Freedom Lures to Adapt Review

My first impression of Freedom Lures’ products was “very impressed”. Although I have seen other companies bring similar type products to market, their design for quick hook removal and replacement is truly unique and innovative. Anglers have the ability to use whatever their favorite hooks are regardless of brand and style. Paint finishes, eyes and hooks all are very high quality.

Lure Features

Jig heads are designed to allow anglers to quickly change hook size, shape and style. The hooks have a free range of motion which the manufacturer claims decreases the chance of fish throwing the hook while fighting. This feature gives some additional side-to-side wobbling action to certain types of soft plastic lures, especially swimbaits. The Stealth model comes with a screw-in lure keeper which slides out of the way when fish strike and helps to prevent your lure from tearing.

Jig Head
The jig heads I tested are made of lead and have a brass inner chamber that projects sound and houses the wire hook fastener. There are a variety of head designs to choose from (Hydra, Zodiac, Stealth & Rogue) which each have their place for use in various conditions.

Skirt
Skirts provided with the Stealth model were also made from quality material. They are currently only available in two colors Silver Shad and Golden Shiner. In the future I would like to see some more color options available.

Hook
Premium Black Nickel Finish and super sharp… These are quality hooks for sure and each package comes with 2 hooks.

Testing

Jig heads were used in a wide range of clarity from clear to stained. Structure and cover targeted were primarily rock, weeds and wood. Lures were tested on Candlewood Lake, CT, Ballston Lake, NY, Hudson River, NY, Lake Champlain, NY, and several other smaller lakes and ponds. Water and Air temps ranged from the low 50’s through the mid 70’s.

For the Hydra and Rogue, I chose a 7’ Medium Heavy Power St. Croix baitcaster, paired with a Shimano 201e7 reel and 12 pound test Berkley 100% fluorocarbon line.

Performance/Effectiveness

In most cases my first approach to testing lures (especially jigs) is to start by locating an active school of bass using my normal “go to” lures and then switching over to one of the lures being reviewed. During all outings where active bass were located, I found that the Freedom Lures performed equal to a similar style jig head. I did not notice an increase in my catch ratio when using the same type of soft plastic on these jig heads. For example while using a particular type of swimbait on a standard football or fish-head style jig, I did not begin to catch more or bigger fish when I switched over to the Rogue or Hydra. I found the same results while using the Zodiac and Stealth.

That being said, here’s where I personally feel that the Freedom Lures really gives you an advantage. When I was in a situation where bass where short striking my lure, I was able to quickly swap out my hook for a smaller one and decrease the size of my trailer. This modification resulted in a more compact look and I was rewarded with a few more bites during some tough conditions. When you are fishing in high winds, it’s a real plus to be able to keep the same weight and only change the hook size.

On another occasion I found the exactly the opposite, where I was fishing the Stealth with a 3/0 extra-wide gap (EWG) style hook, but the bass were looking for a larger profile bait. When I increased the size of my trailer I started getting strikes, but I dropped the next two fish that hit. The bulkier trailer was what they wanted, but the hook on my jigs was now a bit too small for that trailer. So I took out a 5/0 EWG, swapped it in about 5 seconds and was back in the game with a better matched hook size.

Techniques Used

Pitching (Stealth), Deep Water dragging (Rogue), Texas Rig/Shakey Style, Wacky Rig, Swimming Small Finesse Swimbaits (Zodiac) and Swimming Hollow body and Solid body swimbaits (Hydra)

Action

I did notice that the Freedom Lures do add some additional action to your lure presentation. The “free” swinging hook allow plastics to float up and wag a bit more on the bottom than they do on standard jig heads. In my testing I cannot say for certain that this imparted action helped to increased my catch rates or the size of that bass being caught.

Weed-less Effectiveness

Because you can choose your favorite hook styles and many of the Freedom Lures come with EWG style hooks, these jig head are excellent for weedless applications.

Construction/Quality

All of the lures I received came in quality packaging and were constructed very well. Each product looked identical when compared to one another across the various models. The black nickel hooks provided are quality hooks and are very sharp.

Durability

I found the head held up pretty good through the testing period. The paint wears away like most other quality heads, and certainly last much longer than cheaper made jig heads. The hooks also stayed sharp throughout the testing period.

Design

When it comes to design, I have to give Freedom Lures some due credit, they have put a lot of thought into their products. For me personally I think the hook removal/replacement concept is the best I have seen. There is really nothing else like it out there and it is easy to use. Throughout each and every jig head there is consistency in the quality of their construction. Head shapes offer a nice variety (ball head, football head, fish head etc.)

Other Features

Although the lead heads are very nice (and more cost effective), in the future I would still like to see smaller head sizes using alternative material like tungsten.

Reviewer’s Overall Thoughts

When you look at all of the “freedom” that you get with these lures, I think it is safe to say they were aptly named for sure. My personally favorite element of their design is that quick remove hook system. Although I did not notice a distinct fish catching advantage using these jig heads over other traditional jig heads, I have heard other anglers claim that they have. Overall Freedom Lures makes a really quality line of products that give anglers the ability to tweak their presentation to fight the situation. Would I recommend these lures to others… absolutely!