Style H Spinnerbaits for Bass Fishing

A 'hidden head' style with much of the weight mass hidden under the skirt. It gives the appearance of a baitfish body beneath the skirt.

A Word on Thin Wire Arms. These have .032 super vibe wire arms for the ultimate in vibration. Super wire has up to 50% more vibration and is 30% stronger than regular wire.

Although you have the extra added advantage of Super Wire here, keep in mind that .032 is about as thin as you can go on spinnerbait wires for bass. Such thin wire will vibrate more, which may be what fish want some days. Yet that increased vibration also fatigues and weakens thin metal wire quicker.

Although .032 spinnerbait wire vibrates more, it tends to have a shorter life.

Thinner wire bends more easily, especially if you erroneously overmatch it with heavy tackle or hard use. If you don't use a lighter, softer rod and if you don't maintain a loose drag and delicate touch while playing and landing fish, thin wire spinnerbaits will not hold up like thicker wires. Despite these drawbacks, thin wire vibrates more and can attract more fish some days, according to some some anglers. Just exercise care and restraint while fishing thin wire spinnerbaits in order to prolong their useful life.

Premium heavy-duty 5/0

Tightly-Spaced Double Willow Blades. You may notice these blades seem spaced closer together than usual for double Willows. You may also notice this particular blade pairing seems to catch more fish spaced that way too. Please enjoy!

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Alewife. Front blade nickel. Back blade gold.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Chartreuse White Blend. Front blade nickel. Back blade gold.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Hendrix. Blades are 50/50 Split Gold/Nickel on both sides.

50/50 Split Gold/Nickel Blades. Half gold and half nickel on both sides. I am pretty confident that these 50/50's are the overall absolute best blade finish on the market. They really sparkle and attract fish in a way which other blade finishes can't.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Sexy Shad. Blades are 50/50 Split Gold/Nickel on both sides.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ White Bone. Blades are painted white pearl on one side. Unpainted nickel on other side. So you get the best of both white blades and flashy nickel on the same blade.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ White Pearl

Genuine Silver-Plated Blades. Blades are genuine silver-plated (not nickel) and lacquered.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ White Pearl

Blades are painted white with red scale on one side. White only on other side.

ima Skimmer Topwater Walking Bait for Bass Fishing

Model: ima Skimmer
Type: Floating/Walking
Weight: 7/16 oz (13g)
Length: 4-1/4" (110mm)
Factory Hooks: Two #4 Owner St-36

The new ima Skimmer is 4-1/2 inches long and weighs 7/16 oz with two sticky-sharp premium #4 Owner trebles.

Slim Shape Appeal: The ima Skimmer is unique among hard plastic topwater stickbaits in that the Skimmer has the slender body shape of a 5" soft plastic stickbait. This slim profile has proven to be one of the most appealing bass lure shapes ever. There's a whole lot to be said simply for this slender profile and silhouette, and the Skimmer is one of the only topwater hardbaits that has it.

The ima Skimmer is hard plastic, but it helps to think of it like a soft stickbait on steroids, one that casts like an arrow, and cruises the surface like an explosive missile.

It has a lively, light action. It knifes across the surface, dancing, skating and swimming strongly like a svelte Olympic swimmer in top condition. You may want to simply get a strong, rhythmic side-to-side swimming motion going, where the Skimmer uses its entire body length to swim, sculling across the top with authority.

The Skimmer's movement is a skating, dancing, wriggling thing. When done right, it practically comes alive, and that's an action to concentrate on making - the movement and motion of the Skimmer's slender swimming body versus the splash and confusion of traditional stickbaits.

It's the strong swimming movement, not the splashing around, that's key to the Skimmer's slim shape appeal.

How to Bring Out the Best Action: The Skimmer is thinner, its action is cleaner and crisper than bulkier baits. However, a lot of hand-to-eye coordination is always required with any member of this class of surface-walking lures. There's an art to pulling these puppets to life on the end of your string. As always, practice makes perfect.

The way to work the rod will vary a little depending on the angle you cast it relative to the wind and based on the surface condition (smooth, rippled, choppy and so on). You need to vary the rod movement under different conditions based on what your eye sees in terms of lure action. In terms of where to keep your eyes, watch the head and eyes of the Skimmer.

Tune out the surface disturbance it's making. Don't even look at that. Focus in on the bait's body movements, and you're going to use what you see it doing in order to coordinate and adjust your hand movements with the rod. There's a certain sweet spot with the Skimmer that you'll recognize when you see it. The side-to-side movement suddenly isn't mechanical any more. It becomes more of a gasp or a flop or a jump to each side, and there's a certain slo-mo 'hang time' that seems to occur that visually lasts longer than it really is. Difficult to describe in writing, but you'll recognize it when you see it on the water.

Wild Boiling Action: The tail-weighting is another key to the Skimmer's appeal. If you've seen mating dragonflies in early summer and the female dipping the tip of its tail depositing egg after egg under the surface, locked in synchronous flight with the male, the graceful tail action of the Skimmer is not unlike that.

Another way to think of the stir caused by the Skimmer's tail action is to compare it to one of those flat wood paint stirrer sticks they give you with a gallon of wall paint - the tail has the same stirring effect on the surface of the water.

A large part of the Skimmer's action is caused on the ending note of each zig or zag as the tail-weighted back end of the ima Skimmer dips and stirs the water causing a large boil to swell up behind it.

Every time that the Skimmer zigs or zags left or right, the final movement is the weighted tail stirs the surface into a widening boil, and the Skimmer slips out barely ahead of the boil, just like a desperate baitfish narrowly escaping a bass's lunge. Each wide and sudden boil stirs the surface in an instinctive and universal signal of a competitive feeding situation.

Competitive Feeding Signals Call Bass in From Afar: The Skimmer's action then becomes a non-stop series of ever-widening boils emanating behind it. It's like having a school of surface-feeding bass on the scene, all taking their best shot, boiling the surface behind the ima Skimmer's tail.

If there's ever anything that gets a non-committal bass to bite, it is other bass feeding in front of it - and that's the competitive feeding cue that the Skimmer's tail-stirring movement sends out to every bass within range of sensing the surface-feeding boils trailing out behind the Skimmer.

Getting the Hang of Up-and-Down Action: There's also what I call a 'delay hang' that can be gotten on a slow retrieve. Once you master the side-to-side movement of the Skimmer described above, then just delay so the tail hangs down in between each zig and zag. By delay, you never quite stop the action, but barely stall it long enough to get an up and down bounce (the weighted tail dips down, the nose tips up) in between each side sweep. So you get side-to-side flopping plus up-and-down bouncing with this slower speed tactic. Think of an incapacitated baitfish trying to flee forward, but instead falling back. It's another one that's hard to describe in writing, but you have the info now to practice it, and the fish will let you know (and you'll recognize it yourself) when you get the hang of this 'delay hang' tactic.

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ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Ghost Blue Back

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ American Shad

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Chartreuse Shad

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Ghost Minnow

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Smoking Ghost Shad

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Bluegill

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Wounded Albino

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Black Widow

ima Skimmer ~ Topwater ~ Golden Shiner

Shakey Jig Fishing
Part 1: As the Worm Turns (and Shakes)

New lures, new equipment and new bass-catching technologies are constantly being improved upon. Read any fishing magazine or catalog, watch any fishing show, visit any tackle shop or fishing web site, and we face a never-ending continuum of new offerings that manufacturers roll out in order to help us catch more and better bass.

Despite all the brain power, research, design, field testing, marketing and manufacturing prowess that the fishing industry packs into their latest and greatest bass-catching tools, the fact remains that bass themselves have never wavered in their partiality toward and preference for the lowly rubber worm. Better than anything else the fishing industry can concoct, the worm still reigns as king of all bass lures.

Why do bass love rubber worms so much? Why has the humble worm always been and always will be the number one bass lure? Unfortunately, it is a mystery for which we will never have an answer. In the ocean, it's plain to see that seaworms are plentiful and therefore regularly eaten by many saltwater species of fish. On dry land, we take it for granted that early birds get worms. But I have never seen or heard of too many worms that inhabit freshwater lakes, ponds and impoundments. You can read fishing report after report that state bass are feeding on shad, shiners, minnows, bluegill, perch, small panfish, crawfish, hellgrammites, dragonflies - you name it. But I have never read one fishing report that ever said bass are feasting on worms.

If you place one of the first rubber worms ever made side by side with one of the latest worms produced today, they'd practically appear identical. Although the rubber worm itself cannot be improved upon, new trends and new ways to use worms happen all the time. We can say Gary Yamamoto's Senko is a relatively new method of worming that became popular only within the past five years. Also, the dropshot method of drowning a worm was relatively unknown in North America except within the past decade. So news shapes of worms and ways to fish them do happen.

New ways to toss a bass a worm still occur today. Shaking jig worms is the latest trend to become popular. Top pros on the BASS and FLW tours have used shaking jig worms to win and place highly in prestigious tournaments starting just within the past few seasons and continuing into 2008. These top pros have brought shakey jig worms into the limelight across North America. The technique is still in its infancy in many regions, but effective. Most commonly, a long, slender straight-tailed finesse worm from four to six inches long is Texas-rigged on a round ball jig head. There's nothing extraordinary, except the worm is Texas-rigged on the jig head and the jig hook tends to be a little longer and larger than usual, approximately 4/0 in size.

In terms of action. sometimes the shaking jig worm may spiral as it falls on a slack line, and some anglers may shake it a few times as it falls. When it hits bottom, it does so head first. Depending on bottom composition, the worm may momentarily stand on its nose before keeling over on its side. The shaking jig worm's greatest merit is (as opposed to traditional exposed point jigs), it is snagless. Just deadstick it and let it lay there for a while, which is often when you get bit. Then shake it, stir it, hop it, swim it back slowly or do whatever works best for you when you worm.

Who knows why bass bite worms, but shakey jig worms has become the latest and most productive way for top pros to get bass to eat their worms. Keep your eye on this new trend, and see if shakey jig worms won't work for you too.

Interview with Southern Bass Pro Tom Mann Jr.

BASS and FLW pro Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Georgia started shaking jig worms like a lot of other people way back when, about twenty years back.

When the fishing got tough, you'd grab a light spinning rod, some little worms, a few little jig heads and jiggle them down the deep and shady sides of boat houses, docks and bridges for suspended fish.

The jigheads used were often just crappie jigs with a hook barely big enough to hold a bass, says Mann. We threaded the worms onto the hooks and used them with an exposed hook point.

You'd cast out, start shaking the worm down, but if fish weren't suspended in the open water column, you couldn't let it get all the way to bottom because the exposed jig hook would get hung up as soon as it touched something. With the exposed hook, you couldn't fish deep brush near a boat dock.

Tom Mann Jr. laughs and says, "Back then, we didn't have enough sense to turn it around," meaning to Texas rig a worm on a jig. You just weren't supposed to Texas rig a jig. It took an awful long time for us to break that preconceived notion.

About six years ago, estimates Mann, the worm did turn. When we turned the worm around and Texas rigged it on a jig, if you used it around a boat house that had deep brush, now you could cover from top to bottom in one technique. That's when jig worms really became popular across the Southeast.

Today whether in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee or Arkansas, you won't see a bass boat without a 6-8 lb test spinning rod and a little worm Texas-rigged on a jig now. It would be a rare thing not to see one tied on, says Mann.

The shakey jig worm is not a technique to use all the time. It's basically:

• A clear water technique
• A deep water technique (say anything over 15 feet)
• At its very best under tough conditions
• Works best when you really need to make a small limit (five keeper bass)
• It's not a big fish bait, but Tom Mann Jr. has caught a lot of big fish on it

With the Texas-rigged shakey jig worm, you have the jig nose digging on bottom. Meanwhile the worm tail stands up off bottom. There are a lot of different kinds of jig heads, but Mann favors fellow bass pro Fred Bland's Taco Jig. Made by Bush Hog Lures, there is an elongated 2/0 Eagle Claw hook in a Taco jig. The elongated hook shank lifts the worm tail up higher. When you shake it, there's more leverage to be gotten, more of a fulcrum effect to raise the tail. The hook simply stands the worm up more. Another reason why Mann loves it so much is it has a narrow gap hook that will fit a skinny finesse worm so nice. You don't want a wide gap hook for this technique, says Mann.

As far as how to shake it, Mann shakes the worm as it swings down toward bottom, and just keeps shaking when it gets on bottom. The only time Tom Mann Jr. may not shake it is probably for smallmouth, when he'll drag it. For spotted bass and largemouth, Mann just constantly shakes and hops it. But for Lake Erie and Great Lakes smallmouth, he will pretty much drag it.

It will hang up a bit more than a normal Texas-rigged worm with a bullet sinker. When a bullet weight rolls over something, it doesn't make much difference which way it rolls. But with a jig head, if it flops over sideways (which it will) is when it gets stuck.

As for exactly what worm Mann uses, the 5" Yamamoto Kut-Tail (7L series) seems best of all for him, especially on the 2/0 size hook in a Taco Jig.

Green pumpkin (color 297) is what Mann throws 99.9% of the time. That is "the" basic color in clear water. If there is a bass down there that is going to eat a worm, green pumpkin will work says Tom. It works anywhere from Mann's home lake, Lanier, in Georgia all the way to California.

