Truscend Easy Catch Swimmax Review: budget-friendly jointed swimbaits that actually move like fish

I’ve been using the Truscend Easy Catch Swimmax lures (the 12 cm / 17 g version in colour C1) for a few sessions now, mostly on a canal and a small lake. I’m not a pro angler, just someone who likes to throw lures after work, so I’m looking for stuff that’s simple, reliable, and doesn’t feel like I’m throwing a ten‑quid note into the water every cast. These come as a 3‑pack, so that already caught my eye on price.

Out of the box, they look like the usual jointed swimbaits you see all over Amazon, but I wanted to see if they actually catch fish or just look pretty in product photos. I’ve used similar multi‑joint lures from random brands before, and half the time they either swim weird, roll on their side, or the joints get sloppy after a few fish. So I went into this with fairly low expectations, especially at this price point.

Over a couple of weeks, I’ve thrown these on both spinning and baitcasting setups, mainly targeting perch and pike, with the odd chance of zander in deeper areas. I’ve fished them in clear and slightly murky water, slow retrieve, fast retrieve, stop‑and‑go, and a few jerks here and there just to see how they react. I also let my nephew try them because the brand pushes the “family fishing” angle, so I wanted to see if a beginner can handle them easily.

Overall, they’re not perfect, but they’re pretty solid for the price. They swim properly, they do get bites, and they haven’t fallen apart on me yet. There are a few details that bug me, like the hooks and the noise level in very pressured water, but nothing that makes them useless. If you’re expecting high‑end Japanese lure performance, you’ll be disappointed, but if you just want something that looks like a fish and actually catches some, they get the job done.

On the money side, this 3‑pack sits in that budget‑friendly but not bargain‑bin zone. You’re basically paying what you’d often pay for one mid‑range branded lure and getting three instead. For someone who doesn’t want to stress about losing a lure to a snag, that alone is a big plus. I was a lot more relaxed throwing these close to structure compared to some of my pricier swimbaits.

In terms of what you get for that price: decent action, usable hooks, realistic enough looks, and so far reliable build quality. There are clearly cheaper unbranded jointed lures out there, but from what I’ve seen, a lot of those either swim weird or fall apart quicker. Compared to those, the Truscend ones feel more consistent and better finished. Compared to higher‑end Japanese or European swimbaits, of course they’re behind on hook quality, fine details, and maybe subtle action, but those cost two to three times more per piece.

Another thing in the value column is versatility. One pack covers most of my predator fishing on local waters: canals, lakes, slow rivers. I can hand one to a beginner or a kid without panicking about them smacking it into rocks or trees. If you like tweaking gear, a small extra spend on upgraded trebles turns them into very solid performers without killing the overall budget. So as a cost‑effective base, they make sense.

So is it worth it? For a casual angler or someone building up their lure box, I’d say yes, good value for money. If you’re already deep into high‑end tackle and super picky about hooks and finishes, you might see these as “backup” or practice lures rather than main tools. But for most weekend anglers, they strike a nice balance between price, performance, and not crying when one gets left in a snag.

Design‑wise, Truscend clearly tried to tick all the usual boxes: 3D eyes, scaled pattern, multiple body segments, and a realistic paint job. The colour I got (C1) is a fairly standard baitfish look, with a decent shine and some contrast. Nothing mind‑blowing, but it doesn’t look cheap or cartoonish either. In the water, the finish reflects light nicely, especially in clearer conditions. After a few sessions, the paint around the hook points shows a bit of wear, but nothing dramatic yet.

The body is split into several segments connected by metal joints. The brand talks about the “strongest fiber” in the listing, but on the version I have, the joints are clearly metal, not some fabric hinge. That’s actually a good thing for durability. When you pull it through the water, the tail end swings back and forth and gives a pretty natural S‑shaped swim. On a slow, steady retrieve, it looks fairly realistic, and that’s when I got most of my bites. On a fast retrieve, it still tracks straight but the wobble gets tighter and the rattle is more noticeable.

One thing I like is that it doesn’t roll on its side much, even if you speed it up or give it a few jerks. Some cheap jointed lures flip over or behave like a spoon, which screams “fake” to fish. This one stays relatively stable. It’s not as smooth as some high‑end swimbaits I’ve used that cost three times more, but for a budget lure, the action is totally usable. You can also do a stop‑and‑go retrieve; when you pause, it sinks horizontally or with a slight nose‑down angle, which looks like a wounded baitfish.

If I had to nitpick, the detailing is more “good enough” than impressive. The fins are molded but not super sharp, and the patterns are fairly generic. But honestly, the fish don’t care about artistic details. They care about shape, vibration, and speed, and this lure checks those boxes well enough. Overall, the design is practical: it looks like a fish, it swims like a fish, and it’s straightforward to use even for someone who’s not into fine‑tuning lures all day.

The body is made from ABS plastic, which is standard for hard lures. It feels solid when you tap it, not thin or hollow like some really cheap stuff. The segments are thick enough that I’m not worried about them cracking on the first pike. The joints are metal, and they move smoothly out of the box, no stiffness or grinding. After a few trips, they still move the same, no obvious play or looseness developing so far.

The internal rattle is clearly there; you can hear the balls moving when you shake the lure. That’s a plus or minus depending on your water. In dirty or low‑visibility water, the extra noise can help fish find it. In very clear, heavily pressured water, I’ve had days where silent lures did better. With this Truscend, you don’t have the option to turn the noise off, obviously, so you just have to accept that it’s a rattling lure and use it where that makes sense.

