• Color absorption rate:
  60% of all light is absorbed at a 1 meter depth. By individual color, Red is fully absorbed at 1 meter; Yellow is fully absorbed at 10 meters; Green is fully absorbed at 50 meters and Blue is fully absorbed at 150 meters.
  
• Color absorption example:
  A red crab is about 30 meters down in the water. What is the crab color - brown/red/black/orange? The crab, which is normally brown-red, will appear nearly black. This is because water absorbs red light. Since little red light gets to the bottom of the ocean at that depth, there is little red light to reflect from the crab. When this little bit of red light is reflected, after a relatively short distance, all of the red is absorbed by the water. This is why a swimming pool appears a bluish-green; the red has been absorbed, leaving a cyan cast.

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & CRAFTSMANSHIP

....Now consider this the next time you are picking out a couple of colors down at your favorite tackle store / watering hole – take all that you know about hydrodynamic shape, the weight-mass issues of material, the effects of liquid plastic softener and hardeners, color absorption and color refraction, liquid plastic color pigments and glitter material composition, creating the right color effect without impacting the action effect, and also remember that the material for these baits is heated and poured from the top down and will sink into position…Now, how do you create a chartreuse tailed, orange bellied, clear red flake bodied, dark brown stripped back with gold flake glitter bait? My best guess is that this is the point where experience, knowledge and craftsmanship really come together. To this writer, it is truly an art form, and I will never complain about the price of plastics again!

ANGLER FEEDBACK

....About two years ago, father and son emerged from their prospective laboratories and reached out to a few local anglers, arming them with some base sizes and color schemes. They asked for feedback. Needless to say, the feedback came back fast and was very positive. With the body shape marrying well to the commonly used triangle leadhead, Pearl baits lended themselves well to upsizing and downsizing in head size without adverse effects.

....This gave the baits a broader use within their respective size ranges. For most anglers we spoke with, it was the 3-way action that really made an impression. The action was truly like no other; you could see the swimming action or ‘twist' as the bait snaked through the water; the side-to-side “wobble” had an almost ‘iron like' kick, which also reflected light on the brighter colored baits, and the “'thump” of the tail, which was something you could actually feel, much like the feel of a spinner bait or the wobble of a crank bait. The basic color configurations seemed to blend in with the surroundings, creating a very natural look.

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From the tree to the tray: Pearl Swimbaits, 100% handcrafted by the Stembridge family.

...PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

....The endless, sleepless nights and mountainous piles of swimbait experiments gone wrong was finally paying off. As of this writing, the Stembridge duo have 7 sizes of the shad style swimbaits; 3 sizes of a wall creature bait and 2 styles of soft iron (Dragon's or (Draggin) tongue), all that proudly wear the name PEARL. The numbered baits were not designated for the length, but more as a simple number to id them. The T2 bait comes alive on a 3/8 oz. head; the slightly bigger 3 will carry a 3/8 or 1/2; the newer 3.5, a unique bait, will carry a 3/4 ounce leadhead well and casts like a bullet. This compact bait sinks like a rock, lending itself well to not only reaching far off targets in the shallows, but skittish fish often holding in deeper water. It's also a light liner's dream. The 4, perhaps the most versatile bait, is capable of handling a 1/2 to 1 1/2 ounce leadhead. With a 3/4 ounce, this bait has to be seen to be believed! The 5 and 6 are the big guns in the line-up. Both pack a punch when rigged with 3/4 to 2 ounce heads on heavy wire hooks... hang on!
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....Performance Tackle in Los Alamitos, known for their progressive approach in fishing, carries a large selection of Pearl Swimbaits. The creatures have been crawling their way on to breakwaters and bedding bass all over So Cal. And as far as the soft irons, though not yet available at retailers, there seems to be a bit of a stir coming from the Pearl camp but no one's talking yet... stay tuned.

Proving Grounds: As the boat turns from San Clemente Island and heads home, Bill turns and smiles in reflection of the fantastic day he had testing some of his most recent Pearl creations.

Happy Fishing, SWBA