Mann also says a Texas-rigged shakey jig worm is a great comeback lure, meaning that when a fish swipes at or follows another lure, Mann will switch rods and throw the Texas-rigged jig worm back at the fish on the next cast, often catching it.

Interview with Western Bass Pro John Murray

Legendary Western bass pro John Murray has also been shaking jig worms a whole lot on the BASS and FLW Pro Tours in recent years.

Murray favors the 5" Slim Senko (9M series) in watermelon red pepper (color 208). That's pretty much the only bait that Murray puts on a shakey jig head.

Buckeye Lure's Spot Remover jig head works real good for Murray, and the 208 Slim Senko is a good bait to put on it. The Slim Senko tail has so much more action than many of the other finesse worms out there. The key to Murray is "moving it without moving it," meaning when he shakes it on bottom, the Slim Senko tail looks like a crawdad sticking its claws up.

If you watch bass in a tank approach a crawdad, the craw lifts its claws up real slow, which is what Murray tries to imitate when shaking his jig worm. Murray does not give it a lot of movement. He uses 6 or 8 lb test Yamamoto Sugoi line with a spinning rod. He's not wanting a real hard shake. He just moves the tip, not the whole rod. Murray sums it up as pretty much a finesse movement that he is trying to get from the bait.

Murray like long casts, and he like to move a shaking jig worm up hill. Most of all, Murray is attentive to try to keep the jig in a position that keeps the tail up. Going uphill, Murray maximizes the advantages of a flat-bottomed stand-up style jig head like the Spot Remover. This jig type going uphill keeps the waving tail up versus a rounded ball head jig which will roll over more often. The best areas for going uphill, for keeping constant bottom contact are areas with gravel. Pea gravel type banks don't have a snagging problem to go up them.

Sometimes you can't move the jig uphill. For instance, to try to go uphill through real big chunk rock is just going to get you snagged says Murray. In such cases, you are forced to move downhill, but going downhill gives you less of the constant bottom contact and less ability to keep the jig (and therefore tail) from falling over.

Murray feels that many of his fellow Western anglers have not tried Texas-rigged shakey jig worms yet - but they should says John. A lot of anglers out West currently dropshot. It's still new to many anglers to dropshot, and it's what Westerners currently go to when a finesse worm situation is required. However, Murray warns of occasions he has witnessed (such as on Beaver Lake. Arkansas) when a dropshot rig wouldn't work, but the very same worm on a shakey jig would catch many keepers. It's the constant bottom contact Murray feels that makes the shakey jig worm work so well.

There is no doubt that shaking jig worms has gained a strong resurgence recently. Murray smiles wisely when he says it is a hot technique for top bass pros right now, but like all fishing trends, will fade in time.

Shakey Jig Fishing
Part 2: Enter the Shakey Jig

Innovation runs rampant in bass fishing, especially in lures. That's not to say lures are the only things being innovated. Rods, reels, line, tackle bags, boats, motors, trailers, electronics and tow rigs constantly get better for us. Yet it is only the lure that the fish has an interest in. The fish has no interest whatsoever in the rest of the stuff. All necessary? Surely, maybe. Yet the fish considers the lure alone, and rewards the angler who presents it in the manner that is most fitting for the fish to bite it.

Only problem is, if you present good lures too many times too effectively, it's possible that bass build up resistance to them. Whether that's true or not, we suspect it.

That's why we jump on what's new, the next hot lure. There's a feeling that bass require this, that old lures lose effectiveness. We say why new lures suddenly work so swell is that fish haven’t seen them before, so they haven't built up resistance to them.

Therefore we crave innovation in fishing lures. Lately, the pendulum of bass fishing innovation is swinging eastward and to the south. They've got the Biosonix bass boom box thing blaring out of Louisiana. The Rad Lures Chatterbait thumps out of South Carolina. The whole new red hook craze - a megatrend - stemmed out of Alabama. It's not like they were the first to put red lipstick on a bass lure. Look at vintage freshwater lures (eBay's a good place for that), and you'll see half red, half white lures were very popular back in the early days of bassdom.

With or without red hooks, another new trend that works is the shakey jig, also spawned out of the southeast. The genius of it is to Texas rig a finesse worm on a light jig head, thereby making it snag less. As simple as that sounds, it was not done much before.

Today however, whether in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas or states thereabout, you won't see a savvy bass boater without a 6-8 lb test spinning rod and a little worm Texas-rigged on a jig now. It's the Southeast angler's answer - and upgrade - to Western light line finesse tactics like the dropshot.

The shakey jig is not yet used as much in the North, Central or Western USA but anglers everywhere are increasingly catching on. Do give it a try. It's fun and refreshing to use new methods that work swell.

The concept has been around forever, or at least since the late seventies when Charlie Brewer from Tennessee crafted a slim four-inch straight-tailed worm and jig head for it. He taught anglers to Texas rig the worm on his jig and do nothing but reel real slow and steady with no angler-imparted action. Brewer held a notion the exaggerated wiggling motion of most bass baits was not natural. Skinny minnows, which Brewer felt his small slim worm looked like, propel themselves in straight lines with hardly noticeable tail flicks most of the time. That's a condensed version of Charlie Brewer's Slider Fishing philosophy right there.

Fast forward to today, and the latest word on finesse worms is also a method of Texas-rigging them on shakey jig heads to be snagless. Unlike Brewer, most modern day worm wizards vehemently shake and shiver their jig worms now. Some anglers almost constantly impart action.

That's nice, but it doesn't need to be that way. Even though the very name - shakey jig - seems to suggest something, you can never give two shakes, just let it drop and deadstick it. Drag it, drown it, hop, crawl or swim it.

Think of it this way. A watchful guard dog can't help but bark at strangers. It won't matter whether those strangers are shaking or not. Likewise a bass can hardly help but bite a worm whether it's shaken or not even stirred. It's what dogs and bass do best. So don't worry if your shaking jig worm doesn't shake.

Another thing you may want to try with shakey jigs is to break out of the mindset that it's a light tackle, little finesse worm technique.

Even all y'all in the southeast where the shakey jig trend originated, you do not need to go light tackle and little worms on shakey jigs. Give it a fresh try with some big beefy worms.

Leave behind the 1/8 ounce jigs, 6 pound test and 4" worms. You can use 10 or 12 pound test, 1/4 to 3/8 oz jig heads with hooks manly enough to handle bulky 6 to 7 inch worms. Use as big a worm as you would otherwise Texas-rig with a bullet sinker, except on a shakey jig.

Odds are that you'll get more bites on finesse worms, but a bigger five fish limit on big worms. This is something several top Western pros have learned the last few years they've fished the national pro tour stops in the Southeast - that the bigger average bass in the Southeast ate bigger worms than they used to finesse out West.

In closing, do you really need shakey jigs? How did you and your bass get along all these years without them? And will you continue to be effective against bass if you don't start using them? Shakey jigs are the latest innovation, and bass haven't seen them before. That makes them necessary. If you don't think so, why do so many top pros use shakey jigs now versus a couple years ago when no pros used them? The answer is, new lures and new tactics are necessary for success. So be innovative. It's not the shakey jig itself these fish desire, it's the innovation.

Factoring Shakey Jigs into Every Day

Many of the pros who have are using shakey jigs today are not always one-dimensional with them. What I mean is, there are other pros who almost exclusively flip jigs or fish topwaters or deep-diving crankbaits or have a major skill they live and die with. When the fish want what these pros are famous for, they do very well indeed. But fish are fickle, and all the fish in a lake may somehow collectively decide they're just not going to hit jigs or topwater much any given day or weekend.

Then what do you do? Your strength reverts to a weakness at those times.

True, some pros have thrown shakey jig worms from first cast to last, and won major events that way, throwing shakey jig worms exclusively.

Yet, most pros who have done well with finesse worms and shakey jigs use them more as an extra added option rather than a way of life. Kevin Van Dam is a power fisherman. According to most accounts, he's well-known for spinnerbaits and jerkbaits for instance. Van Dam has added finesse worm fishing with shakey jigs to his game plan in recent years. Is is a coincidence that Van Dam's been in the winner's circle more often since then?

Ish Monroe is another stellar example of a top pro who I've seen use finesse worms as a prudent option to supplement his game plan. A few years back, in the US Open (the biggest pro tournament held west of the Mississippi), I fished with Ish. He'd go down a stretch of shoreline with the trolling motor fairly high. If the bank was shady or rippled by a breeze, he'd plow a buzzbait. In the sunny, smooth-surfaced sections, he'd dance a Reaction Innovation's Vixen (topwater similar to a Heddon Super Spook or Lucky Craft Sammy type). Most fish he raised this way would just slap at his bait. A few got stuck, but most only nipped the heels of Monroe's lures as if to let him know they were there. That was perfectly fine with him. You see, Monroe was keeping notes and writing down names. After he thoroughly worked through a spot, he'd fire up the big motor to head for the next place. But before leaving, Ish circled back and dropped a finesse worm where he felt worthwhile fish had risen to his surface presentations. Overall, this tacked five minutes onto each spot, and resulted in a few more bites and a few more decent fish landed per spot. It was a high percentage ploy. Like sampling everything on every tray going down the entire buffet line, and then going back for seconds to cherry pick what you now know to be the very best stuff.

So that's why I say that, first, pros using finesse worms lately aren't one-dimensional but versatile about fitting it into their day. Second, they tend to fit it into every day. We often read things like "a reaction bite is on" or conversely, "fish prefer finesse under bluebird skies." However, how I've observed pros using finesse worms recently, is that they aren't stereotyping a day as a "reaction" or "finesse" day, but they are blending finesse worms in as a productive part of any day under any conditions.

Fishing the Stand-Up Shakey Jig

Flat-Faced Design

The shakey jig you see here is a flat-faced design. The design incorporates a flat-bottomed bean shape with rounded-off edges. You can say it's a football shape, however the end tips of the jig head are rounded off more than usual for a football jig. Let's say it's more of a bean shape and flattened on the bottom, so it stands up practically straight. With the end tips rounded off, the end tips of the jig are less protrusive for easily moving back into the mouth when a bass gulps or engulfs it.

Made with premium:

These shakey jigs are available in 3/16th (4/0), 1/4 oz (5/0), 3/8th (5/0) and 1/2 oz (6/0) sizes.

Stand Up Action

The hook shank "stands up" in order to hold the worm practically straight up off the bottom at times. Overall, the worm falls toward bottom nose-down and stands on the bottom with the tail up - at times - at least momentarily. The worm is not always in this upright position. That's often a misconception about shakey jig worms, that they stand worms up on bottom. However, the wide flat head here facilitates the worm being in that upright posture more often than many other shakey jig shapes out there.

Obviously they can stand up, but the overall action due to the flat face plate is a lot more versatile than just standing. The jig only stands at rest, and even then, only momentarily. When the line is pulled, the "pull point" of the line tie eye lifts the head up so it crawls or glides across the bottom with a tight line. When you stop pulling the line, it noses down and stands up again. Most people refer to this tail-up standing posture as a craw in a defensive stance. Every time you stop pulling the line, it noses down on bottom and stands up again. However, this is also exactly how fish feed, by nosing down over a meal on the bottom. Even bass feed this way, by putting their noses down, their tails high up, in order to pluck a meal off the bottom. So the tight-line, sliding, gliding and then sudden stand-up action and nosing down when the line is relaxed, that's exactly how fish feed on the bottom - and if there's one thing that infuriates bass, it is to see a smaller critter brazenly feeding in front of them. It causes a pecking order instinct reaction from the bass to peck or strike the jig that's "feeding" out of turn.

Three Point Perch

Although the flat face plate lets this shakey jig stand flat-footed on bottom (even if just momentarily), it will eventually keel over as all shakey jigs will keel over. However, due to the oblong sideways shape, this shakey jig  head resists rolling over. It won't roll over and put the worm in the dirt as easily as does a ball jig or other jig shape. It will often perch in a three point stance with the hook upright, and since the wire clip is elevated above the jig head, it keeps the worm pointing upward at a 30 degree angle. Since the entire worm is essentially elevated or raised above the jig head, the worm should not lay on bottom, but - this is key - the worm will be raised slightly, elevated above bottom. The worm won't touch dirt, making it more visible, more like a hovering critter hunkered down close to, but not dragging its belly in the dirt. The sideways oblong jig head will be in the dirt, and the shank of the hook will be in the dirt - but the worm will be elevated slightly above the dirt, with the worm tail pointing up at about a 30 degree angle.

Even when they tip over, they perch in a three point stance which tends to keep the hook upright. The three points are the two tips of the sideways oblong head and the back end of the hook shank. The jig won't always keep in this position, and it will roll over on rugged, uneven bottom - but it rolls on its side less than other jig shapes. Most other shakey jig shapes cannot maintain this kind of three point stance that keeps the worm pointing upward and out of the dirt.

