southie THE BANGA

It's the main reason why i went searching for these blanks to paint.. 
Paying 20 bucks plus for an top water lure for whiting is ridiculous.
If i can provide a cheaper option that still catches fish im happy to continue painting them and sell a few here or there...

With the Sugar Pens on some sites now getting up to $33 and demand is there for that brand as being a successful lure,but the copies are on there way.I was shown 4 copies (pictures) last week and gee they are very close to the originals.He said he would send me a few to look at,thinking if people can buy them cheaper then they will sell quickly,who ever gets them out there first will be making some money from it.

Hi all.. Used the "banger" lure today.. Still works. Got my for dinner.. Im happy.. Plenty small ones interested in it.. 

This was from a few weeks ago, tough spin session in the Mersey River with the trout surface feeding..
cheers
Adrian
 

Once i get my Airbrush delivered I'll be out in the shed painting some more so will paint a couple up for you !

Reports sound promising sTB. Would like to purchase one with the pink head/orange tail and a green one please. Would like to try these colours on the bream 😉. Regards HBt

Thanks for the update/review mate. Much appreciated. Still waiting for my Airbrush gun to get delivered so painting has been put back a bit. 
Bit glad to see some fish are getting caught on them. 

Had the chance to run a couple of these in my last two session and below are some early thoughts. I'll also continue to post back in here as the summer goes on.
To start with, im coming from a view where the Sugarpen is the gold standard in my eyes. The Pen casts like a bullet, skips across the water beautifully, is quite a flexible lure in terms or its applications and has a success rate that is widely accepted as high. So every commen / view I have on sBT's stick bait will be relative to the Pen.
That being said.
1st impressions:

On the RHS are the 4 "Bangas" as I have affectionately named them. On the LHS are the same 4, mixed in with 4 Pens to give you an idea.
- the blank is almost exactly the same. Same length, same profile/shape. The only differences I can ascertain are (1) a small "scale" finish as opposed to the Pen's lateral dots, and (2) the casting weight is marginally further back in the Pen.
- the blank has a rattle, where as the 70mm Pen doesn't. This appears to be due to the blank having the casting weight in the "chamber" as oppsoed to right at the tail end of the lure like the Pen does.
- the assist hooks they come with look good. Size wise they are maybe a #6 equivalent, possibly even a #4. The braid / assist robe used actually glows bright orange under black light/UV
On the water:

- the blank sits differently in the water at a stand still. Where as the Pen sits almost 45 degrees (head up, tail down), the blank sits realtively flat with no discernable difference in buoyancy between any end of the lure. One of the blanks sat upside down at rest - maybe it was just a dud - but the others seem to be fine.
- casts well, much like the Pen does. To be honest cant tell the differece in that regard.
- seems to swim fine. Ever so slightly different action to the Pen, but this could also be due to the lack of belly trebel on the blank. Might pull the trebel off one of Pens then compare like for like.
Importantly - Results:
The plan I have used is - find the fish with my normal toys, then throw the "Bangas" in and see if they bite.
Trip 1 was pretty tough, nothing in my kit bag really got the job done. However the blank did seduce a couple of roughly 24 models.
Trip 2 was also tough, the wind was up and I wasn't confident the blank would create the water disturbance I needed. Normally in these conditions I would be throwing the larger 95 Pen. However I persisted and nailed an early to mid 30s!
RHS is Trip 1 (~24cm), LHS is Trip 2 (30+cm)
Note - I have cut the dangly bits off. I found they looked like weed and once I removed them I got more engagement for the fish.

@southie THE BANGA overall a good blank and very comparable to the Pen.
More feedback / photos to come over the remainder of summer.
Cheers
TL

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Hi all..
Recieved some lures in the post.. Nicely done and with assist hooks as well.. Couldnt ask for more.. Top bloke.
I had to go and see how they worked. I went this morning ( see my other write up).
They work well.. As good as the sugarpens do, basically the same action etc.
I only had the one on me.. Red head, green stripe underneath, some sparkles and stripes..
There were only small ones around today wanting lures..  This lure got the fish of the morning @24cm... They were smashing this, But being a lot of small ones about.. Was hard to get the bigger ones.
I used it for a bit and it held up well to the abuse..
Done well my friend. Im happy..
ALL CATCH AND RELEASED
Mike
 

so tasty nice one mate!!

Well the new floats did their job today.

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Hey All.... I haven't forgotten about this..... Been in bed Since Saturday crook as a dog so haven't been able to do much....
On the plus side My Blanks arrived today and my new range of paints came in aswell and....... I have the weekend off 👌 
With the weather being crap aswell i'll pump out some lures over the weekend.... 
Stay tuned!!!

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

Geez they are dedicated !!  A bit like me, bit of wind in the air doesn't stop me  🤥

Christmas is coming!

Hey All.... I haven't forgotten about this..... Been in bed Since Saturday crook as a dog so haven't been able to do much....
On the plus side My Blanks arrived today and my new range of paints came in aswell and....... I have the weekend off 👌 
With the weather being crap aswell i'll pump out some lures over the weekend.... 
Stay tuned!!!