With all the hubbub about the GunDog topwaters, one thing that hasn't gotten much attention is the new GunDog Shock Collar soft-plastic skirt.
When you look at the Shock Collar it's easy to think, "Big deal. It's just a skirt." But once you actually see it in action you realize it's an easy way to add a TON of action to your presentation. I think I might actually be more excited about this than the topwaters. And the cool thing is you can use it on just about anything. It works with all soft-plastics, scented baits and even live and dead presentations. You guys that throw shrimp and croaks during the summer need to give this a try.
The Shock Collar also changes the way a bait falls through the water column. We've tested it with Trout Killers and our new Jive 45 jerkbait and when you add the Shock Collar to the front of the plastic it slows down the fall rate by about 1/2. So if it takes a Trout Killer 2 seconds to hit the bottom on a 1/4-ounce jighead, that will slow down to about 4 or 5 seconds with the Shock Collar added.
We haven't been able to get any underwater fall-rate footage yet because I'm not crazy (or stupid) enough to get in a pool in the middle of January. But the video below shows how the Shock Collar flares out on a hopping retrieve. Once things warm up I'll get underwater video to show the different fall rates.