Truscend Shadtale Soft Lures Review: simple paddletails that just catch fish

I took the Truscend Shadtale soft lures (size B1-9cm-7g) out for a few sessions on a small river and a canal, mainly targeting perch and pike. I’m not sponsored, I just grabbed these because they’re cheap, well-rated, and I kept seeing them in the best-seller list. I already use a bunch of other soft swimbaits, so I was curious if these were just hype or actually worth throwing.

First thing: they catch fish. On my first outing with them, I had a perch on within ten minutes and a small pike later in the session. Nothing huge, but enough to see that the action is attractive and fish commit to them, not just little nibbles. I fished them mostly on a slow, steady retrieve with a few pauses, and the paddle tail keeps moving even when you crawl it in.

Where they stand out is that they’re pretty much idiot-proof. You don’t have to work them in a fancy way or think too hard about rigging. Tie on, cast, wind in slowly, and the tail does the work. For beginners or for a quick after-work session, that’s exactly what you want: something that just swims right out of the box.

They’re not perfect though. There are some small annoyances, like the size being a bit bigger than I expected for 9 cm, the plastic being soft enough to tear after a few fish, and the magnet/hook system sometimes catching weed. But overall, for the price and how easy they are to use, I’d say they’re pretty solid lures if you’re targeting perch, pike, or similar species in canals, rivers, or small lakes.

In terms of value for money, I’d say these Truscend Shadtale lures are good but not mind-blowing. You’re paying for six pre-rigged soft lures with decent hooks and a design that works straight out of the box. If you compare that to buying separate jig heads and soft bodies from more expensive brands, you usually end up paying more and doing more setup work. Here, you skip that hassle, which is nice if you’re new to fishing or just lazy about rigging (like me sometimes).

The downside is the durability: because the plastic isn’t the toughest, you’ll go through them faster than some higher-end soft baits. But given the price per lure, I can live with that. I’d rather have a lure that moves well and gets bit, even if it dies after a handful of fish, than a super tough one that swims like a stick. These sit in a reasonable middle ground: they’re not disposable after one fish, but they’re also not lifetime baits.

Where they shine in value is for beginners and casual anglers. If you’re putting together a small tackle box for family fishing or just starting out with predator fishing, one pack of these covers a lot of situations: perch, pike, maybe zander, in canals, rivers, and small lakes. No need to buy separate hooks, weights, or fancy stuff. Just a rod, reel, leader, and you’re good. That simplicity alone is worth something.

If you’re a more experienced angler with a box full of soft plastics and jig heads, these are still worth having as a quick, no-brainer option for when you don’t want to think too much about rigging. But you might be a bit more picky about color patterns and plastic toughness. For the average person fishing weekends or on holiday, though, the price-to-performance ratio is solid: they get the job done without costing a fortune.

The main thing with these Truscend Shadtale lures is the paddle tail design. The tail is pretty wide and flexible, and in practice it starts moving as soon as you turn the handle. Even on a slow retrieve, it gives a clear thumping action you can sometimes feel through the rod tip. I tried it both in clear and slightly stained water, and you can see the tail kicking and the body doing a small roll, which looks like a baitfish that’s not totally stable.

The body shape is a classic shad profile: chunky in the front with a slimmer tail section. There are small fins molded on the sides, and according to the description they’re meant to manage the rolling action so the hook stays in the right position. On the water, what I noticed is that the lure tracks straight and doesn’t spin, even on a faster retrieve. No line twist, no weird helicopter effect. That’s already a win compared to some cheap soft lures that start spinning as soon as you speed up.

The integrated hook and weight system is also part of the design. The BKK hook comes out of the top of the lure, and there’s a small magnet inside the body that helps keep the hook close to the back. In theory, this helps with weed resistance while still allowing good hook-ups when a fish bites. In practice, it’s reasonably weedless but not perfect. You can drag it through light grass and it’s fine, but in heavy weed or branch piles it still snags. For normal canal or river fishing, it’s acceptable.

