apex choice???

[SilverBullets]

IMHO the two brands of lures fish a little different on each day. They seem to have a bit of a different action and for sure put off a different vibration in the water. I have found that the same color in the two different brands will definately fish differently on the same day. I have about 3 doz Pro-trolls in different colors and sizes but about 120 Apexes I have collected over the years, some I have painted/died/or put different reflective tapes on. Fisherman's Friend in Lodi still has a better selection than anywhere that I know of for hard to find or exclusive colors although it is not a shadow of what it used to be when Russ was ordering all his exclusive colors. I find that early season the smaller 1.0 size works better then I switch to the 1.5 size as the season progresses and the fish get more aggressive. Also I too change the leaders immediatly and use size 4 hooks and 6# CXX P-Line on the 1.0 size and size 2 hooks with 8# CXX P-Line on the size #1.5. Bottom line is that I have found that fishing Apexes can be very complex when you factor, size, brand, and color. I know that I alot of times have great success with my Apexes/Pro-trolls when other people have given up on them due to my wide selection of different lures and I can not say that Apex or Pro-troll out fish each other day in and day out. It depends on the time of year, depth and actually speed to determine which I fish and how good they are. One thing that I think Apex has the edge on is over the years, there has been so many more colors to choose from and if you have a collection, day in and day out you will probably catch more on them. If you have any other ?'s about them you want to know, feel free to PM me.

Nice to hear from apex believer! My collection is close to a couple hundred and I too have had days when one brand will definatly out-fish the other. Different designs/colors are hard to find... that's part of the reason I decided to get into customizing them years ago. If you haven't tried the bobber stop trick give it a try...works very well. Do you have any hockey sticks in your collection and if so how do you like them?

 

[bob r]

Just my two cents on the e-chip thing. my wife Melanie saw it on large flashers for use in salt for salmon. I said that there are a lot of things designed more to catch fishermen then fish, she bought it anyway. Fast forward the next summer in Neah Bay fishing for silvers close to Wadda Island, two identical set-ups, same size and color flashers, same color and size hootchie behind it , same deep-sixes, same set-back distance, only diff. was one flasher had an E-Chip. thin fog so limited light, in 10 passes we hooked 12 fish, the only fish hooked on non-e-chip dodger was when other rig had fish on, would trip deep 6 and start retrieve when Fish On! I did the same thing in Seiku the next day with clear conditions and both set ups produced evenly.I believe that in low light situations it may help fish zero in on it at the last second, that said I haven't had the luck with small pro troll flashers or with an e-chipon koke killers for kokes, I'm not crazy about the action of the small pro-troll flashers compared to large flashers and dodgers( large and small) dodgers are what I use for Kokes and I haven't seen any dodgers with an e-chip, not sure but I would think it would affect action of dodger.I,ve had good luck with the small(2 in.)watermelon apex in Merwin as well.Bob R

 

[RalphL]

Recieved all my apex and pro troll lures (20 in all), beads, pre tied double hooks from owner and crystal, and bobber stops. By the way, both GREAT outfits to do business with. Ready to begin the great re rigging marathon but once you open the factory pkgs. you need a storage solution thats handy, fast ,and tangle proof on the boat. Solution, a $5 pkg of 12x12 in. interlocking foam floor play pads(called playmats) from wallgreens,10 to the pkg,, and a $3 plastic 11/6/5 box with a lid from the $1 store. Trim the 1/4 inch foam to rectangles that fit in the box and you can sort and store a pile of lures with leaders... Just hook them to the top of the foam, wrap the leader around however many wraps it takes , and pin the end with a small round head pin.100 pins for a buck.. Each rectangle holds up to 8 without cramming and you can sort wedding rings, hoochies, apex etc. on their own sheet. I have been using these made from old foam coozies for a while but the PlayMat is far better. Think I will put a square or two of the stuff near the DR's for a quick place to hang the lures during the changovers. Will try to figure out how to post picks but am techie challenged..

 

[jacksonlaker]

I have used the 4" Pro-troll flasher and it has worked well on kokes. I use the 8" flasher with a 2.5" squid tipped with a gulp minnow for lake trout. Troll it around 1.7 and hang on. The macs just hammer that set up. ! As for the E-chip, I dont think it works but the flashers have a great, slow rotating action. I still like the regular apexes.

 

[SuperD]

This is how I store my Apexes:

Paper towel holder, noodle and a 2 X 4

 

[RalphL]

you take that on the boat??

 

[SilverBullets]

I keep mine in plano box's. The leaders get coiled up between 2 fingers and secured with a wire tie. Since the box's are transparent I can view the lures from the top and bottom. thumbsup

 

[SuperD]

you take that on the boat??

Sits nicely in a side tray.