If you have a story or feedback on the TNT lure's feel free to email me with your comments to be added to this website!
Steve Bradbury-Texas Fishing Guide
Billy Seaman-Texas Fishing Guide
The T.N.T. baits especially the 1/2 oz ones that we have been using exclusively
have worked great. Limits of Sandies, many, many, undersized Hybrids and the
occasional larger Hybrid all are quite aggressive around these lures. They hit
it hard, many swallow the bait, which does force us to change out the hooks
occasionally, but have not had any of the paint or finish on these baits either
rub off or chip off from fish. I would recommend these lures to both weekend
anglers to fishing guides who fish these baits daily.
David Moulton – Texas Angler
These baits are awesome. They definitely catch fish. I was on Joe Pool the other
day and the sandies would hammer the bait as soon as it got down to them. There
were four of us in the boat and we caught well over 100 sandies. Some baits
after you catch a lot of fish on them the paint will start to rub off. These
lures still look brand new. I will order more when I run out.
Terry Thompson-Texas Angler
"Those TNT Shad Spoons are fish catching lures. They've helped make my wife a
believer in slabbing for whites and stripers. Not only that, she thinks they're
pretty.”
Patrick Hinson – Texas Angler
Your lures are GREAT!! I was able to limit out this weekend (4-16-05) on
sandbass and hybrids in an hour on Richland Chambers. The look of them is great
with a great feel on the end of the line. The hooks are wonderful. If anything
they may be too sharp!!! I got myself cut on them a couple of times and they
hooked any type of carpet you put them on!! Great paint + Great coating = Lots
of fish!! Thanks for the great product and I know now where I will buy all of my
slabs!!
David
Bettiga –Texas Angler
I have only had one opportunity to fish your baits, I have been working 90 hours
a week for the last month. I am however very impressed with the finish on your
slabs and can’t wait to fish them some more. I ordered some slabs off ebay from
the same mold as yours and they are way inferior!
Brandon Pope-Texas Angler
I had the chance to try out the TNT shad and casting spoons on the hybrids last
week. They worked out great! I came upon herons and egrets along a shoreline,
which were gorging themselves on spawning shad. I shut down and trolled over to
investigate. Boils were being caused by something large. I had a 3/4oz TNT shad
spoon tied on and threw into the frenzy. Instant hook up with a 5lb hybrid! I
used the shad model for the next 30 minutes and landed numerous hybrids burning
it away from the bank. As the bite slowed and the fish moved out deeper, I
switched to the 1/2oz TNT casting model. Bouncing it off the bottom produced at
least 50 sandies and half a dozen hybrids. The most impressive part was that the
finish was still intact. Thanks for building and painting them the way I like'em!
Keith Lay-Texas Angler
I'm a weekend angler that enjoys taking the family out fishing as much as
possible. I recently purchased some TNT lures and have had good luck with them.
The lures have stood up well - no chipping or fading. I highly recommend these
lures.
Chad Kellner - Texas Angler
Hey Bryon,
I just wanted to take a minute and compliment you on your product. My son was
one of the lucky winners of a sampling of TNT lures from the “Joe Pool Fishing
Seminar” put on by Hall Dodd several months back. Now typically I fish for
the green slimy fish, but love to get the kids on some sandies and enjoy the
incredible fight of those guys too. I had the opportunity to use one of the
casting minnow shaped lures a few months ago on a hot afternoon as I was
wrapping up a pretty poor day of fishing for Blacks. As schools started popping
around me I knew I had the opportunity to give it a try. Needless to say it was
everything and more than what I expected. I could easily cast out to fish at a
distance, or when that action slowed down, watch the graph for fish under me.
As soon as I would see some below, I would drop the lure down and……….well you
know the rest. Fish ON! Finished the day with at least 20 or so that
afternoon. Now then, for my story from last night. I had taken a non boater out
for one of his first trips on Pool last night. We were catching our share of
fish from the grass when we started to see small groups of baitfish boiling on
the surface a fair distance behind us, but no real predators feeding on the
surface. The non boater wanted to go see what the commotion was, and figuring I
could get him on some fish I agreed. As we approached the area, my graph was
showing large schools of fish under the surface, but keep in mind, nothing on
the surface like I said. I pretty much knew they were sandies and of course I
went for the TNT. First drop had a fish on. I told the inexperienced non
boater to tie on a spoon and he had 1 standard variety in his box. After about
5-0 hookups with the TNT, we both realized there was no comparison. I tied him
on a TNT and that was all she wrote! That evening was his best experience on
Pool yet with several Blacks, Sandies, and even a crappie and a drum. I have not
talked about the quality of the finish on these lures yet in my long winded
letter, but they are superior to say the least. I have heard stories of
hundreds of fish caught without so much as a chip in the finish. I probably
have at least 75 or so on my one lure and nothing but marks on the hook from the
pliers. I have not even had to try out the other varieties yet because the one
I use is so awesome! Anyway, sorry Its taken me so long to write to write, but
wanted to thank you first of all for your donations to the anglers at the
seminar. My son is very proud of his TNT's, and also to comment on the awesome
product you have.
Thanks so much,
Chad Kellner
Brad Poole - Texas Angler - (and Repeat Customer)
Just thought I'd let you know how we did ( we - is me and my 11 yr old) 100
fish - 50 in the box and ALL on the TNT's 2 hours max... The biggest fattest
sand bass inhaled them like there was no tomorrow. I have pictures - but have
to wait until Tuesday to send them.... I think you'll like! The new one you
made for me was 5 fish in a row and then a BIG one broke off ( 15# Ande) it
was "BIG" This is the best lure I have used all year !!!!!!!!!! Thanks again!