Overall, the design is focused on simplicity: pre-rigged, stable swim, and a tail that moves without you having to do much. It’s not some fancy finesse bait where you need the perfect rod and retrieve to get it right. If you can cast and reel, you can make this thing swim properly. That’s why I’d say the design is well thought out for casual anglers and for people who just want something that moves naturally with minimal effort.

The body of the lure is made from a fairly soft plastic. When you squeeze it between your fingers, it’s flexible and bouncy, not stiff. That’s good for action, because the tail moves easily, but it also means durability is average. After a couple of fish, especially pike, you start to see teeth marks and small cuts. One of my lures got a tear near the nose after a snag and a hard pull, and it started sliding slightly on the hook. Still usable, but you can tell it won’t last forever.

The hooks are BKK high carbon steel, and they’re actually pretty sharp. Out of the box, the point is sticky enough that it catches on your skin with a light touch. I didn’t need to sharpen them, and hook-ups were solid: perch were pinned in the corner of the mouth, and the small pike I caught stayed on without drama. The hook gauge is not super thick, so I wouldn’t lock down the drag and horse a big pike out of heavy cover, but for normal canal and small river fishing it’s fine.

The internal weight and magnet system seems well integrated. I didn’t have any issues with the weight rattling or moving around. The magnet does its job of holding the hook close to the body, but it’s not so strong that it stops the hook from releasing on a strike. After a few sessions, the magnet still works and the hook doesn’t just flop around. For a relatively cheap soft lure, that’s a decent bit of engineering.

If I compare the materials to more expensive Japanese or European soft baits, you can feel the difference: those often have a tougher, more elastic plastic that survives more abuse. The Truscend plastic is a bit more basic. But considering the price and the fact you get six lures, I’d say the material quality is acceptable. You’re not buying something that will last a season per lure, you’re buying something that will catch multiple fish and then eventually need replacing. For most weekend anglers, that trade-off is fine.

Durability is where you have to be realistic with soft lures like this. The Truscend Shadtale bodies are made from a fairly soft plastic, which is good for action but not so great for long-term survival. After my sessions, one lure had visible teeth marks from pike and a small tear near the head. Another had a slice in the tail from perch teeth. They were still fishable, but you could tell that a few more fish or one bad snag would probably finish them off.

On the positive side, the hook and internal hardware seem robust. The BKK hook didn’t bend or dull noticeably after several fish and a couple of snag pull-outs. The internal weight stayed in place, and the magnet didn’t fall out or loosen. So the weak point is clearly the plastic body, not the metal parts. That’s pretty standard for this type of lure, especially at this price point.

I also had to yank one out of a snag pretty hard, and while the body got slightly deformed, it didn’t rip clean off. So they’re not made of paper, but you can’t expect them to last forever either. If you fish in areas with a lot of pike or sharp rocks, plan on losing or destroying a few over time. That’s part of soft lure fishing. At least you get six in the pack, so you have backups.

Compared to some premium soft plastics I’ve used, these don’t last as long, but those other brands also cost more per lure. Here, the balance is acceptable: each lure will probably survive a few fish and a couple of sessions if you’re careful, and then you swap it out. If you’re the type who wants a single lure to last a whole season, this isn’t it. If you’re okay treating them as consumables that catch fish and then retire, the durability is decent enough.

At 7 g and 9 cm, these lures sit in a nice middle ground for light to medium spinning setups. I used them on a 7–21 g rod with a 2500 reel and 0.10 braided line plus fluorocarbon leader. Casting distance is decent: on the canal I could easily reach the far bank, and into a light headwind they still flew straight. The internal weight helps keep the lure stable in the air, so it doesn’t tumble too much.

In terms of depth, on a slow retrieve they run somewhere around 0.8–1.5 m depending on how long you let them sink and how fast you reel. If you cast, count down a few seconds, and then start a medium retrieve, you can work them mid-water in 2–3 m depth pretty comfortably. For deeper water, you either have to slow down a lot or accept that you’re not scraping bottom. For shallow water under 1 m, you need to start reeling almost as soon as the lure lands to avoid digging into the bottom.