Levitating Act

So the worm's head is raised above the jig head for starters since the worm head is screwed in above the jig head. And the worm tail is raised (by the embedded hook point) above the worm head on a 30 degree angle, even with a non-floating worm. This is something a lot of other shakey jigs can't do - this worm-elevating feat.  The oblong head tends to take a three point stance (the two tips of the head and the back of the hook shank equals the three perch points). That three point stance keeps the worm elevated above the bottom even when the worm has fallen down and is not standing up on the flat jig face. The three-point stance keeps the worm elevated above the jig head and pointed upward at about a 30 degree angle. It is almost like raising the succulent worm up to offer it to a bass! Most other shakey jigs will roll on the side and lay the worm and the hook flat on bottom in the mud and muck.

This shakey jig will often remain with the hook upright, and since the worm is held levitated above the jig, it keeps the worm pointing upward, raised above the muck where it's visible and looks natural.

Free-Swinging Corkscrew Keeper Clip

This shakey jig has no molded-in keeper collar. A wire corkscrew coil is clipped on the eye of an extra long shank wide gap Mustad hook. It has an Opti-Angle Ultra Point, extra long shank, extra wide round bend. It is a medium diameter wire that's perfect for making solid hooksets on 6, 8 and 10 pound test. It penetrates easily on gear in that range, and it has ample strength to land big fish played properly on gear in that 6 to 10 pound test range. The 3/16th has a 4/0. The 1/4 a 5/0. The 3/8th and 1/2 oz both have 6/0 hook sizes.

The Swinging Tree Hammock

The worm is never solidly and immovably fixed to the jig - ever. It is as if the worm is cradled in a free-swinging tree hammock. The worm is not permanently fixed to the jig - it is suspended in between the wire coil and the embedded hook point. This feature sets this shakey jig apart from other jigs that affix the worm head immovably to a permanently molded-in coil, or that affix the worm head using an immovable keeper collar on the hook shank.

Since it is not affixed to the jig head, the worm remains as flexible and unfettered and independent as possible on the shakey jig.

Mid-Water Gliding Action

The flat face enhances gliding action and causes the jig head to react more and impart more action to the attached worm due to increased water pressure pushing against the wide surface area of the flat face as it glides forward. This increased pressure occurs on a slack line fall, a semi-slack line fall or on a tight-line glide as the jig simply pendulum swings toward the pull of the fishing line (even water drag against a a slack line pendulums a jig) and the combined force of gravity until the jig encounters a mid-water obstruction or reaches bottom - or gets hit by a bass!

This increased water pressure against the flat jig face also occurs on the retrieve as the line is reeled in, pulling the jig in with the fishing line, creating a built-in shake as described in the next paragraph.

Built-In Shake

What's nice about this shakey jig is it can do the shaking for you. You don't have to shake it! What could be easier? The wide-lobed flat face of this jig is remindful in one sense of the flat metal plate at the front of an Arbogast Jitterbug. If you've ever seen the Jitterbug, you know that metal plate (which looks like the flat front of this shakey jig) makes a Jitterbug wiggle and shake back and forth. Now, the shakey jigs here have nowhere near the vigorous side-to-side thrashing of a surface-crawling Jitterbug, but the wide flat front of this shakey jig does have the same sort of effect (but less pronounced) on a finesse worm.

The shake starts in the head and ripples through the worm body, causing the tail to vibrate and shake as the worm falls, is lifted or retrieved. It causes a finesse worm to shake, shudder, wiggle and woggle unpredictably. The action changes constantly. The action is never the same twice. Sometimes it is just a tail shiver or shudder and next moment it's almost an S-shaped eel-like wriggle. This unpredictable, non-repetitive action is highly attractive to fish. It is more life-like than the repetitive mechanical movement most lures make.

Lifting Action

The angled face plate also causes lift, and that's a very good thing. Constant rising off bottom and settling back to bottom are what small fish, crawdads and other bottom creatures do constantly. It's their major mode of movement. Most do not just drag their carcasses across the bottom. The lifting and falling glide of this flat football jig mimics the most common rise-and-fall movements of all bottom creatures.

Slamming Action.

As this flat-faced jig lifts off bottom, it does not lift too far and it will pendulum-swing toward the pull of the fishing line. So it swings forward and slams the flat face plate head-on into any hard objects that are raised slightly higher than the surrounding bottom. This sudden full frontal impact shock - or "slamming" action is an incredible strike trigger.

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A Few Words on Worms

Long, slender worms in the 5 to 6 inch range seem to shake the best with the 1/4 and 3/8 oz size shakey jig heads. Smaller 4 inch worms can be rigged on the 3/16 oz size. The 3/16 oz size is better matched to 6 to 8 pound test and a slightly more limber rod. The 1/4 oz size is suitable for a range of 6 to 10 pound test. The 3/8 oz size fits best with 8, 10 and even 12 pound test.

Different brands of worms act differently and it is well worth it to experiment to see the different shakes, shimmies and squiggles that different brands, sizes and styles of worms will make on this Shakey Jig head. You should try your favorites to see how they perform.

• One particular worm that works well is Gary Yamamoto's 5" Slim Senko (9M model). The 9M Senko has a more fluid S-shaped motion on this Shakey Jig. When you hop and pop it across the bottom, it almost looks like a live worm squirming in the water. Very natural and strike-provoking!
   
• A second great worm for the 1/4 and 3/8 oz size shakey jig is Yamamoto's 5-3/4" Kut Tail Worm (7C model). The 7C Kut Tail has more of a tight quiver and tail ripple as it free falls, is lifted or hopped.
   
• A third worm is Yamamoto's 5" Kut Tail Worm (7L model). The 7L is long, slender and shakes it's tail as it falls on a slack line, is lifted and dropped.
   
• The 3/16 oz size shakey jig head will work with the above-mentioned worms which are 5 inches or longer. The 3/16 oz head will give these worms a slower fall than the 1/4 to 3/8 oz head. Importantly, the 3/16 oz is the preferred size for smaller 4" worms such as Yamamoto's 4" Slim Senko (9J model) or 4" Kut Tail Worm (7-series) and other worms in the 4" size category using 6 to 8 pound test line.
   
• When other anglers are catching bass on dropshot rigs, that's one prime time to use the shakey jig. Simply use the same worm as on a dropshot, but don't be surprised if you catch more fish with the same worm Texas-rigged on this shakey jig.
   
• Now here's a good tip and one of the lesser-known secrets of shakey jig. It is considered to be a finesse worm, small, slender worm and light tackle technique. Guys take that as a given, and even top pros don't step up out of the small worm light tackle mindset with a shakey jig. Indeed, some of the top tournaments in the country have been won using light tackle (6-8 pound test), light shakey jigs and little worms. But it doesn't need to be that way. Do the math. If you use smaller worms, odds are you'll catch smaller bass. If you use bigger worms, odds are in your favor that bigger bass will bite them. It's that simple. The 1/4 and 3/8 oz shakey jigs have a stout enough hook to handle thicker 6 to 7 inch plus worms on 10 to 12 pound test. Worms like Yamamoto's meaty 6-1/2"  Kut Tail (7X model) are deadly this way. Not all shakey jigs on the market have the hook to handle this, but the 3/8 and 1/4 oz shakey jigs here do.

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Importance of the Initial Fall

Most brands of finesse worms will shake and squiggle to some degree on the initial fall toward bottom. Your worm will often get belted before it even reaches bottom. When a worm does hit bottom, it is often an abrupt stop, and the tail of the worm still wants to keep going even after the head has stopped. This makes the worm act as if it's been stunned by the bottom impact. Keep in mind, since this is a broad bean shape head, it will keep your worm perched atop the bottom and out of snags that would otherwise engulf and bury ball head or other jig head shapes. Most often, the jig here will stand the worm up initially after its been stunned by the impact, and then some additional body movement tends to happen as the worm folds over in half or slowly lays down. Between the squiggling initial fall, the sudden stunned convulsion as it hits the bottom, standing up and then keeling over after a momentary pause, there's not much else you need to do here at times except set the hook and reel in the fish!

If there is no hit during the initial fall, additional lifts and drops and hops all cause finesse worms to shake and shudder and swim unpredictably, never the same way twice as they are raised a few feet up and then allowed to fall back to bottom. Even on a steady retrieve, finesse worms tend to squirm and swim when retrieved at a moderate speed on this shakey jig. On the retrieve, while the worm is swimming back to you, you can throw in jerks and pops and pauses just like you would retrieve a hard plastic lipped jerkbait, and this jig head will cause the finesse worm to act like a jerkbait does. It is the unpredictable and non-repetitive pattern of shakes and shimmies that causes this jig head to be truly great, and to fool fish into thinking the worm is alive. It does look alive. It's not a mechanical repetitive movement like a wide-wobbling crankbait. You can perhaps say it is more like a tight-swimming hard plastic lipped jerkbait, except this shakey jig starts and stops, at first a tight shudder, then suddenly more of a wiggle, and never quite the same way twice. This is exactly the unpredictable start-and-stop, fast burst then slow glide series of moves a live baitfish would make.

The description above, that is the best way to fish this shakey jig since it does the shaking for you on the initial fall and when you lift and drop it. Keep in mind, you want to maximize or facilitate this jigs ability to do the shaking for you. So how you let it drop, lift and fall or retrieve should all be aimed at getting the shakey jig to shake the worm itself. There's a little knack to getting the jig to activate that built-in shake, but with a little practice, you'll learn how to do it. Additionally, you can also use any of the tactics used with any other shakey jigs. You can shake the rod as it falls. Shake it as it's on the bottom. Drag it without shaking. You can do absolutely nothing as it falls and deadstick it on bottom for what seems like forever. You can cast out, engage the reel, and let it pendulum arc back to you through the water column. Especially to pendulum down roughly following a sloping bottom structure is an easy, surprisingly effective, yet little-used technique. We already describe swimming it back to you, throwing in an occasional rod flick, or simply swim it straight and steady. What you want is for it to squiggle unpredictably as it swims.

Overall, the biggest misconception about shakey jigs is you need to shake them. You do not. You could never shake a shakey jig even once, and still catch as many or more fish as those who shiver the spit out of them. It's the same thing often said how to fish a dropshot rig, to shake it. Yet I've never shaken a dropshot yet, and catch as many or more fish than those who shake it. Yes, shaking a shakey jig (or dropshot) will catch fish, even win tournaments, but don't feel obligated to shake it. Be versatile.

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About the Wire Corkscrew Keeper Clip

A separate wire corkscrew keeper coil is used to clip to the hook eye. You screw the worm head on, and then the super sharp point of the extra long shank hook can be buried and hidden Texas-style within the worm. Now you're ready! There's really no reason to ever unclip the coil, but if you do, spread the clip loop open slightly with your thumbnail to remove it. Squeeze the clip loop closed again with your thumbnail once you clip it on again. It should never really come off (squeeze it shut) and it does not interfere with the fishing line or knot. Best of all, a worm cannot easily be pulled off the wire corkscrew keeper coil by a fish, and the coil does not tear a worm up as much as other barbed keeper types or jig head collars. It truly is a great approach!

The wire corkscrew keeper coil also helps the worm shake by itself. There is not much of the worm body that is fixed or "frozen" by this set-up. The corkscrew coil goes into the head only about 1/4" is all, yet it holds the worm more securely than most anything else. It even holds better than super glue! Only 1/4" of the worm is fixed, and then the small section where the hook point is buried in the worm. The entire rest of the worm body is free to squirm, not threaded on the jig hook, and since the coil itself is loosely clipped on but not fixed immovable on the jig, the worm is really held in free-floating suspension, so it can squirm and shake more than on any other type of shaking or spot jig worm head.

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Shaking with Other Soft Plastic Shapes

Of course, the shakey jig's not just limited to worms. You can Texas rig craws, tubes, grubs, hula grubs, lizards or most any other soft baits on this Shakey Jig. See for yourself if this isn't one of the best 6 to 10 pound test range jig head applications you've ever used - bar none. And best of all, it's a jig tactic but the bait is Texas rigged to be weedless and snagless.

No matter what soft bait shape you use, the results wil often be "flat" out too much fun!

Here are a few rigging suggestions for other soft plastic shapes beside worms:

Shakey jig rigged with legless reversed Gary Yamamoto Hula Grub. A good way to get twice as many fish from a single hula grub is to first use it on a football jig for instance with baitcasting gear, until bass tear the legs off. Then turn it around and put it on a spinning rod with a shakey jig as shown above.

Tex-Skin Rig. Another modified bait. This time the Yamamoto Medium Craw with an inch pinched off the body. Hook is Tex-skin rigged, meaning the point is tucked barely beneath the bait's skin. The point won't pick up weeds but it will pull out from under the plastic skin easily when a fish nips it.

Tex-Exposed Rigging. Kimami Swimming Senko Tex-exposed on shakey jig. The point here is not tucked back under the skin, but lays close on top for relatively open water.

Open Hook Rigging. Yamamoto 4" S-series Senko on shakey jig. In relatively snag-free areas, rig with hook exposed as shown.

Shakey Jig Fishing
Part 4: Shakey Swim Jigs

Shakey Swim Jigs ~ 1/8 oz

We're witnessing an unprecedented shift of pro bass fishing techniques the past few seasons (say from 2005 onward).

On the top pro tours in the USA, the legacy and domination of top pro wins with staunch staples like crankbaits, Texas-rigged worms, flipping jigs and spinnerbaits isn't over, but it's not the only way anymore.

