As you can see JDM tackle has really taken it’s toll on us. Today we’re going to review/reveal another Japan hardbait. Most of us have tried, or at least heard about Yo-Zuri brand. Their variety of lures can actually blow you mind, and the price is not as premium as you’d expect from a JDM. Duel is the mothership brand, and sustains both brands, Duel and Yo-Zuri. Duel has been making lures in Japan for more than 40 years now, and still have some of the most demanded and accessible (pricewise) lures on the JDM market.

Yo-Zuri is a worldwide brand that sells, it probably sounded better than Duel, when introduced to the US market. Duel is the actual developer, that’s always improving, and coming up with new technologies, like they came up with the Magnetic Long Cast System, making some of the top rated lures in the world.

Hardcore is one of the brands most sought after lures, with a large variety of lure types, starting with minnows, both regular and deep diving, up to crankbaits and vibe baits such as the Hardcore Drum.

The F736 SH-50 is a suspending deep diving finesse minnow most suited for reservoirs and deeper river areas.

Packing:
The lure’s packing is Yo-Zuri standard, simple and effective to keep your lure safe until you manage to fish it.

Finish: Hardcore series are made out of durable plastic, with detailed gills and scales with both MAT and clear gloss finish. They’re really attractive to both fish and fisherman. They all are provided with the most realistic 3D eyes, but tend to “escape” the sockets after a few toothy predators. I tend to fix this problem with a drop of super glue upfront so I don’t loose the eyes.

This lure was clearly ment for something other than bass fishing, considering it’s size and “low profile”.

Terminals: I still don’t now what trebles are used on Duels and Yo-Zuris, but they are as sharp as they can get, even though they aren’t the toughest ones out there. They’ll hold  as long as you don’t get really excited about using them on a heavier than 6-8lb line.  If you intend on using them on larger fish I strongly recommend replacing them with tougher ones. I don’t replace them only if they get used, but other than that I am pretty confident about them for what I use them for. And I like they chose a dark, black, color for them.

Harder fighting fish need tougher trebles

Split rings are standard quality, and I believe they will never let anyone down.

As most of plastic lures it doesn’t have thru-wire construction, and, unfortunately I’ve had trouble in the past with the lip pulling of a lure while fighting a fish. I don’t have the pics to prove that, but have had friends with the same problem with some of the heavier lures in the Hardcore series, like the SH-60 and the 75-SP, which should be able to hold up to some strong fighting fish. Hope Duel will acknowledge this problem, and take some attitude about it in the future.

Casting: Little lure, lots of features. Tungsten weight and the proprietary Advanced Magnet Weight Transfer System, patented by Duel have a lot to do with the good casting abilities of this lure, considering it’s light 1/8 oz. weight. The Advanced Magnetic Weight Transfer System will work on most of the casts, but it takes a little power into the cast, to make the magnet “click”. You get the hang of it in a blink of an eye.

It casts like a charm for a 1/8 oz. lure. The further you cast it, the deeper it will get. The tungsten bb’s act as a rattle as well, so be prepared to call fish from a distance.

Action:The looks of the bait will win you in a millisecond. The patterns are as deadly as they get, being able to get both MAT, translucent and flashy patterns.

What about the action? How will the Yo-Zuri Hardcore SH-50 run? Is it worth the trouble? It definitely is. It has a deadly tight bobble that will start vibrating at the slowest retrieve speeds. I actually prefer tighter wobble over wider, but as you must all know: every lure will catch you fish eventually you just need the right conditions for that lure. I’m not talking about this lure though… you can catch fish almost every day of the week with it. You can use it as a suspending jerkbait in colder weather as well. It really suspends, as you can see in the video. We kept it motionless for a few moments so you can get the general idea of how suspending this lure really is. I’m putting accent on this detail, because most of the lures that are sold as “suspending” really aren’t. Most of them are a very slow floating lure. I won’t give names for now, but I’ll keep you posted on the suspending ability of lures in the future as well.

