take an OMC if it was given to me. My motor and the service provided turned my views on OMC. I'm not just talking one bad service call but four years worth. Only to find out that the bolts in the clean outs on each carb were loose and my motor was sucking air.
Now if they improve the motor and call it Rotax I might reconsider. For now though it will be either Mercury or Yamaha in the future.
You my view.

Weyes1
Kevin Clark
weyes1@wamego.net

[Gary Gray]

I was down at the local sport shop a few days ago. The owner showed me the new Storm lures, and asked me if I have any of the new lures yet. I replied "no", and after looking at them, I don't think I want them either. I already have lures that look like them, but they are called Husky Jerk baits. It looks like all the new storm lures have taken on the look of the Rapala's, and Husky Jerk baits. I think this is Normarks way to corner the market, by buy a Great Co., and then use their market to sell their own lures under that name. If you look at the AJ thunderstick, they now look exactly like the Husky Jerk. Storm Lures, which once was a Great Lure, now has inserted lips on their lures, which break easier, harder to tune, and if you notice the colors, they are the same as Normark's Rapala,and Shad Rap selection. This is what is called " Manufacture Cost Savings". So, if you have the old style Storm lures, save them, they are fish catching lure's for sure. Another lure to take notice to, is the Baby Thunderstick, which I had a lot to do with getting that lure in Storm's line. I have a set of the first lures of that series, which John Storm sent me off the first run. Compare the Baby Thunderstick to the # 5 or #7 floating Rapala, color, lip, body style, they are almost identicle. They no longer look like the baby thunderstick. Speaking of Manufacture Cost Saving's, I am No longer on their Pro-Staff. Storm Lures will go down in walleye fishing history as a Great Walleye Catching Lure!

Tight Lines,
Gary Gray #10

[Richard Mellon]

Hey Gary! Good to hear from you. I've used the new T-Stick deep JR and like it. Some of the colors are definitely
lame and the selection isn't what it was, but I've not had a single one need tuning right out of the box. Which is not
something I could say about the old style. Some were so bad in the last couple years I just threw them away. The
action is much the same,with the wide searching pattern and they still catch fish like wild. Before anyone gets
upset these are just my personal opinions and experiences and yes I do know how to tune a crank.
Tight lines, Rich

[Todd_NE]

Economics 101 dictates that unsuccessful/unprofitable products go away.

That said, the disturbing thing to me about some of the fishing industry that's geared to walleye wants to have it both ways. I'm tired of reading how walleye "isn't the growth sport" is was purported to be or a profitable segment compared to bass, etc. One of the recent In-Fisherman/Walleye Insider reported that many companies are focusing on other species, and by the same token, different regions than the walleye belt.

Yet, I can't help but feel an awful lot of these same companies aren't following Economics 101. Give the public what they want, where they want, when they want at a price they deem reasonable.

I read about "flat sales" yada yada yada and half the time I can go into ANY MAJOR/MINOR RETAIL OUTLET and can't find the stuff I want anyway. Particularly if you're not looking Feb 1-April 15. Apparently this is the only time stuff is ordered/shipped to a lot of people. Try to find high quality jigs and crankbaits anytime after August 1. I struggle to find stuff for fall fishing almost every year, even though my basement looks like a Cabela's catalog.

The wally diver for example is a great bait, last I knew it was sent to three different countries for production, paint, assembly. They have at least seemed to fix their supply problem the last three years. Of course, they went from about $3.19 to $3.99-4.39 depending on the store.

Original Deep Tsticks were great lures, but I could have sure used a professional lure tuner for half of them, and the hooks they came with.... come on. I've got some Lightning Shad for sale too.

How long were we promised Deep Lil' Rippers before we ever saw them (not that Reef Runner has the market cornered on over promising a delivery date)... and how many of them always go left before tuning.. hmmmm ALL of them. Good bait and good company, absolutely yes, but g whiz.

We also have our own foibles...

We have constant debates on the various linecounter reels, until someone beats Daiwa for the same $, why debate. It isn't close. For $70-93, that's one helluva a product.

WalMarts etc., will clear out stuff for less than the cost of the product to small retailers. Yet we go to the small retailers cuz they're great people, buy two lures and our two dozen minners, get our info, then drop $300 with one of the "big boys" to get the stuff the guy at the local shop is saying is the "hot" bait.

We drive 350 miles to save $400 on a boat, then complain the local dealer doesn't have mine fixed in 24 hours.

We whine about Normark and all the companies who don't seem to care about their customer, then go buy the stuff. Hellloooooo.... Don't buy the stuff then. But the tough part is, their stuff sure catches fish for me.

And over the last few years I can't believe we're not a growth sport. Look at the new walleye boats, planer boards, rods, rod holders, and what 10-20 new cranks (wally minnow, thundercrank, taildancers, deep lil' ripper, etc), new jigs, the no-snagg sinker, various lines, power baits for walleye, tv interest, tournament interest, NPAA, nets, locks, trolling motors, electronics. And folks, lots of this is directly for walleye guys, pre-tied snells, live bait circle hooks, colored hooks, a plethora of floats, zillions of new spinner blades, new bottom bouncer designs, 4 stroke kicker motors and bigger engines, kicker lifts, so the companies ARE trying for the most part, and kudo's to the ones that do.

Write letters to the Prez of Normark or whoever else is messing up your fishing world, show him a receipt for the "other companies stuff" you bought. Tell them you're disappointed and why. Yup, I do that stuff, in a nice way. What's it hurt?

Maybe you can get "Traditional Thundersticks" back. Last time I looked, I'm still drinking "Classic" Coke. You think that was an Economics 101 decision by Coca Cola???

I'll get off the teetering soap box.

Todd

[Gary Gray]

Hey Rich:

Won't be long now! As far as how the new ones run, couldn't tell you. I have not run them yet. Everything here is still hard water. Some of the colors are pretty sharp, will hold my opinion, till I use the new ones. Both Rapala, and Storm were always great fish catching lures, and more than likely still are. See ya at Detroit River Soon!
Gary