Lures, tactics and even locations being fished by winning pros are often new and unfamiliar at pro levels. A few examples include sbig rubber jigs, saltwater-sized pencil poppers, waking plastic-lipped floating and jointed minnows, plus humongous soft swimbaits to name a few unprecedented approaches we've seen pros embrace and win with lately. Some of these lures and techniques are regional practices not widely-used outside their areas, such as big rubber jigs in Georgia, big trout swimbaits in California or wiggle diggles (jointed Red Fins) in Missouri for example.

What all these regional favorites have in common is that these techniques are being used (many for the first time) by top pro anglers to win in top competitions.

The last several seasons, top pros have won and place highly with such new tactics. New, that is, at top pro levels. With the heavy media coverage of top pros on TV and in fishing magazines, these new and often regional tactics become communicated and disseminated to local and recreational anglers everywhere, causing major shifts in lure usage nationwide.

That's not to say every bass angler has gone and gotten a saltwater pencil popper, but do you have a Chatterbait due to top tournament successes reported with it in early 2006? Do you have a new interest in fishing deep with football jigs or shakey jigs since top pros have repeatedly won with such jig types by fishing deeper locations the past few seasons? Like many bass anglers, you probably have or will incorporate shakey jigs and football jigs into your repertoire, based on top pro's recent successes with such lures.

The shakey jig in particular was virtually unheard of across much of the country - until top pro anglers started to use them several seasons ago. Since then, due to top pros continuing to demonstrate success with shakey jigs, it is an incredibly popular tactic across the USA today.

Shakey jigs are associated with long, slender finesse worms and with 6, 8 or 10 pound test finesse spinning gear. It's hard to find a winning pro today who isn't using finesse spinning gear as part of his winning methods today. Consider however, such gear was relatively unused by top pros until a few seasons ago. You rarely if ever saw light spinnign rods used as much as they are now.

Beginning at the Bottom

Shakey jigs are not originally geared toward shallow water or the bank. One accepted way to use a shakey jig is to let it hit bottom in moderately deep water, say in the 10 to 30 foot range. Many anglers believe the shakey jig design will stand a finesse worm upright on its nose (which actually isn't the case much of the time). As the name implies, many anglers then shake the line to make the worm quiver and shake on the bottom. Keep in mind however, it's often the initial fall and touchdown - or it is a lackluster pause in the shaking process, when most bites occur.

On left and right: Two shakey jigs for bottom contact. In center: Two shakey swim jigs.

A New Concept - The Shakey Swim Jig

The Shakey Swim Jig can be used and does work swell in a bottom contact approach - but that isn't its special purpose. What the Shakey Swim Jig is designed to do, as the name implies, is swimming and shaking it, keeping it moving above bottom. Swimming and shaking - not bottom-hugging - is really what this Shakey Swim Jig is all about. It's a new concept.  It's not a bottom contact shakey jig like all the others out there.

The shakey swim jig works best with long, slender finesse worms and with 6, 8 or 10 pound test finesse spinning gear.

Swimming soft baits is what the shakey swim jig is all about.

The shakey swim jig is optimized for swimming soft baits like Gary Yamamoto's Swimming Senko, single tail grubs or any other brand or model of soft plastic bait used with a swimming technique. It will work swell with straight-tail worms, small craw worms or any other soft baits that can be rigged on it. It is not designed to bounce bottom, although it can do that perfectly. It's true purpose is to swim soft baits anywhere from just below the surface to just above the bottom, and all mid-level depths in between:

• Sub-Surface

Use near the surface, and just keep it coming at you in open water. It can be swam through weeds emerging close to the surface - or swam through deeper weed beds growing closer to the bottom.

• Mid-Strolling

Means to swim through suspended bass at any mid depth in the water column (called "mid-strolling" in Japan). This is a term coined and tactic practiced in Japan whereby a Japanese angler casts out and will softly shake the rod tip ever-so-gently little by little and have the lure swim back to the angler anywhere from 3 to 15 feet deep in the middle range of the water column - slowly. The retrieve speed can be from zero (just letting the lure pendulum fall back toward you with no reeling) to whatever reeling pace is needed to maintain a target depth level. That is, you should reel slower to maintain a 15 foot depth level, often requiring momentary pauses in the retrieve. Brief pauses in the reeling not only help the jig counter its ever-present tendency to ride up higher in the water, but the brief pauses are also high percentage strike moments. During the pause, the jig will reverse its tendency to rise and it will instead want to settle lower. When reeling is resumed, the jig will again want to ride up again. The overall up-down-up effect of a brief pause is a natural strike trigger.

So you will need to reel slower (often requiring pauses) to maintain a deeper strolling level. You will need to reel a little quicker (with the rod tip up) to maintain a higher (say a five foot) strolling level through the water column.

What anglers in Japan do during the retrieve, they shake it maybe 75% of the time. The other 25% should be equally-spaced, short intervals when it falls or glides slowly. Think of three slow turns of the reel (75%) while lightly shaking, then one slower, steady turn (25%) without shaking.

The mid-strolling technique excels under tough conditions, or whenever bass are suspended at mid-levels in the water column.

• Swimming Deep and Slow

Swimming soft baits deep and slow close to the bottom can be done with the same tactics as mid-strolling, except touching bottom occasionally to make sure you are in the strike zone. There are many times that bass wil not rise much above bottom, and the painstakingly slow method of swimming jigs just above bottom often gets them when mid-depth or surface presentations fail.

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Mustad 4/0 Ultra Point Hook

A 4/0 Mustad Ultra Point round bend hook is used in both the 1/8 and 3/16 sizes of these shakey swim jigs. This strong medium wire hook matches well with 6, 8, 10 or up to 12 lb test line. The hook has an extremely low angle eye positioned to shed weeds and debris as the jig swims through cover. This jig and hook work best with finesse-sized soft baits and finesse fishing rods/reels/lines in the 6, 8, 10 class range, up to 12 pound test. On such gear, the jig can handle something up to the size of a 5" Senko or 5" Swimming Senko with ease.

The hook point can be rigged exposed for fishing open water, tex-exposed for light to medium cover, and Texas rigged for dense cover as shown here:

Don't screw the bait down too tightly too close to the jig head. There are more than enough turns on the screw wire so that just a few turns will attach a soft bait more securely than most any other means of attachment including glue. So don't screw the bait on too tightly. In fact, try to "suspend" the bait relatively set back from the jig head on the wire coil.

One common theory with jigs is to incorporate the jig head as a part of the bait presentation. An example is a jig head shaped like a fish face with eyes, realistically etch gills, etched fins, etc. With the swimming shakey jig here, it is not part of the bait presentation. Don't try to incorporate it as the head of the worm or bait. It is only a dot of ballast strategically suspended on the hook wire in order to aid casting distance, accuracy and most importantly, to govern proper swimming balance of a soft swimming bait. With some colors, such as the red-painted jigs, they also add a small spot of color flash, but it would be wrong to think of the jig head as the worm or bait head. It's just a strategic blob of balance weight put there to help make soft swimming baits swim at their very best. You'll see this in action when you start swimming a few baits with this jig.

This jig is so nicely balanced that even an ordinary Senko (can one call the Senko ordinary?) on the shakey swim jig will swagger and sway, squirm and squiggle like a live earthworm that's fallen into the water. Just keep a semi-tight line fall, and the Senko will vibrate both its tips, undulate its body in an oscillating S movement as it falls on a semi-tight line. A Senko makes somewhat the same famous shimmy and shake on the swimming shakey jig as when a Senko is fished weightless. It take's a little study and practice to perfect this shimmying fall with the swimming shakey jig, but it is worthwhile to master it.

With the jig of course, it's a faster fall and gets deeper than a weightless Senko, yet has the very same tip movement and body vibration. The jig head lets you fish a Senko faster and deeper than possible weightless, without any loss of squirm or squiggle as it falls on a semi-tight line. Once it reaches bottom, wait a spell and then start a series of slow lifts followed by pauses. The lifts will raise the Senko above bottom, attracting attention. On the pauses (with a semi-tight line) the Senko will wriggle and squirm like alive as it glides forward and toward the bottom again. Repeat the lifts and pauses is all you need to do. It's too simple and devastating in its effectiveness. There's no better way I know to fish a weighted Texas-rigged Senko.

Shakey Jig Fishing
Part 5: Going Big with Shakey Jigs

Within the past few fishing seasons (since 2006), we have watched the top BASS and FLW pros on TV in the process of learning to go deeper and heavier to tap into the last remaining unpressured quality-size bass residing deep on offshore ledges, humps and sunken rockpiles. With the increasing popularity of bass fishing overall and local tournament fishing in particular, these deep offshore bass are the last untapped goldmine of big bass, and heavier jigs like these are the kind of ticket that pros are using now to tap into them. That's not to say you won't catch big bass with smaller or lighter weight offerings, you will, but the fact remains that pros are going to heavier weight jigs and bigger, longer worms up to ten inches long in order to win major tournaments in recent years.

Therefore, this is a larger, heavier size shakey jig than normally seen. It's a 1/2 oz shakey jig with 6/0 hook

These shakey jigs are available in 3/16th (4/0), 1/4 oz (5/0) and 3/8th (5/0) sizes. Now, this is the latest and largest 1/2 oz size with a 6/0 hook.

This 1/2 oz (6/0) size handles bigger, beefier, longer worms (7" to 10" worms) that appeal to better-than-average size bass that tend to not be interested in smaller finesse worms. You've seen the top BASS and FLW pros on TV using these bigger, beefier, longer type worms for kicker bass during the post-spawn this spring. It's almost an in-water cull tactic to appeal to these bigger bass that are spawned out. They're not making the effort to whack every little minnow that saunters by, but they will do what it takes to get a bigger meal.

Truly, it's not just post-spawn either, but all year, the truth is big worms and big shakey jigs like this tend to attract big fish. On the other hand, finesse worms and finesse-sized shakey jigs tend to attract smaller fish.

Customer Ray Gifford Shakey Jigs an Eight Pounder.

Congratulations to customer Ray Gifford who gave this fine bass the shakes! Ray writes: "The fish pictured here is an 8 pounder. I was using one of your 1/2 oz flat shakey jigs, green pumpkin with red hook at Roosevelt Lake near Phoenix, Arizona. Love those jigs as they always fool the larger fish for me. Honestly, those flat shakey jigs have caught me better fish on San Carlos and Roosevelt. I just don't take the camera with me on tournaments as a jinx precaution. If I did I would have more photos of 6's and 7's on your jig. My partner has been upset with me more than I can remember because I spank him with this jig with regularity. My partner and I have a 2 day championship coming up in October so I am sure your shakey jig will be relied on there." - Ray Gifford, a satisfied customer from Arizona.

 1/2 oz Shakey Jigs ~Black

1/2 oz Shakey Jigs ~ Green Pumpkin

Shakey Jig Fishing
Part 6: Power Fishing with Shakey Jigs

We've made it possible to power fish with shakey jigs using the heaviest rod. reels and line possible including up to 65 lb test braided line. As heavy braided line continues to become more popular with anglers and as deeper-dwelling big bass are increasingly targeted by anglers, it's only natural sense to offer a power fishing version of a shakey jig head that can hold up to the biggest bass on the heaviest bass tackle. Here it is.

The power fishing shakey jig is available in a 1/2 oz size with a 6/0 Gamakatsu heavy duty hook that's suited for heavy rods and up to 65 lb braided line is fine. It includes a wire corkscrew clip-on keeper coil. Simply clip the coil to the eye of the hook and screw the head of the bait onto it.

This is a flipping strength hook. The heavy nature of the hook requires heavy or extra heavy rod, reel and line - at least 16-20 lb test mono or fluoro (at a minimum), and up to as heavy as 50 to 65 lb test braid.

Yes, you can use finesse worms with this power shakey jig - and fish finesse worms on this jig with heavy tackle. Or you can use a little beefier models of worms and soft baits as shown below:

Pay attention to how you insert the hook into the bait. It is not inserted at the same angle used when rigging an offset shank worm hook. With a shakey jig and wire clip, the hook point is inserted on more of a horizontal angle through the bait's body. Be aware of this difference as to how the hook lies within the worm, and more importantly, how the strike and hookset needs to unsheath the point and pin a bass.

4 Shakey Power Jigs ~ 1/2 oz ~ Black

The hook may not necessarily appear powerful in the photos but it is. The photos appear deceptive in that this 6/0 Gamakatsu is suited for the heaviest bass possible on heavy tackle.

4 Shakey Power Jigs ~ 1/2 oz ~ Green Pumpkin

Cavitron Buzzbaits for Bass Fishing

Alongside the custom-made buzzbaits in my store, I am proud to also offer you Cavitron buzzbaits made by my friend Bobby Uhrig (he's more like a brother).