Video:

Application: This is definitely a finesse bait, most likely to be used for species like trout, perch, chub, asp and barbel. Bass is on the menu, but it’s not really considered to be a bass finesse bait. I especially like to use it on clear water reservoirs and in deeper river areas. I even went the extra length of painting a few of them in trout patterns for really clear waters. The action on these is amazing, and you have to consider they can be used with high efficiency in very powerful currents as well, as they are utterly stable.

Due to the Advanced Magnetic Weight Transfer System you will be able to use it on a baitcaster if ever needed. Don’t expect long casts though.

I caught almost everything from chub to perch with this lure, and like to use it on trout lakes and rivers. They seem to especially like it when hanging to depths of 4 to 10 ft.

I usually fish it with up to 6lb rated line ( 0.18mm diameter-tops)

Hardcore 50-SH – Ratings (?/10)
Design	Really dynamic shape. It won’t keep you wondering weather to buy it or not. Hardcore lures are known worldwide for their incredible fish catching abilities. I like the sharp, black trebles, but if you want to hang on larger or harder fighting fish you need to change them for tougher ones. The trebles are well spaced, in such a manned they won’t ever tangle. The finish is tough.	8.5
Features	This lure is packed with features: great patterns, tungsten weighting, Advanced Magnetic Weight Transfer System, all in a 2 inch bait that suspends whenever needed.  Could you ask for more? I could… Please keep on manufacturing them . I won’t give it the highest grade though, because the lip seems to come off (I had it happen once) in some cases, and it’s not an isolated case, unfortunately.	6.5
Application / Performance	They run true right out of the box. Due to their tight wobble they are really versatile, and can cover a lot of fishing situations. It’s a finesse bait that will catch you fish, and catch your eye. It will start vibrating on the slowest retrieve speeds, and will keep on running true even in the fearsome currents.	9.5
Price	It’s on the premium side, but for a JDM I consider them to be lightly priced. I can swallow a 10-12$ bill, but for a lure of this size, most of JDM have a price tag that hangs well over 12$. It a good deal if you ask me.	7.5
Overall	Final Grade	8

Trouty lure:D

Conclusion: If you like finesse fishing, this lure has to make it’s way in your tackle box. You won’t be able to buy them for a long time from now on, because Duel/Yo-Zuri has stopped producing this model.. to think I just came to like it:). It’s a really small bait packed with tons of features.

The lip it’s not it’s strongest point, and is prone to come of on some of the Hardcore baits. Don’t ask why, but it happened to other people besides myself. The price is excellent for a JDM, but would love to be able to take it out full of confidence. The broken lip gets my heart pumping, and not in a good way, every-time I have a fish dangling at the end of this lure. I’d expect more from a lure in this price range, but unfortunately I can’t just throw them in the garbage, due to their unique action. I have no other lure with a similar action as the Hardcore 50-SH, not even close.

Other than that it has impeccable action, and will catch you tons of fish. I wish they had more match the hatch patterns though, and with all finesse deep diving baits… a sinking version would blow me off.

About Andrei

Professional angler, rodbuilder, lurebuilder, if it's about fishing you name it, he does it. He hates "relaxing", and takes each day as a challange. Whenever he's got a spare moment he's either fishing, cycling, hiking or training his ass at the gym. He's fishing for more than 20 years now. Strictly on artifficial baits from the age of 7, he's always on the look out for the newest stuff and techniques out there.

View all posts by Andrei →

Poland is no stranger to lurebuilding manufacturers. It probably has as many lure production companies as Japan does. They all seem to be fitting in the same category: foam crankbaits. There are of course some rare sightings of hard plastic hardbaits. As I said…. Rare!

Dorado Triada company has a very vast array of hardbaits, ranging from the very small, as the Dorado Magic 1.8cm, which is probably the smallest production crankbait I own, to big cahona pike jerkbaits, that are very popular in Europe.