Now, the hooks. They’re treble hooks, fairly sharp out of the box, and they do stick fish. I landed several perch and a couple of small pike without any bending or straightening. That said, compared to higher‑end trebles (Owner, VMC, etc.), they feel a bit thinner and not quite as sticky‑sharp. For smaller fish, they’re fine. If you’re targeting big pike or muskie regularly, I’d seriously consider swapping them out for stronger hooks, especially on the rear treble. The split rings are okay, but again, not premium.

In terms of build, nothing has broken yet: no cracked segments, no pulled‑out hardware, no broken hook eyes. The paint has a few scratches, which is normal when pike teeth are involved. For a lure that’s made in China and sold at this price, the materials are decent and practical, not top‑tier but not junk either. If you’re the type who likes to tweak gear, upgrading hooks and maybe split rings would turn these into very solid workhorses. If you’re a casual angler, you can run them stock and they’ll still do the job.

Durability is usually where cheap lures fall apart, so I paid attention to that. After a few weeks of on‑and‑off use, including a couple of pike and some perch, the body and joints are still intact. No cracks in the ABS, no joints seizing up, and no segments separating. I’ve bumped it off rocks and a concrete edge a few times, and apart from some light scuffing, it’s still fine. So structurally, it feels more solid than I expected.

The paint and finish do show some wear, especially around the head and near the hook attachment points. Pike teeth leave marks, that’s just how it is. On one of the lures, a bit of the topcoat has chipped near the nose after hitting a stone, but it’s cosmetic. The lure still swims the same. If you baby your gear, you’ll keep them looking nicer for longer, but if you’re like me and throw them around, expect them to look “used” pretty quickly. Functionally, though, they keep working.

The hooks have held up better than I thought. No complete bend‑outs, even on the two decent pike, but I did have one treble slightly opened after yanking it free from a snag. That’s not shocking; most stock trebles on budget lures aren’t designed for brutal abuse. A quick re‑bending with pliers fixed it, but it’s a reminder that if you fish snaggy spots or chase bigger predators, upgrading hooks is a smart move. The split rings haven’t failed so far.

Overall, I’d call the durability pretty solid for the price range. You’re not getting tank‑level indestructibility, but you’re also not dealing with lures that fall apart after two trips. If you accept some cosmetic damage and maybe swap hooks after a while, these can easily last you a season or more of regular weekend use. For casual family fishing or someone building a collection on a budget, that’s more than acceptable.

Performance is where these lures matter, and overall they do what they’re supposed to do: they swim straight, they move like a baitfish, and they get eaten. I’ve used them on a medium spinning combo with 0.12 braid and a fluorocarbon or wire leader depending on pike presence. On a straight retrieve, they start swimming as soon as you turn the handle, no need for a special trick. That makes them friendly for beginners; my nephew managed to get them running fine on his first cast.

In terms of depth, being a sinking lure, you can control where it runs by counting it down. Roughly, in still water, it sinks at around a foot per second on my setup. So if you want to fish mid‑water in 3–4 m depth, you just count to three or four and start reeling slowly. I’ve used it effectively in shallow 1.5 m water by starting the retrieve right away, and deeper spots by giving it more time to sink. It’s flexible enough to cover most of the water column, which is handy if you don’t want to change lures every five minutes.

As for bites, I’ve had several perch in the 20–30 cm range and two pike around 60–65 cm on this lure. Nothing huge, but enough to prove that fish will eat it. Most hits came on a slow, steady retrieve with a few pauses. On one session, I had follows from pike that turned away at the last second, which is normal with any lure. In slightly coloured water after rain, the rattle seemed to help; I got tapped a few times when other, more silent lures were ignored.

It’s not magic. There were also days when they stayed untouched and soft plastics or smaller crankbaits did better. But that’s fishing, not really the lure’s fault. In practice, I’d say these Truscend swimbaits are reliable all‑rounders: not the best in any one specific niche, but good enough in many situations. If you’re just starting to fish hard lures for pike or bass, they’re forgiving and easy to use. If you’re more experienced, they work fine as search baits when you want to cover water and see if anything is active.

The version I bought is the C1-12cm-17g, 3‑pack. So you’re getting three hard lures, all the same size, with treble hooks already mounted. They come in a simple plastic tray inside a cardboard sleeve. Nothing fancy, but you can see the colours clearly and check the joints and hooks right away. No extra accessories, no spare hooks, just the lures. Honestly, that’s fine at this price.

Each lure is a segmented swimbait made of ABS plastic, with metal joints between the body sections. The brand talks about “Noisy Turbulent Wiggling and Vibrating Actions” and a built‑in rattle. In practice, that just means it has a little chamber inside with rattling balls. When you shake it in your hand, you can definitely hear it. In the water, especially on a faster retrieve, you can feel a bit of vibration through the rod tip, but it’s not insane. It’s more like a regular rattlebait level of noise, not some crazy shaker.

The lure is labeled as sinking, and the 17 g weight feels about right for a medium spinning setup. On my 7–28 g rod, it casts comfortably without feeling too light or too heavy. You can easily reach the far bank of a narrow canal or hit decent distance on a small lake. They don’t come with any tuning instructions or depth chart, so you just have to figure it out by counting down and seeing how fast they sink in your local water.

The brand also claims it’s good for a long list of species: bass, perch, pike, walleye, trout, snook, salmon, etc. Realistically, at 12 cm, it’s mainly a pike / bass / big perch / walleye size in my area. I wouldn’t throw this for trout in tiny streams, it’s too big and heavy for that. But as a general predator lure for canals, lakes, and slower rivers, the format makes sense. So in terms of presentation, what you see on the Amazon page is pretty much what you get: three decent‑looking, medium‑sized jointed swimbaits, ready to tie on.