The Cavitron was already a great buzzbait back about five years ago when Bobby first acquired the Cavitron company from Bassmaster Elite pro, Lee Bailey Jr. Since taking ownership, Bobby has made improvements - the red hooks, the anodized (not painted blades). Real key was Bobby remodeled the 'Stealth' head to plane better - and he went to the .040 wire for more vibration. You always hear about vibration being important on spinnerbait wire, but wire vibration never comes up with buzzbaits. Most buzzbaits have stiff .051 wire. Well, Bobby recognized that wire vibration was just as important for buzzbaits as spinnerbaits, and switched to a heavy duty yet higher vibe .040 wire for the Cavitron. Most other buzzbaits don't have the high-vibe wire like the Cavitron. Actually, it's not any one thing, but the best ideas of both Lee Bailey and Bobby - it's the total package that makes the Cavitron the best out there.

The Cavitron has premium components and features:

• anodized (not painted) blade
• four hole punched blade for bubbling 'fountain' effect
• set-back, long shank, oversized, red Gamakatsu hook
• dropped-down, oxbow wire bend for more solid strikes
• strong .040 diameter wire enhances vibration (most other buzzbaits use less vibrant .051 wire)
• the streamlined, signature Cavitron keeled, fast-planing 'Stealth' head snakes through cover with great deflection

As I say, it's not any one feature that makes the Cavitron great. It's the 'total Cavitron package' and attention to every last detail that makes the Cavitron so deserving of its reputation as the best mass-produced buzzbait on the market.

To see a video of Bobby Uhrig and the Cavitron in action, click on the graphic below (requires FlashPlayer to run):

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1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse White/Red Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse/Red Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Red Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ White/Red Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Gold Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ White/Gold Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Black Blade

1/4oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Ghost Minnow/Gold Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse/Gold Blade

1/4 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse White/Gold Blade

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3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse/Gold Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Ghost Minnow/Gold Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Ghost Minnow/Red Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ White/Gold Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Gold Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Black Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse White/Red Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ White/Red Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Black/Red Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse/Red Blade

3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait ~ Chartreuse White/Gold Blade

Mustad UL Max Monofilament Fishing Line

Mustad UL Max is one of the world's strongest and thinnest monofilament lines.

Strong, smooth and limp. Abrasion-resistant.

• Spinning Gear: Spinning reel applications for bass mainly fall within the range of 6, 8, or 10 lb test, and Mustad UL Max (6, 8, 10) is ideal for use on a spinning reel - for any bass fishing tactic on spinning tackle.
   
• Baitcasting Tackle: Mustad UL Max in 8, 10, 12, 14 lb test is equally suited for baitcasting tackle whenever a strong, smooth, limp, manageable line is required for crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater lures, spinnerbaits and other baitcasting tactics.

Comparison Chart:

Mustad UL Max	Test		Diameter		Length
	lb.	kg	in.	mm	yds	meters
330 yd Low-Viz Green	8 lb	3.6	.010"	0.25	330	300
330 yd Low-Viz Green	10 lb	4.5	.011"	0.28	330	300
330 yd Low-Viz Green	12 lb	5.4	.012"	0.30	330	300
110 yd Clear	12 lb	5.4	.012"	0.30	110	100
110 yd Clear	14 lb	6.3	.013"	0.33	110	100

Color of Low-Vis Green is very pale, smoky, translucent green.

Mustad UL Max Fishing Line ~ 8 lb test ~ 330 yds Low-Vis Green

Mustad UL Max Fishing Line ~ 10 lb test ~ 330 yds Low-Vis Green

Mustad UL Max Fishing Line ~ 12 lb test ~ 330 yds Low-Vis Green

Clear color of UL Max line.

Mustad UL Max Fishing Line ~ 12 lb test ~110 yds Clear

Mustad UL Max Fishing Line ~ 14 lb test ~ 110 yds Clear

A Guide to Mustad Single Hooks for Bass Fishing

Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
Ultra Point 38104BLN	Big Mouth Flippin' Hook, Offset Shank, Extra Wide Bend, Extra Strong	2/0 to 6/0	Black Nickel
Ultra Point 38105BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, V-Shaped Offset Shank, Heavy Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel
Ultra Point 38106BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, V-Shaped Offset Shank, Light Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel
Ultra Point 91768UB14	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 1/4 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel
Ultra Point 91768UB38	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 3/8 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel
Ultra Point 10546BLN	Drop Shot Hook, Wide Gap, Turned Up-Eye	2, 4	Black Nickel
Ultra Point W37754R	Weedless Wacky Worm Hook, Wire Guard	1/0 to 3/0	Red
Ultra Point 91707NWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Nickel
Ultra Point 91707RWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Red

Hard baits such as crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwaters and spoons use treble hooks.

Jigs, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits use special styles of single hooks pre-molded into these baits.

For soft baits, bass anglers need to use a variety of single hooks to rig soft baits in different ways. Whether the day calls for flipping/pitching or casting soft baits weightless, on Texas or Carolina rigs, big swimbaits, dropshot, weedless wacky rigging or spinnerbaits, these are the Mustad single hooks to serve those purposes.

1. Flipping and Pitching: The 38104BLN Big Mouth hook is designed for close-in flipping and pitching soft baits with heavy tackle in thick cover. Mustad recommends this hook for heavy line, including braided line. The 38104BLN is designed to let you make the best hooksets when flipping and pitching. What makes it so good is the soft bait will move down the neck of the 38104BLN, but only when a fish grabs hold, and that moves the bait out of the way, leaving the partly bared hook in prime position for a solid hookset. It's the ultimate flipping and pitching hook for solid hooksets with soft baits.
    
2. Casting with Heavy Tackle: The 38105BLN is a heavy wire hook designed for fishermen to cast soft baits some distance or with harder force. The sharp Z-shaped bend will keep soft baits securely in place for a proper presentation even with weightless baits cast hard and far. With the 38105BLN, the bait will come through tree branches, limbs, brush or thick weeds with the Z-bend holding the soft plastic bait more securely in place. When you are pulling through thick cover, you can be more confident that the bait won't get pushed down the shank of the hook as much. This allows you to continue fishing the bait all the way back to the boat, and you'll enjoy more casts and more fishing time with the bait presented properly thanks to this Z-bend hook. Try the 38105BLN with any soft bait that is hard to keep up on the hook bend, and you'll see the difference.
    
3. Casting with Spinning or Light Tackle: The 38106BLN is identical to the 38105BLN in every way, except it has a light wire diameter, making it better for ease of hooksets with spinning gear or lighter baitcasting tackle.
    
   
   In comparison, 38104BLN (top) for effortless hooksets while flipping/pitching thick cover. 38105BLN (center) for casting with heavy tackle 38106BLN (bottom) for casting with light tackle or spinning gear.
    
4. Swimbaits: Mustad's Power Lock Plus is the Cadillac of all big swimbait hooks. The moveable weight on the 91768UB14 (1/4 oz) and 91768UB38 (3/8 oz) increases swimbait action and vibration. Best of all, you can move the weight to anywhere on the shank to fine-tune a bait's balance - and it will stay there. It is the only one that is adjustable. Plus it has the plastic gripper attached to the hook eye, which makes rigging straight and easy with hollow or solid swimbaits.
    
   
   The adjustable-position weight, the plastic gripper and the hook itself make Power Lock Plus the Cadillac of big swimbait hooks.
    
5. Dropshot:  The 10546BLN has all the features - the turned up eye, the angled wide gap and the UltraPoint sharpness so necessary to finesse fish in deep water with a dropshot rig. The #2 hook is the day-in/day-out size for most baits. Many experts favor the smaller #4 size for a more delicate or natural presentation with the thinnest or lightest of dropshot baits.
    
6. Wacky Rigging: The weedless W37754R with its wireguard opens up a whole new world of wacky rigging in thick cover - trees, brush and other cover where big bass spend a lot of their time. This is a heavy hook and can be used with heavy tackle.
    
   
   Hand-bending the wire far out to the sides is how I've always done best with these.
    
7. Spinnerbait Trailer Hooks: Last but not least on our list of single hooks is Kevin Van Dam's 91707NWS (nickel) and 91707RWS (red). You usually will catch more fish with a trailer hook than without one, and the 2/0 is the size most often used by KVD.

Those are my choices of Mustad single hooks for different situations. If you are also interested in Mustad treble hooks, click here to read my interview with:

• Kevin Van Dam on Mustad Treble Hooks for Bass Fishing and
• My Guide to Mustad Replacement Treble Hooks

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Mustad #38104BLN ~ Big Mouth Flippin' Wide Gap Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 38104BLN	Big Mouth Flippin' Hook, Offset Shank, Extra Wide Bend, Extra Strong	2/0 to 6/0	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 38105BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Heavy Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 38106BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Light Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel

5 Mustad Big Mouth Flippin' Hook 38104BLN ~ Size 2/0

5 Mustad Big Mouth Flippin' Hook 38104BLN ~ Size 3/0

5 Mustad Big Mouth Flippin' Hook 38104BLN ~ Size 4/0

5 Mustad Big Mouth Flippin' Hook 38104BLN ~ Size 5/0

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Mustad #38105BLN ~ UltraLock Heavy Wide Gap Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 38104BLN	Big Mouth Flippin' Hook, Offset Shank, Extra Wide Bend, Extra Strong	2/0 to 6/0	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 38105BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Heavy Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 38106BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Light Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Heavy 38105BLN ~ Size 2/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Heavy 38105BLN ~ Size 3/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Heavy 38105BLN ~ Size 4/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Heavy 38105BLN ~ Size 5/0

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Mustad #38106BLN ~ UltraLock Light Wide Gap Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 38104BLN	Big Mouth Flippin' Hook, Offset Shank, Extra Wide Bend, Extra Strong	2/0 to 6/0	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 38105BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Heavy Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 38106BLN	Ultra Lock Hook, Z-Shaped Offset Shank, Light Wire, Extra Wide Bend	2/0 to 5/0	Black Nickel

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Light 38106BLN ~ Size 2/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Light 38106BLN ~ Size 3/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Light 38106BLN ~ Size 4/0

5 Mustad Ultra Lock Light 38106BLN ~ Size 5/0

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Mustad 91768UB14 & 91768UB38 ~ Power Lock Plus Moveable Weight

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 91768UB14	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 1/4 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 91768UB38	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 3/8 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB14 ~ Size 6/0 1/4 oz

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB14 ~ Size 7/0 1/4 oz

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB14 ~ Size 8/0 1/4 oz

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 91768UB14	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 1/4 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 91768UB38	Power Lock Plus w/Bait Gripper, 3/8 oz Moveable Weight	6/0 to 9/0	Black Nickel

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB38 ~ Size 6/0 3/8 oz

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB38 ~ Size 7/0 3/8 oz

3 Mustad Power Lock Plus Weighted Hooks 91768UB38 ~ Size 8/0 3/8 oz

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Mustad 10546BLN ~ Dropshot Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 10546BLN	Drop Shot Hook, Wide Gap, Turned Up-Eye	2, 4	Black Nickel

6 Mustad Dropshot Hook 10546BLN ~ Size #2

6 Mustad Dropshot Hook 10546BLN ~ Size #4

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Mustad W37754R ~ Weedless Wacky Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point W37754R	Weedless Wacky Worm Hook, Wire Guard	1/0 to 3/0	Red

5 Mustad Weedless Wacky Hooks W37754R ~ Size 1/0 Red

5 Mustad Weedless Wacky Hooks W37754R ~ Size 2/0 Red

4 Mustad Weedless Wacky Hooks W37754R ~ Size 3/0 Red

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Mustad 91707NWS & 91707RWS ~ KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 91707NWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Nickel
	Ultra Point 91707RWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Red

5 Mustad KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hooks 91707NWS ~ Size 2/0

This Item	Model #	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 91707NWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 91707RWS	KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hook, Large Ring, Hook Stopper	2/0	Red

5 Mustad KVD Spinnerbait Trailer Hooks 91707RWS ~ Size 2/0 Red

New Lucky Craft Crankbait ~ Slim Shad D-9 Deep-Diver

Model: Slim Shad D-9
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 7/16 oz (12g)
Length: 2-3/4" (70mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: #2 Front, #4 Tail, VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 9 feet

The Slim Shad is one of two Lucky Craft models that work equally as well used as a jerkbait and a crankbait. (The Bevy Shad is the second model.)

Another key feature of the Slim Shad is its castability. The bait’s center of gravity (weighted by tungsten) facilitatesh long casting distances. It has a large tungsten ball on an internal raceway. The ball moves to the tail for long distance casting. The ball rolls down the raceway and drops in front of the belly hook hanger during the retrieve.

Lucky Craft pro Skeet Reese is one of the first anglers to have tried the Slim Shad D-9 and he has a video on youtube.com about it:

 
Lucky Craft Slim Shad D-9 ~ Deep-Diving Crankbait ~ Aurora Black

Lucky Craft Slim Shad D-9 ~ Deep-Diving Crankbait ~ Ghost Minnow

Lucky Craft Slim Shad D9 ~ Crankbait ~ Chartreuse Shad

A Guide to Mustad Replacement Treble Hooks

It's easy to understand the various Mustad replacement treble hooks to use for bass fishing by dividing them into four main groups, based on hook strength and weight:

1. Light: The 36102BLN, 36102R, 102RW and 102RWCH are relatively lighter hooks. Whenever you use lighter rods, reels and line in the 6 to 8 pound test range, these hooks make a great match. Also, they may be the best choice to preserve the action of lures that have delicate balances. For instance, some jerkbaits and a few topwater lure actions may be negatively affected by going too heavy with hook weights. Crankbaits and lipless usually tend to be less-affected by heavier hooks, but there are exceptions to every rule.
     
