For this month’s Mystery Tackle Box, I decided to order the Catfish Box. For those of you that don’t know, MTB offers a variety of boxes for different species, including bass, catfish, trout, and panfish. I’ve ordered mostly the bass boxes in the past, but have also ordered the panfish box. This month, because of my exclusive catfish outings, I decided to order the catfish box.
In my opinion, MTB boxes that deviate from their bass boxes can vary in quality – they can either be pumped full of high quality baits and tackle, be skimpy with their products, or somewhere in between. I decided to risk my luck and give the catfish box a gander. I also decided to give this month’s box a different sort of review, in that there will only be a single review consisting of my real-world application and review of each product. The following products will be linked if they're available on Amazon. With that said, let’s dig in.
BEST Gold Baitholder Hooks - $1.00
I received the box and opened it up to find a box full of items, definitely more than usual. I dove in to first find a small package of BEST Gold Baitholder hooks. The hook size isn’t listed on the package, but I’d guess that these range between 4/0 to 6/0. I’m usually not a fan of gold hooks, as they tend to be weaker than most hooks, but these hooks do seem stout and sturdy. I threw one of these hooks on the end of my line with a piece of my secret bait, and caught a fish with ease. These hooks are sharp and absolutely work well for my fishing applications. Overall, I give these hooks a 4.5 stars out of 5.
Mudville Catmaster Octopus Wide Gap Hooks - $1.99
Next was a package of Mudville Catmaster Octopus Wide Gap hooks in 5/0 size. I absolutely love these hooks. They are as sturdy as could be and are incredibly sharp – what more can you want from a good catfish hook? I strung one of these hooks through a bluegill and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, line started being ripped from my real. I proceed by picking up the rod and set the hook gently – nothing. I missed what would have been a large fish. Regardless, I will be buying more of these hooks in the future. Overall, I give these hooks 5 stars out of 5 stars.
Mr. Catfish Doughball Bait – Blood - $3.99
I then pulled out a package of Mr. Catfish Doughball Bait in blood flavor. This bait claims to make doughball rigging easy, so I decided to how accurate this claim is. I put a treble hook on the end of my line, kneaded this bait onto the hook, and cast out the line. Personally, I don’t think the doughball rigging is any easier. The consistency of the bait is similar to most other baits, though perhaps slightly less thick. I first tried my secret bait to determine the rate of bite, and was catching fish inconsistently – about 1 to 2 fish per hour. I would then switch to this doughbait, and my catch rate sank to zero. I would switch back to my secret bait and start catching fish again. I did this over and over, and couldn’t catch a fish with this dough bait. Suddenly, though, my secret bait stopped catching fish. I decided to switch to the doughbait and started catching fish at the fastest rate of the day, about 3 fish per hour. With this said, I can’t say that this bait is any better or worse than my secret bait. I’ll definitely be keeping this bait in my bag. I give this bait a 4 out of 5 stars.
Rod-N-Bobbs” Revolution X Oval Bobbers - $5.99
After, I pulled out Rod-N-Bobb’s Revolution X Oval Bobbers. These bobbers are dual purpose in that they can be used as both a fixed bobber and a slip bobber. I have to admit, I’m not a bobber fisherman. I’ll occasionally use a slip bobber, but usually not. I gave these a try, combined with both my secret bait and the Mr. Catfish doughbait. This bobber worked as any other bobber does, and I did enjoy my time using it. Overall, this product works as well as it should, and combines two items into your tackle box into a single product. Overall, I give these bobbers a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Rod-N-Bobb’s Universal Beacon - $3.99
I then pulled out the Rod-N-Bobb’s Universal Beacon, of which came as a 4 pack. These beacons are basically small light sticks that can be attached to either your Revolution X Bobbers or your Lucky Jack Bell. These beacons are one time use, though a package of them isn’t terribly expensive. During night fishing, these beacons are very useful to see both your line and your rod tip. Overall, I give these 4 out of 5 stars.
Rodd-N-Bobb’s Lucky Jack Bell/Battery Combo - $5.49
I was probably most excited for this product when I opened the box, as I’d been looking for a quality bell system. This bell is very sensitive, and makes noise even with only subtle movement. The bell comes with a battery operated beacon so that rod tip movement can be seen at night, and Rod-N-Bobb’s Universal Beacons will fit as well. This system is easy to attach to the rod, though the attachment figuration seems cheap. I really enjoyed using this bell system, and give it a 4.5 stars out of 5 – a more quality attachment would give this product a perfect 5 out of 5.
Tackle Beacon Catfish Sponge Hooks - $1.99
The Tackle Beacon Catfish Sponge hooks were the most disappointing items in the box. The reason why I say this is because sponge hooks require a very particular sort of bait, of which I don’t use. Similar to dip baits, any other bait type upon sponge hooks is essentially useless. If MTB is going to give hooks for such a particular fishing type, why would they not also provide a bait to match? With that said, these hooks seem of mediocre quality – nothing great, nothing terrible. Overall, I give this product 3 out of 5 stars.
Overall, I approve of this Mystery Tackle Box. The products I received not only made me more aware of quality items on the market, but also increased my catfishing ability. I give this box a 4 out of 5 stars – leaving out the sponge hooks or giving another bait for the sponge hooks would have raised this rating to a 4.5, or even a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. Next month will be a different type of review, so stay tuned…