They handle different retrieves well. Slow and steady is their strong point – the tail works, the body rolls slightly, and you can almost switch off your brain. On a stop-and-go retrieve, they sink in a controlled way and don’t nose-dive like some jig heads. I did try some more aggressive jerks and speed bursts, and while they didn’t spin, the hook did sometimes catch a bit more weed when I ripped them through vegetation. So I’d say they’re more suited to clean or lightly weedy water than thick jungle.

One performance downside is that once a lure is damaged near the nose or belly, it can start to slide a bit on the hook or not track perfectly straight. You can fix it temporarily with a drop of super glue, but out of the box they’re clearly tuned to swim right, and damage throws that off. Overall, though, for normal canal, river, and small lake fishing, the performance is solid: easy to cast, easy to control depth, and they swim well without much learning curve.

The pack I bought is the B1-9cm-7g version, and in the box you get 6 pre-rigged soft lures. Each lure is already mounted with a BKK hook and the internal weight, so you don’t need to mess around with jig heads or screwing anything in. You literally take one out of the box, tie it on, and you’re fishing. For casual anglers or someone just starting, that’s a big plus.

The size is listed as 9 cm and 7 g, and that’s pretty accurate on the scale, but visually they feel slightly bigger than I expected – more like a decent snack for pike and bigger perch than a tiny finesse bait. I’d call them a medium-size swimbait, not a micro lure. If you usually fish small canals full of tiny perch, they might feel a bit chunky. For mixed fishing (perch, smaller pike, maybe zander), the size makes sense.

In terms of colors, the B1 pattern I got is fairly natural: two-tone injection with a kind of baitfish look. Nothing fancy, but it looks like real prey in the water. The finish is decent: you can see the eyes, some body details, and the plastic is clear enough that the internal weight and magnet system are slightly visible. It’s not high-end Japanese finesse level, but for the price it’s clean and consistent across the six lures.

One useful point: the fact it’s sold as a 6-pack means you’re not stressed if you snag one and lose it. I fished near branches and rocks and didn’t feel like I was risking a 15-euro hardbait every cast. For beginners, that matters a lot. The only downside at the presentation level is that there’s no real info in the box about recommended retrieve speeds or best setups – you kind of figure it out yourself. But honestly, tie it to a 0.20–0.25 mm fluorocarbon leader and you’re good to go.

Effectiveness-wise, these lures do the job. Over three short sessions (about 2–3 hours each) on a local canal and a small river, I had a decent number of bites. I landed several perch, the biggest around 30 cm, and two small pike. I also had a couple of missed hits where I felt a tap but didn’t connect, which is normal with soft lures. The key thing is that I got consistent interest whenever I fished them in spots where I know there are fish.

I mainly used a slow, steady retrieve with occasional pauses. On the pause, the lure sinks in a fairly horizontal way and the tail still gives a slight wiggle as it drops, which seems to trigger bites. A couple of perch hit right after I started reeling again. I also tried a faster retrieve and some small twitches with the rod tip, and the lure handled that too without spinning. In clear water, you can watch fish follow it, and the action does look like an easy meal.

Compared to other soft swimbaits I own, like simple shads on a jig head, I’d say these Truscend lures are at least as effective, maybe a bit better for beginners because they’re pre-rigged and swim well at low speed. With a normal jig head, you sometimes need to get the weight and retrieve speed right to avoid killing the action. Here, the work is already done. The only time they felt less effective was in very shallow water (under 1 m) because the 7 g weight makes them sink a bit too fast if you’re not careful.

So no, they’re not magic, you still need to cast where fish are and pay some attention to what you’re doing. But if you put them in front of perch, pike, or similar predators, they get eaten. For a cheap, widely available soft lure, that’s really what matters. They won’t suddenly triple your catch rate, but they’re reliable and simple, which is all I’m asking from this kind of bait.