   In any case, whenever a heavier hook appears to dampen or slow down the lively action of a lure, you may want to consider these relatively lighter 36102BLN, 36102R, 102R hooks if necessary to maintain a lure's best action, keeping in mind these hooks are on the relatively lighter side.
    
2. Medium: Mustad Triple Grip trebles are the best replacement hook choice overall, especially in the 8-12 pound test gear range.

   Triple Grip models include 36243BR, 36246BR, 36246R, 36233BLN, 233BLNW and 233BLNWCH.

   The reason why so many Triple Grips are available is mainly to get three different shank lengths among the Triple Grips. That is valuable because it lets you 'mix and match' the desired size (2, 4, 6, etc.) with varying shank lengths so that the hooks will not tangle or 'marry' each other. As a rule of thumb, use the longest shank lengths (even mixing them) that will not tangle: 

   1. Short shank: 36233BLN, 233BLNW,  233BLNWCH
   2. 1X short shank: 36243BR
   3. 2X short shank: 36246BR, 36246R
       
3. Heavy: The 1X-strong Elite Series 36300 treble gets the nod when heavy tackle or big fish are the quarry. When using heavy hooks like these, keep in mind that the wherewithal of the lure itself, the lure's hook hangers and split rings must also be up to the task.
    
4. Extra Heavy: The 3X-strong Elite Series 36329 is the strongest hook choice for the biggest bass with the heaviest tackle.

It's really that simple! All you need to do is:

• Match the hook strength to the strength of the rod, reel, line, lure and size of the fish you intend to catch,
• Opt for the largest size/weight hooks (2, 4, 6, etc) that will not deleteriously affect the lure action, and
• That will not tangle or 'marry' each other.

For more information on how best to use Mustad replacement treble hooks, click here to read my interview with:

• Kevin Van Dam on Mustad Treble Hooks for Bass Fishing

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Mustad 36102BLN ~ Round Bend

This Item	Round Bend Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 36102BLN	Round Bend Treble, Short Shank	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 36102R	Round Bend Treble, Short Shank	2, 4, 6	Red
	Ultra Point 102RW	Round Bend (36102R), Short Shank, White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Red
	Ultra Point 102RWCH	Round Bend (36102R), Short Shank, White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102BLN ~ #2

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102BLN ~ #4

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102BLN ~ #6

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Mustad 36102R ~ Round Bend, Red

This Item	Round Bend Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36102BLN	Round Bend Treble, Short Shank	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 36102R	Round Bend Treble, Short Shank	2, 4, 6	Red
	Ultra Point 102RW	Round Bend (36102R), Short Shank, White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Red
	Ultra Point 102RWCH	Round Bend (36102R), Short Shank, White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102R ~ #2 Red

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102R ~ #4 Red

Mustad Round Bend Treble Hook 36102R ~ #6 Red

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Mustad 36233BLN ~ Triple Grip

This Item	Triple Grip Models	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36233BLN ~ #2

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36233BLN ~ #4

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36233BLN ~ #6

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Mustad 36243BR ~ Triple Grip, 1X Short

This Item	Triple Grip Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36243BR ~ #2

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36243BR ~ #4

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36243BR ~ #6

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Mustad 36246BR ~ Triple Grip, 2X Short

This Item	Triple Grip Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
>►>►>	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36246BR ~ #4

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hooks 36246BR ~ #6

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Mustad 36246R ~ Triple Grip, 2X Short, Red

This Item	Triple Grip Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
>►>►>	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 36246R ~ #2 Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 36246R ~ #4 Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 36246R ~ #6 Red

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Mustad 233BLNW ~ Triple Grip, Feathered

This Item	Triple Grip Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNW ~ #2 White

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNW ~ #4 White

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNW ~ #6 White

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Mustad 233BLNWCH ~ Triple Grip, Feathered

This Item	Triple Grip Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36233BLN	Triple Grip Treble, Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 233BLNW	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 233BLNWCH	Triple Grip Treble (36233BLN), Hand-Tied White/Chartreuse Feathers	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Classic 36243BR	Triple Grip Treble, 1X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246BR	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	4, 6	Bronze
	Classic 36246R	Triple Grip Treble, 2X Short Shank, Wide Bend	2, 4, 6	Red

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNWCH ~ #2 White Chartreuse

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNWCH ~ #4 White Chartreuse

Mustad Triple Grip Treble Hook 233BLNWCH ~ #6 White Chartreuse

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Mustad 36300BLN ~ Elite Series, 1X Strong

This Item	Elite Series Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
>►>►>	Ultra Point 36300BLN	Elite Series Treble, X-Strong, Short Shank, Extra Sharp	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
	Ultra Point 36329BLN	Elite Series Treble, 3X Strong, Extra Sharp	2, 4	Black Nickel

Mustad Elite Treble Hook 36300BLN ~ #2

Mustad Elite Treble Hook 36300BLN ~ #4

Mustad Elite Treble Hook 36300BLN ~ #6

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Mustad 36329BLN ~ Elite Series, 3X Strong

This Item	Elite Series Models:	Description	Avail. Sizes	Finish
	Ultra Point 36300BLN	Elite Series Treble, X-Strong, Short Shank, Extra Sharp	2, 4, 6	Black Nickel
>►>►>	Ultra Point 36329BLN	Elite Series Treble, 3X Strong, Extra Sharp	2, 4	Black Nickel

Mustad Elite Treble Hook 36329BLN ~ #2

Mustad Elite Treble Hook 36329BLN ~ #4

Kevin Van Dam on Treble Hooks for Bass Fishing

RUSS: Hi, Kevin. Everybody wants to know what Mustad treble hooks you've been doing so well with lately. I know there are a couple of new Mustad models you've been using as well as some old reliables. There are many questions I have to ask you on this topic, Kevin.

First, let us try just to briefly identify what are the 'tools you use' meaning the different Mustad treble hook models you use now. Could you quickly touch on what it is you like or what's the unique advantage that each hook model holds for you? We don't need to get too detailed now, because many of the later questions will touch back upon these same hook models. Just hone in on and quickly identify which hook models you use in order to get our discussion started today, Kevin.

Standard Round Bend Trebles

RUSS: First, there's the traditional model #36102 Ultra Point round bend series that comes in: 1) black nickel, 2) red finish and 3) red with feathered tails.

KEVIN: I use a lot of different hooks. My main criteria for selecting one hook over another is the size of the line, type of bait and type of cover. When I use the #36102 is if fish are in open water, if I am using lighter line or with a smaller crankbait, a jerkbait or even topwaters where the weight of the hook may throw off the balance of the bait. I use the model #36102 in those cases. It is a strong but light weight hook.

I also use the #36102 in the feathered version (along with the Triple Grip feathered hooks). I use feathers not only on topwater lures but use jerkbaits with feathers too. Again, I match the treble to the lure, the technique and to the cover. I want the best hook for each situation.

L to R: Round bend trebles #36102BLN, #36102R, #102RWCH

Feather Trebles

KEVIN: Mustad's feathered trebles are the best on the market. A few years ago when we identified the need to have feathered trebles in the Mustad product line, I said to them, "Hey, this is what we have to have," and Jeff Pierce at Mustad listened. He's a serious flytyer. He knew just the right grade of chicken feathers, the way they needed to be laid on the hook and tied down. They're crafted with extra long feathers, so supple, and they're laid on the hook just perfect! No other feather treble comes close.

I mainly use white feathers, however the chartreuse/white feathers are just wicked for smallmouth. Before Mustad offered the chartreuse/white feathers, I would use chartreuse-colored dye to spray part (or occasionally all) of the white feathers with chartreuse dye, but now that feathered trebles come tied in chartreuse/white, I don't have to spray them myself.

Triple Grip Trebles

RUSS: There are four models of Triple Grip trebles for freshwater. First, there is the premium #36233 Ultra Point Triple Grip (1X-Short) series that comes in both black nickel and the feathered model you mentioned.

Then there are the Classic Triple Grips that come in three more models: the full-length #36242 in bronze and bright nickel finish; the #36243 1X-short in bronze and nickel; and the #36246 2X-short in bronze and red finish.

KEVIN: I make as much use as possible of the black nickel Ultra Point Triple Grip #36233BLN. It is currently the best bass treble hook on the planet.

The one other Classic Triple Grip treble I use a lot is the 2X-short model #36246, especially on lipless baits such as Strike King's Red Eye Shad. I can fit two larger size hooks on the Red Eye Shad without the hooks tangling - two jumbo #2's in these 2-extra short shank Triple Grips. I used this set-up to win the Bassmaster Elite on Lake Toho, Florida in March, 2008.

L to R: Triple Grip trebles #36233BLN, #233BLNW, #36246BR .

Elite Series Trebles

RUSS: One of the relatively new trebles is the Elite Series Ultra Point #36300BLN Treble, 1X-Strong, Short Shank, Extra Sharp.

KEVIN: The great thing about it is it's a strong hook and I can use heavier line with it. It's ideal for shallow cranks around laydowns, docks, heavy cover. I can use oversized hooks - larger hook sizes on shorter shanks.

Most recently, in June 2008, I used this hook to finish first on Kentucky Lake, Kentucky and second on Wheeler Lake, Alabama. At both events, I used Strike King Series 5 and Series 6 Sexy Shad crankbaits with up to #1 trebles (the 36300's).

RUSS: The second relatively new treble is the Elite Series Ultra Point #36329BLN Treble, 3X-Strong, Extra Sharp.

KEVIN: With so many different hooks available from Mustad, they are all good. What it comes down to is selecting the right hook wire diameter for the gear, the cover, the bait. The model #36329 is real strong. It doesn't flex. With something like Strike King's Series 1 crankbait, which is designed to be used around heavy cover, I can get two of these 3X #4's on it. That's heavy duty. With other cranks, where you'd have to put #4's, you can get two #2's on them instead with these heavy duty 3X trebles. They were originally designed for trophy peacock bass fishing on the Amazon, so you can imagine how strong these hooks are, even in relatively modest sizes (for peacock bass) like #2's and #4's.

What I like most about the 3X are the super hard black nickel finish and the bigger wire diameter. They're so durable, far more than any other hook. They have an O'Shaughnessy style bend that really holds fish. I've won two tournaments on these 3X hooks.

On the Bassmaster Elite Tour at places like Falcon Lake earlier this year, I used Strike King's King Shad swimbait with two 3X #1's on that. That bigger wire diameter, when you hook a five-pounder in all those flooded trees on Falcon, this hook's not going to flex.

Another situation where the 3X's excel is you can really grind them into the bottom around gravel and rock beds. This would ruin the points on many other hooks, but not these. The points hold up around shell bars, gravel, rocks, you name it. The points are extremely durable, due to the harder finish they have. These are the finer points (pun intended) that win tournaments for me.

I won the Grand Lake, Oklahoma Bassmaster Elite in June, 2007 this way, fishing very rough bottom. I used Strike King Sexy Shad cranks with 3X #4's on the Series 5 and #2's on the Series 6 crankbait.

On jerkbaits for big smallmouth, these 3X are not going to open up either. This is the only hook I have ever been able to use on jerkbaits on the Great Lakes that they do not open. Two 3X #4's or two #2's, you get a five pound smallie on each hook, all other hooks will flex or open. Not this one.

The only thing is to watch out with jerkbaits, topwaters, and smaller cranks. They may get out of balance with such heavy hooks.

Bottom line, whether it's big fish in heavy cover or monster Great Lakes smallies, the 3X are amazing hooks, and incredibly sharp.

RUSS: I definitely noticed that both new hooks, the 3X and the 1X-strong #36300 are extra sharp. They're even sharper than any other Ultra Points. It seems every time Mustad comes out with a new hook model for bass, it leapfrogs past earlier hook models in terms of quality, sharpness and design.

KEVIN: The great thing about Mustad is they are the largest hook manufacturer in the world. They have the technology, the machinery and the expertise to do things right. Mustad constantly improve their hooks.

Kevin's Winning Treble List

Treble Hook Finishes

RUSS: In terms of freshwater treble finishes, there are four. They are: 1) the black nickel, 2) bronze, 3) the shiny bright nickel and 4) the red treble hook finishes.

Is there one or more finishes - black nickel, shiny nickel, bronze, red - that you prefer more than the others? If so, why?

KEVIN: The black nickel finish is the best. It's harder. It creates the sharpest point. However, I won't hesitate to use other finishes, such as bronze on the 2X-short Triple Grip for the Strike King Red Eye Shad.

Red hooks are a good finish option too. When I do use them, I like the red just on the belly - or with the feathered tail hooks.

RUSS: Do you ever select a hook finish just for the color? For example, use the shiny bright nickel finish to get flash - or use one of the other finishes because of the black, bronze or red color of it?

KEVIN: First and foremost, I select a hook based on the style of fishing being done, the size of the lure, the line, the cover and so on. In terms of finish, I usually want to take the fish's attention away from the hook (with red being the exception).

The black nickel finish is the one I favor most because it increases the strength of the hook. Black nickel is stronger than the same hook in bronze or red (actually red is a gold-plated hook under the red dye).