Brad
TFF- gottabefishn
Tim Winger-
Texas Angler
-(and Repeat Customer)I've caught a variety of fish on TNT slabs including catfish, drum, white bass,
yellow bass, hybrids ... It was a hot and windy afternoon as we motored out of
the marina. My buddy and I had hired guide John Varner for a mid-week birthday
fishing trip. Due to the weather, a new lake, and our inexperience with slab
fishing, our confidence was not high. But it didnt take long to start pulling
in fish on the TNTs. By the end of the evening we had boated 87 fish, including
the 7 pound hybrid in the attached picture. I have order several TNT slabs
since. My buddy doesnt even bother using his slabs anymore, he just waits for
me to pull out the TNTs. I think he has even "borrowed" a few.
Ronald White-Iowa Angler email- Hi Bryon. My name is Ron White and I am a member of the Central Iowa Anglers. As a group we ordered some of your spoons this spring. I have used other spoons fishing for white bass and wipers on our local lake and river but all we had available locally were copies of the Bomber A (?) spoons or something like Kastmasters. Just writing to tell you we have been really doing well this year with the spoons we got from you. A number of us try to fish for at least a few hours 5 or more days a week and I find myself using your spoons as my go to lure. With the flooding early this spring and a big shad kill from an extra tough winter our fishing changed this year. We are doing more vertical jigging and your spoons work great for this. More large wipers have been caught this year for what ever reason and your lures have taken a number of them. Would be happy to send you some pictures and more info if you are interested.
Here is a review from a member of a Tackle Evaluation Team Member in Indiana from the website of http://www.stripers247.com
You can read the report here http://www.stripers247.com/phpBB2/showthread.php?t=14051 as well:
The TNT 180; what a remarkable
slab spoon! On a recent trip (31 July 2008) to Lake Monroe, Indiana I had
the great good fortune to try one of these incredible lures made by Bryon
Nolan of Trolling Nolan's Tackle Company, and I gotta say, this slab catches
fish. I wanted to field test the lure for several months now, but the
weather in Indiana has been insanely wet this year, and even now, the lake
still is not at summer pool, although it is getting close. So, I decided
this might be a good time to try this lure out. I have been fishing slab
spoons for many years now and have thrown just about every imaginable slab
at the wipers in this lake. Some of my slabs have been pulled across the
bottom so many times, I've had to repaint them a couple of times. I would
estimate I wear out or hang up no fewer than ten slabs each year. They are
my favorite lure, so I was was excited to try out a new version of this
familiar old friend.
The day was mostly clear, the water was warm and there was no wind to speak
of. Air temps were in the mid to upper eighties. The lake level is about a
foot to a foot-and-a-half over summer pool, but the fish seem to be settling
into their pre-2008 summer patterns. My partner, Mr. Piggy, and I launched
at 2:30 P.M. at the Fairfax Ramp and raced off to our favorite spots. The
first thing I noticed about Trolling Nolan's 1 oz. TNT 180 was the high
quality of the paints he uses. Not only does it appear to be good quality
paint, but the color combinations and pattern seem to be a good mix of
lights and darks, not too much of one or the other, and there was the added
bonus of the eyes and shad spots. At a weight of 1 oz. you'd better have
pretty heavy gear; no spinning outfits with this puppy. It casts a country
mile and sinks like a stone, which is what I was looking for, since I was
fishing off a point that dropped from five feet to twenty-five feet by the
time the lure was back at the boat. I believe that the larger wipers are
always near the bottom. They'll come up to feed and chase shad, but they go
right back to the bottom when they're done. And if the schools of smaller
wipers are feeding near the top, the Larger fish are always nearby, waiting
to gobble down fleeing baitfish. The TNT 180 was exactly right for this
situation. On the first or second cast, I hit close to the shore and let the
lure sink to the bottom. I slowly followed the contour of the bottom,
occasionally letting the lure tap bottom just to be sure it was where I
wanted it to be. About halfway to the boat, a fish weighing nearly nine
pounds (8.14) took the lure. The hook clung like a magnet, even though when
I got the fish to the boat I could see that it was barely hanging into the
corner of its mouth. What a beautiful fish! Next, I tried trolling the TNT
180 across the same area. Rather than fire up the big engine, I trolled with
the trolling motor on high, and on the first pass another wiper, this one
about a five pounder, hit the lure. The fight was great and the fish came to
the boat with the lure attached, textbook fashion, in the corner of its
mouth. It was 3:25 p.m. and I had my Indiana limit: two fish over 17 inches
in length. Needless to say, I was impressed. We remained until dark. We
tried long line trolling with the big motor--my least favorite way to fish
since it is hard on the environment, expensive and noisy--and I caught
another eight-and-a-half pounder, and again it was a textbook hooking.
Before leaving for the night, I caught three fair-sized crappie on this
lure, and on one long line turn I caught the largest yellow bass I have ever
seen. I drug that lure over the rocks and nearly lost it a couple of times,
but at the end of the day, the paint was as bright and unchipped as it had
been when I first snipped the loose end off my Palomar knot. Mr. Piggy used
everything in his tacklebox, but he didn't have any of the TNT lures and he
managed to catch one wiper of less than a pound and one yellow bass, both on
Kastmasters. If you like spoon fishing, (and you should like it if you
prefer angling to fishing) you should like spoon fishing. You'll save on
gas. There will be less noise in your life, and you'll be doing your part to
cut down on air and water pollution at your favorite fishing spot. I
recommend giving Bryon Nolan a call or contacting him at his web site.
Bob Maindelle Texas Guide- Bryon, Here is a photo of my “3 Musketeers”. These 3 slabs accounted for 1,009 fish between 04 August and 04 November 2008. The hooks have been replaced a number of times, and I’ve spent way too much time getting them unsnagged just so I could break the 1,000 mark, but we did it!!Take care, -Bob Maindelle
