Blades, metal vibration, cicadas etc...

Call them what you like but for a while now I was wondering if these lures have a place in my tackle box. When I first saw them I was quite keen in getting some of them as they look cool and I was sure they would give me loads of fish easily... After getting my hands on them, I tried them in freshwater and the salt but the results were not the ones I was expecting.
I thought that with their vibration and flash, fish would go mad for them and I used to rig them from the hole towards the back to produce the maximum vibration! This seemed to produce the opposite effect and fish wouldn't touch them! I then started researching even more on how they are fished and also gave them some more water time by trying many different retrieves and in various situations/conditions. I started getting some fish on them and in freshwater this seemed a bit easier as perch and even chub would go for them, especially in areas where fish had wisened up to the traditional spinners and spoons. Albeit no big fish among them.
In the salt I got some fish when the conditions were rough and especially at lighted harbour entrances at night. Even then though, they never became a mainstay in my lurebox instead becoming the lure you would put when playing around.. This was to change after I decided to use some from the Ecogear range in a situation where I though they might do well.
I was fishing my usual mark in Loch Etive at the mouth of a basin and the tide was coming in. There was also quite a strong wind and the water slightly stained. I had good results with the soft plastics retrieved with the current but I thought of using something that would imitate a crustacean dragged by the current and trying to flee in short jerks on  the bottom as they move.
I rigged a ZX35 and what followed was a revelation! Fish were hitting it like mad and not just the little ones.. I caught some nice pollock that had engulfed them.. On that day the fish seemed to just suck them in from the bottom like they were a natural food source and not an artificial and this lead me into thinking that I may have stumbled on a pattern here. Indeed many sessions followed and with always some fish caught, good fish at that with pollock around the 2kg mark that fought like demons on the LRF gear. So much so that I had to beef up the braid and trace to get them in safely while sacrificing casting distance. I also managed to video some of these sessions with my new Sony Action camera and I will be posting more videos soon. The quality and layout is not very good but I'm looking for some software to help me improve.
Some notes/points from the sessions are:

• Current and slightly stained water very important.
• 'Crustacean' profiles/presentations more effective than 'fishy/flashy' ones.
• Fish come pretty fast.
• On Ecogear ZX and assist rigged blades waiting on the strike a bit works better.
• Short jerks and pause to touch bottom very important.
• Rigging near the front better for less vibration/flash, too much scares the fish!
• Smaller lighter lures of up to 4g more successful than heavier ones.
• Added appendages/modifications to look more like prawns can work.
• Stiffer Aji style rods better for working them along with braid over fluoro.
• On currents, although the direction of retrieve should be more natural with the flow, the position of the fish is more important and they will take it even when retrieved against the flow.

Here are some pics of fish and also a few clips of recent sessions.

A good fish.

Engulfed!

Coalies like them..

Decent fish..

Codling like them too!

Some cheap ones.

modified...

further modified!

In all blade baits make for some very fast and fun fishing and under certain conditions and fish they can be deadly. Although they are harder to make them work than other lures, they certainly earned their place in my tackle box! The best model has by far been the Ecogear ZX range but their high price has put me off from buying them for a third time! So I purchase some cheaper ones mainly from Poland and after changing the hooks and 'modifying' them, some of them have proven to be very effective..

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Various but stiffer ones better
Reel: various
Mainline: Braid better.
lure: Ecogear ZX 30 and 35, Spinmad Cma and Uklejka, Jaxon switch blade