RUSS: Can you tell us more about your feelings toward red treble hooks? Have you been in any situations where red trebles gave you an advantage over black, nickel or bronze finishes?

KEVIN: There have been plenty of times I feel that fish have targeted a red hook on my baits - either the red hook in the feathered tails or red hooks on the bait's belly. I truly can't say the red belly hook is the one they are going to pick out to strike, but if they do, I want them to target the belly so there's another treble (on the tail) coming behind it. I don't want them to target the tail which tends to make them strike short or just nip at the tail.

I use a lot of red hooks on topwaters, including the red hooks on the #102 feather trebles. I also use the red hooks on jerkbaits. Mostly in clear water. I like the way the red hook flashes. It gives the impression of a blood trail. I like the red hooks especially for spots and smallmouth, such as on Table Rock or the Great Lakes. These aggressive species seem to key in on it.

Replacing Trebles

KEVIN: Replacement trebles are so important. Especially with the increasing cost of fuel these days, anglers are spending a little less time on the water because of that. It is more important than ever not to skimp on the hooks. You can spend less time on the water, but more time catching, with the proper replacement hooks.

RUSS: What is your main reason for replacing the stock trebles on a bait, Kevin?

KEVIN: Lots of hooks that are factory-installed, even premium hooks from well-known brands, I throw them away. This probably amounts to thousands of dollars. I hate to be wasteful but most hooks that come pre-installed on baits are just not as strong, sharp or balanced. I am going to replace them with Mustad hooks that fit each anticipated fishing situation, that balance the bait, and produce the best strike-to-catch ratio.

RUSS: Do you ever do a straight-up replacement, just switch out the stock hooks for essentially the same size and shape of replacement hooks?

KEVIN: Yes, I do it all the time. My confidence is in Mustad.

Rightsizing Hooks

RUSS: In fishing magazines and articles, anglers are often told to be careful that upsizing hooks can wreck the action or fish-catching ability of a bait, as if there was some special balance that would be upset if you use different sizes than the factory-installed hooks. Do you find that upsizing hooks ever ruins or degrades the action of a bait?

KEVIN: It can. Certain baits such as topwaters and jerkbaits, upsizing without being careful and attentive, can hurt the action. On the other hand, there are an awful lot of baits you can put bigger hooks, and it doesn't have that much effect.

RUSS: Does the fact you tend to suspend or pause a jerkbait more often than other hardbaits have any bearing on what hook styles you would use?

KEVIN: With jerkbaits, the wire diameter is more important. I pay a lot of attention to hook wire diameter when replacing hooks on jerkbaits.

RUSS: Do you ever downsize the hooks and switch to smaller hooks than the factory installed on a bait?

KEVIN: No. I don't ever downsize.

RUSS: The most common hook sizes for freshwater bass seem to be #2 for large baits, #4 for medium, and #6 for small baits. Do you ever use smaller than a #6 treble hook?

KEVIN: No.

RUSS: Do you ever use larger than a #2 treble hook?

KEVIN: I use a lot of #1 and even 1/0 trebles on bigger baits, especially now that the Bassmaster Elite stops at big fish waters like Amistad and Falcon, or in California, I rely on a lot of these bigger hooks.

On the #36300 model, I have them in up to 3/0 sizes on big swimbaits. Same with the 3X trebles, I have #2/0's and #1/0's on some swimbaits.

Mixing Hook Models

RUSS: In the most recent Classic you won (in 2005), it was reported that you used round bend trebles (#36102's) on the belly hangers and a Triple Grip on the tail of a jerkbait. How often do you mix different hook models on the same bait and why?

KEVIN: Biggest reason I mix hook models is to get as much of the holding power of the Triple Grips - without tangling. The holding power of Triple Grips is phenomenal. You almost need pliers to unhook them.. However, I couldn't put all Triple Grips on the jerkbait I used to win that Classic. I couldn't put on all Triple Grips because they would tangle. The only way to keep the hooks from tangling was to put round bends on the belly. It's often the tail hook that is the most important one. That the one that fish short strike at or nip, so I like to have the Triple Grip there.

Testing Trebles

RUSS: Do you test different models and sizes of hooks on different baits?

KEVIN: I have a swimming pool at home, and use it to look at baits and how hooks affect their actions. However, I kind of know what to expect through experience and close familiarity with each bait. What I find is that the hook style does not affect a bait but hook wire diameter (meaning hook weight) does. The biggest area to watch out for are the 3X-strong trebles, There you need to be cautious. They can cause a jerkbait to sink, for example, which is not necessarily negative, but I just like to know what each hook change will do. So I test them. I may use a smaller diameter split ring to compensate a little for the effect of a heavier hook. Of course with the 3X-strong treble, you better make sure the split ring is equally as strong. You can go to a smaller split ring, yet still a strong one.

RUSS: What are you looking for when you test a bait? How do you know that a certain arrangement of treble hooks is better or worse than another arrangement?

KEVIN: Basically, I want to make sure it is the best set-up, the best wire diameter and hook size for a bait. Sometimes you can put hooks on a bait, just eyeball it, and tell what's needed. You can put two #2's on, and see the hooks will just barely tangle. So you know you have to go to a #4 and a #2 in order not to tangle.

RUSS: Are you trying to just get the biggest and strongest hooks possible without marrying that a bait will still swim and support? Or are you trying to fine-tune the action or enhance the movement of a bait with different trebles?

KEVIN: Often what I want is to get away with the biggest, strongest hooks I can without hindering the action and without tangling.

RUSS: Do you use different treble hook models for different species - smallmouth, largemouth, spots?

KEVIN: No, I try to make Triple Grips work in as many situations as I can, because of their holding power. Smallmouth and spots tend to get hooks stuck on the outside of their mouths a lot, and the holding power of the Triple Grips is just so good.

Proper Installation

RUSS: There are two sides to a treble hook ring, and therefore two ways to attach any treble to a split ring. You can attach a treble so that two tines face up or so that a single tine faces up. Do you pay any attention to which hook side (whether one or two tines) faces up when you attach trebles to a bait?

KEVIN: Which way a treble faces can affect the action of a bait, especially topwaters and jerkbaits are the most sensitive. I like to have the body or belly of the bait cradled in the 'Y' made by the two treble tines. It is not nearly as important on the tail hook, but the belly hooks are critical. Overall, I look to have hooks balanced so the swinging hooks flow freely around the bait equally on both sides. I do not want the hooks to torque the bait to one side. I look at it in water, and if I can see a hook is causing the bait to lean over, I spin the hook around 180 degrees to re-attach it.

To sum up treble selection, it's making sure you have a strong enough hook in any situation for the cover being fished and the line size. With the different Mustad trebles I use, I have all the bases covered.

My Lucky-est Choices: Lucky Craft Lipless Crankbaits

Lucky Craft LV Series ~ Lipless Crankbaits

The LV 200, 300 and 500 sound as if they should all be a common series of sizes of the same lure model. They're not. No two LV models are remotely related to each other. The LV 200, 300 and 500 are totally different lures. Each is designed quite differently and are best used for completely different techniques as described in the following sections.

Top down: LV-200 single-knocker, LV-300 silent and LV-500 rattling models.

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Lucky Craft LV-200 ~ Lipless Crankbait

Model: LV-200
Type: Sinking, Knocker
Weight: 5/8 oz (18g)
Length: 3" (72.5mm)
Factory Hooks: #4 Belly, #6 Tail VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 4 feet

Most all lipless cranks vibrate rapidly when retrieved, but not all rattle.

The LV-200 is one of the rare ones that doesn't rattle. It's known as a 'single knocker' type lipless bait. Instead of rattling, the LV-200 emits a steady tom-tom beat from a single heavy metal ball affixed to a loose metal plate inside. The LV-200 is a knocking type instead of a rattling type.

The LV200 emits a single-thump like a heartbeat as opposed to the incessant, raucous chatter of  'normal' rattling baits.

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Lucky Craft LV-300 ~ Lipless Crankbait

Model: LV-300
Type: Sinking, Silent, Countdown
Weight: 3/4 oz (21.5g)
Length: 3" (69mm)
Factory Hooks: Two #6 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 4 feet

As odd as it is for the LV-200 to contain only one ball to make it thump like a lonesome drum, the LV-300 has absolutely zero rattles inside.

The LV-300 vibrates like the dickens when retrieved, but doesn't have any noise-making parts inside.

The LV-300 is silent like Charlie Chan, the silent movie star of the thirties... but that's not bad.

Both these non-rattling lipless baits, the LV-200 thumper and silent LV-300 have helped me catch buckets of 'extra' bass whenever I use lipless lures. It's so simple yet deadly. I first go down a bank and pull the initial receptive fish with a 'normal' high-chattering bait such as the noisy LV-500 or LVR D-7. This initial noisiness 'wakes up' the bass so to speak. Once fish are exposed to fan-casting with high-chatterers, it can quickly become counterproductive to go back down the same bank again with the same high-chattering baits. The repeated noisiness (an attractant at first), can become a repellant that only serves to alienate fish by continuing to throw the very loud, harsh rattle baits. So what I do next is go down the same bank again with the quieter, single-thumping LV-200 or silent LV-300, often helping myself to catch another few good fish with this non-rattling approach the second time. It's a similar profile, similar vibration without the high-chatter. A few more fish always seem to fall for it.

The LV-200 and LV-300 are non-rattling lipless baits that perform well where you or other anglers have already peppered the bass with noisier lipless baits.

Either one can be the winning ticket when everyone and their uncle has been bombarding the bass with noisy rattling baits. If you're serious about lipless fishing, the LV-200 and LV-30 are must-haves.

Best of all, almost no one else uses them. The LV-200 and LV-300 are virtually unknown and unused Lucky Craft baits.

So if you're looking for a pair of secret lures that really do produce (especially when fish have been shown way too many of the noisier models), there you have them.

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Another tactic I like with the LV-300, when bass are suspended or simply schooling over structure (points, channels, ledges, etc.), I'll tend to position the boat over a high spot or over the shallowest spot, and cast toward deeper, open water. Then simply let the LV-300 pendulum fall in an arc toward me.

The LV-300 is forward-weighted to run head down when retrieved, and this also helps it fall head down while sinking. It won't tailspin as it falls, and has a little more realistic and natural falling action than some other lipless cranks. It swaggers a little side to side as it falls forward toward you, head first. It tends to attract strikes (and can be worked with angler-imparted action) as it swaggers or glides side to side on the fall. You need to practice with it, and see what it does on different line sizes, with different slack or loose line pressure, discovering how best to make it pendulum head-first in a hunting, zigzag manner.

With suspended bass, the key is how far to let the LV-300 sink at first. When I let it get down to where I think the fish are, I'll give it one flip. This is an attention-getter. It signals something is not quite right. It's just like a shad in trouble that flips up on its side, making an attempt to right itself. I then let it fall again and give it two flips. Then let it pendulum fall in toward me again. All the while it is coming back to me in a pendulum arc, and give it three more flips. Just pop it quick, to give it a short, erratic, struggling movement. It moves at most one foot when you flip it. It's just an attention-getter that shows bass something is not right. I basically let the LV-300 swing back in to me, through the fish, above any cover, over any structure, and pop it once, twice or three times. On its way back in, as the bottom becomes shallower (remember to have  the boat directly atop the high spot), it's advantageous if the crankbait bumps into brush or anything else as it arcs down closer to the bottom. That obstacle impact is a great strike trigger, and because it's falling nose first, its posture helps protect the hooks from snags. This may not seem like it would matter much, but the nose-down posture truly affords a lot of hook protection from snags. More often than not, the LV-300 will get nipped as it bounces off anything in its path. Once it reaches bottom, lift it up and let it swagger and sway on its way back down as you bring it in the rest of the way back to the boat.

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Bassdozer says: "When time comes to replace the stock hooks on the LV-200, LV-300 and LV-500, upsize them all to two #4 trebles that won't tangle. Bigging up the hooks like this will not affect the action or how many strikes you get - and you'll hook, hold and land more fish."

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Lucky Craft LV-500 ~ Lipless Crankbait

Model: LV-500
Type: Sinking, Rattling
Weight: 3/4 oz (23g)
Length: 3" (75mm)
Factory Hooks: #4 Belly, #6 Tail VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 8 feet

In comparison to the virtually unknown LV-200 and LV-300, the LV-500 is the number one choice of many anglers among all Lucky Craft's lipless baits.

The body size of the LV-500 matches that of most other 1/2 oz rattlebaits. However, the LV-500 is 3/4 oz so it casts longer distance and it descends much deeper than most others. This is the reason I rely on the LV-500 - it covers more distance much deeper than most any other rattlebait.

It isn't a good idea to let the LV-500 sink. When you cast, you must begin the retrieve immediately. If you wait to let the LV-500 settle deeper, it tends to tailspin and twirl around, snaring the fishing line in the hooks. So pay attention to how you use it. Don't give the LV-500 too much time to fall on a loose line.

Just burn it back! The LV-500 casts further and covers more water than other rattlebaits. On it's own, the LV-500 will seek a consistent running depth about 8 feet deep. You don't need to let it sink or count it down or anything. Just start winding it in, and next thing you know, it will seek its own running level around the 8 foot mark.