For this review we chose Dorado Invader I4, which is a very versatile lure, and can be found in either floating and sinking version, which is a plus in my book.

I say it’s a very versatile bait, because it can be easily fished really efficient in both flowing water and still waters. This lure is stable in very fast flowing currents, and it can be fished at a very slow pase in lakes for e.g.

Packing is as simple as it gets… Nothing fancy, just what it takes to keep the lure safe.

Finish: As you’d expect from a Polish foam lure there’s nothing spectacular about it at first sight, but it has some really interesting detailed patterns, probably the best minnow patterns I’ve seen on a lure. No 3d eyes, and no detailed carved scales, but that’s just for the fisherman to notice. The fish will never notice these details. I’d have to say I’d love a few highly reflective metallic patterns amongst their actual colors. Other than that, the coating is as tough as it gets. Much tougher in time compared to much higher priced JDM lures I own. I have some Dorado lures for more than 2-3 years now, and even after lots and lot of fish caught they still looks like new, which is a real bonus.

Dorado invader 4cm - a very nice array of patterns

This is a shad type of crankbait, which has a typical shad design, nothing fancy, just the essentials for catching fish. The lip seems to be polycarbonate, and is as tough as it gets.

Terminals: At this price I didn’t expect high quality trebles, but Mustad has trebles much better than these, at the same price-point, like the 3551 , I would certainly prefer the other, as they are heavyer wire construction, sharper, and I wouldn’t probably go to the trouble of changing them. They have the same trebles as the Krakusek, and they bend quite easily. I’ve lost a good sized trout because I was lazy changing them. Other than the trebles, the split rings look to be tough, and … you guessed it: it has thru’ wire construction, which make them ideal for saltwater fishing as well. Saltwater is probably the ultimate battering test a lure can get. I’ve had some plastic lures fail on me even in freshwater… So you understand where all of this is coming from.

Mustad produces much better trebles at the same price point.

Casting and diving depth: Even though they don’t feature long casting system, 8 out of 10 casts they fly like they had the system, without tumbling through the air. It’s most likely because the line tie is in front of the lure, considering it’s a deep diver. The 4 cm invader is really castable on a light to medium-light outfit. You’ll be able to fish the sinking version on finesse baitcasters if ever faced with the challenge, but you’ll be limited in casting distance. You’ll most certainly be able to cast the 5cm one, and very well for that matter.

Notice the polycarbonate lip is stamped with the Dorado name

Dorado makes the invader in lengths up to 14cm, with which they brag of catching lots of double digit pike and catfish. The 4 cm version dives up to 1.6-1.8m on a very long cast.

Action: They got me on the first cast. I instantly knew they would be killers. They have a medium-tight wobble: not to tight, but not to wide either. I’d say just perfect. I would love if they all ran true straight out of their packaging, but I would be lying if I told you so. Some of them need a little twitching, but in the end you’ll get them running.

Video:

I mainly use them for lake trout, chub, and have to mention zander (walleye) and asp as well. It’s a good lure, that I don’t leave home without, especially when fishing those finicky wild lake trout. It certainly does the trick for me. Try them out, they might work for you as well.

They also have really good match the hatch patterns for what trout and other fish are foraging upon.

Trout seem to like them

Conclusion: Invader is a cheap lure, for every pocket. I prefer action over the lure’s actual outer-looks in any given day of the week. They’re a must have in my tackle box. The more patterns the merrier. As Dorado mentions on their website: “These lures are designed to catch fish not anglers!”. I would have to agree with that saying.

About Andrei

Professional angler, rodbuilder, lurebuilder, if it's about fishing you name it, he does it. He hates "relaxing", and takes each day as a challange. Whenever he's got a spare moment he's either fishing, cycling, hiking or training his ass at the gym. He's fishing for more than 20 years now. Strictly on artifficial baits from the age of 7, he's always on the look out for the newest stuff and techniques out there.

View all posts by Andrei →