Depending on line type and line diameter, it will seek a working level of 7 to 10 feet deep all by itself. This is below where most other rattlebaits will stay on a retrieve. Best of all, you can burn the LV-500, and it will still stay that deep.

A favorite LV-500 tactic for me is to burn deep points. In lakes with lots of points, this can become an LV-500 pattern many days, where a bass or two will belt the LV-500 (usually retrieved fast) on practically every point. Once you uncover a pattern and it seems repeatable on a few points, then you can run from point to point to point, and repeatedly present the LV-500 the same way each time - and pull a good bass or two off each point. In this way, the LV-500 functions as a highly productive pattern bait - not just for points, but for whatever other repeatable pattern you can produce with the LV-500. Keep in mind, it is a deep runner, but you cannot count it down or pause it without frequently snarling the line.

When bass want that deeper running depth (which is often the case on bluffs or deep points), the LV-500's the best lipless crank in my bag! But it may be used for many different tactics too. More and more anglers are using it all the time, making the LV-500 one of the most popular lipless in Lucky Craft's line-up.

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Lucky Craft LVR Series ~ Lipless Crankbaits

Lucky Craft's LVR models are a related series - essentially the same lure design in several different sizes. The middle sizes, the LVR D-7 and D-10 are the two I find most useful. The LVR Mini is a bit too light and the LVR D-15 a bit too big for everyday usage. But the LVR D-7 and D-10 are just right!

LVR D-10 (top) and LVR D-7.

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Lucky Craft LVR D-7 ~ Lipless Crankbait

Model: LVR D-7
Type: Sinking, Rattling
Weight: 1/2 oz (14g)
Length: 2-3/4" (70mm)
Factory Hooks: Two #4 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 3-5 feet

The D-7 is the most popular model in Lucky Craft's LVR series. If you were going to use just two Lucky Craft lipless models, the LVR D-7 and the LV-500 (in the LV series) would make the ideal duo.

The design of the LVR D-7 is thinner and to me, the LVR D-7 tends to ride higher with a little less vibration and less chatter than usual. I'm not saying it doesn't chatter a lot, but it is 'less loud' than other popular brands. It's most useful for me in shallow situations, when I want to keep a rattlebait high, or where I want to rattle through snaggy cover that grabs and snags other rattlebaits way too often, the LVR D-7 gets the nod.

Most all lipless cranks sink. However a D-7 may actually rise for the first few feet and first few seconds of a retrieve, even breaking the surface before it will start to hunker back down to its normal underwater running depth. You may wonder why this initial rise may be desirable? Good question. It's beneficial when fishing areas of submerged weed clumps, scattered underwater brush or irregular rock beds, stump fields and so on. A lipless crank that initially rises up and over snags at the start of a retrieve provides a presentation advantage when fishing snaggy cover. It gives you - and the lure - a chance to start clean and thereby gain control over the retrieve without immediately getting snagged in dense cover (as often happens) during the critical first few seconds.

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Lucky Craft LVR D-10 ~ Lipless Crankbait

Model: LVR D-10
Type: Sinking, Rattling
Weight: 3/4 oz (23.5g)
Length: 3-1/8" (80mm)
Factory Hooks: Two #2 Belly VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 4-6 feet

The LVR D-10 has a bigger profile than most lipless baits. That's the simple reason I use it - to appeal to bigger bass. If you throw the LVR D-10 all day, you will bag a bigger average size of bass than if you threw standard size baits like the LVR D-7 or LV-500 in the same places. It's that simple.

Since the deep-bodied D-10 is built to be 'selective' for big bass, that makes it a good 'kicker fish' bait for tournaments. There are two schools of thought on this. First is to go for broke, fishing with the big D-10 right out of the starting gate. The second strategy is to fill out a limit of small fish with a standard size lipless, such as the D-7 or LV-500. Once you've gotten to the stage where all you're doing is culling clones without really upgrading your weight, then switch to the bigger profile D-10 to go for that necessary kicker. Whatever strategy you use, a bigger lipless like the D-10 does bag bigger bass than average.

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Bassdozer says: "I like to hang feathered trebles off the back of the LVR D-7 and the LV-200. I feel feathers enhance the everyday action and appearance of those two lipless models in particular. When you add feathers, you'll find that fish will tend to strike directly at the feathers - or engulf the lure from behind, feathers first. This contradicts a popular strike theory that says fish nip or bite at the tail of a hard bait because the bait is the wrong color, wrong size or wrong something. According to this theory, fish striking at the tail aren't overly-enthused with the lure, and the tail bites are supposed to signal to or alert the angler to toss them a better color or different bait than this bogus one. This theory is not true - at least not with feathered tails. Fish strike the feathered back hook because they like it, because that's where the action is. Many days when weak and missed strikes occur, adding a feathered tail will result in solid or engulfing strikes - at the back feathers or from behind. Bass can become more interested and excited to strike the feather tail than the lure itself."

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Lucky Craft Lipless Color Considerations

Lucky Craft is legendary for it's artful, natural baitfish colors. Where Lucky Craft lures excel, what they do better than many other vendors, are complex yet natural finishes. Lucky Craft colors tend to be muted, diffused, subtle, softer colors that blend into each other and blend into the underwater environment.

They're not known for their bright chartreuse-based, fire tiger or other bold color patterns. You won't see a lot of red throat splashes, red eyes or other gaudy lipstick either. Although adding your own red replacement hooks may make a nice accent at times.

The four most popular colors across most every Lucky Craft product model are:

1. Chartreuse Shad #250 is said to be 'the' most popular Lucky Craft color. If you had to limit yourself to just one color, Chartreuse Shad is it.

2. Ghost Minnow  #238 is considered the most popular clear water color currently in the Lucky Craft line-up.

3. Aurora Black #052 is flashy, yes, but not nearly so flashy as MS American Shad. Aurora Black is much more subdued and subtle.

4. MS American Shad #270 is one of Lucky Craft's (or any other vendor's) most beautiful colors. The 'MS' means 'Magic Scales'. It is a high flash color for when fish want a lot of flash in a lure. Yet it is still natural. It is truly a special experience to fish with it.

MS Herring #254 is another of the most beautiful of all Lucky Craft colors. It is similar to MS American Shad in that they are both high flash colors. However, MS Herring does not come in every crankbait model.

Mad Craw #286 (left) and Spring Craw #070 (right) are also highly popular ;must-have' colors for lipless crankbaits.

Visit www.bassdozer.com and www.bassdozerstore.com for more information. Thank you and good luck fishing!

My Lucky-est Choices: Lucky Craft Crankbaits

Lucky Craft Moonsault CB Series

Way back when Lucky Craft was first getting into the North American market, the Moonsault CB series were the first crankbaits introduced here by Lucky Craft. Originally designed for the Japanese angler's style of fishing, the Moonsault CB's are characterized by having hooks on the small side with sensitive balances. By sensitive, I mean they work very well on a slow retrieve, but on moderate to fast retrieves, may tend to become unbalanced and act flippant.

Reason is, Japanese anglers tend to use lighter tackle, smaller hooks and appreciate more fine-tuned balance in lures versus North American anglers who use heavier tackle, prefer larger hooks and desire more lure stability than our Japanese counterparts.

Nevertheless, two Moonsault models, the CB-200 and CB-350, have proven themselves admirably in the USA. They've pretty much always been the two most popular Moonsault models here, recognizing they have finer balances requiring lighter hooks and a relatively lighter tackle approach to cranking.

Top down: CB-350's 1st & 3rd. CB-200's 2nd & 4th.

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Lucky Craft Moonsault CB-200 ~ Medium-Running Crankbait

Model: Moonsault CB-200
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 7/16 oz (12.2g)
Length: 2-1/4" (60mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #6 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 6 feet

The CB-200 is one of the first few baits that Lucky Craft introduced to the USA way back when, and it still continues to be popular with many anglers today.

The CB-200 is a good medium-running crankbait that has withstood the test of time.

The medium-running depth of the CB-200 is well-suited to the needs of a large group of anglers, including (but not limited to) shore anglers or those who fish typically smaller waters.

It's well worth trying the CB-200 if you have not already.

Lucky Craft Moonsault CB-350 ~ Deep-Diving Crankbait

Model: Moonsault CB-350
Type: Slow-Rising, Deep-Diving Crankbait
Weight: 1/2 oz (14.6g)
Length: 2-1/2" (62mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #6 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 8-10 feet

If you use deep-diving cranks, then you need to try the venerable CB-350. It's a time-proven winner.

The CB-350 is a deep-diving crankbait that has withstood the test of time. The CB-350 is one of the first few that Lucky Craft USA introduced here, and it still continues to be popular with many anglers today.

Only one other Moonsault model (the CB-200 medium-runner) is as popular as the CB-350.

The CB-350 combines all the best features of fat-bodied crankbaits, rattling vibration baits, and suspending jerkbaits into one lure. It has the long bill, fat body, and deep-diving qualities of a crankbait. Internal weights shift position so it casts far and dives quickly, seeking bottom fast. Inside, it has seven separate rattling chambers and a center wall that reverberates its rattles loudly! It's not as loud as a lipless bait, but makes a good chatter for a crankbait. Plus it's got a better internal suspension system than most jerkbaits.

It's best when it gets to bottom about 8 to 10 feet down. Once there, it fishes most effectively when you use it as a bottom-suspending jerkbait. It suspends and rises lazily when you pause the retrieve. Pause to let it rise a little, then sweep and twitch or jerk it to activate the rattles and cause erratic quick-wiggling motion until it digs or bounces bottom again. Then pause and hold on! You don't necessarily need to hit bottom again - although that's always a helpful strike-triggering option. Just sweep and twitch it like a dying shad and reel slowly. The CB350 has a fast but tight wiggle even at a slow pace retrieve. The supple swimming movement can be enhanced by adding a long, thin feather tail.

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Lucky Craft Flat CB Series

When Lucky Craft was first feeling out the North American market, Lucky Craft shortly realized a difference exists between Japanese anglers who tend to use lighter tackle, smaller hooks and appreciate more delicate balance in lures versus North American anglers who use heavier tackle, prefer larger hooks and desire more lure stability than our Japanese counterparts. So Lucky Craft developed the Flat CB series (MR, DR, D-12, D-20) specifically tuned for the North American angler, with more stable actions and bigger hooks that could be fished on relatively heavier cranking gear.

Top down: Flat CB D-20, D-12, DR and MR..

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Lucky Craft Flat CB MR ~ Medium-Running Crankbait

Model: Flat CB MR
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 3/8 oz (10.5g)
Length: 2-1/2" (63mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #4 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 4-5 feet

Shallow-running and medium-running baits are far more popular than deep-divers. There are simply more places and situations where shallow or medium-divers can be used compared to deep-runners. So it's no surprise that the Flat CB MR (Medium Runner) is by far the most popular model in the Flat CB series. The other Flat CB series models (DR, D12, D20) run deeper and are not as popular as the MR model.

I'd say the Flat CB MR works down around 5 feet more or less with 10 lb. test line, and can be used with 12 to 14 lb. test line, not getting quite as deep.

One of my favorite modifications with this lure is to replace the tail treble with a feathered one. I fancy the feathers enhance the movement and appearance of this particular bait. That's not the case with all crankbaits, but the Flat CB MR is one I routinely tag with a feather tail.

I like to use the Flat CB MR a lot like I use a lipless crank. It is stable and easy to crank at moderate to fast paces. Similar to a lipless crankbait, the Flat CB MR has a flat-sided body and a tight, fast wriggle. The advantage is in snaggy areas, the Flat CB MR is not prone to get stuck as easily as a lipless. So I often go to the Flat CB MR whenever fish are whacking lipless crankbaits in shallow or flooded brush or snaggy areas where the lipless gets snagged often. It's great to slam the Flat CB MR through shallow rocks and boulder beds too. These are places that lipless baits get snagged fairly easily - but the Flat CB MR with a similar action, does not get snagged as much or as badly. It's diving bill serves to bounce it off cover and shield the hooks from snags. If the Flat CB MR does get stuck, it's often the diving bill, not so much the hooks, that's jammed in a snag. So it can often be backed out of snags more easily than a lipless.

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Bassdozer says: "The Flat CB MR and DR have nice, beefy hooks but are prone to tangle. You may want to experiment with shorter shank yet strong hooks that won't tangle that much."

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Lucky Craft Flat CB DR ~ Deep-Running Crankbait

Model: Flat CB DR
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 1/2 oz (11g)
Length: 2-1/2" (63mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #4 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 8-10 feet

The DR designation stands for Deep Runner. It works down around 10 feet with 10 lb test, and slightly less with 12 lb test.

The Flat CB DR is a money bait. I know of a number of tournaments won with the help of the Flat CB DR. Guys tend to use it in conjunction with the CB-350. Both these baits will get into the 8-10 foot range.

Flat CB DR (top) and CB-350 upgraded with Mustad #36300BLN X-strong, X-short size #4 trebles. This eliminates chronic tangling on the DR (and MR not shown) and is one size larger, yet won't tangle on the CB-350 (bottom).

One of the most productive places for these deep divers are the tire reefs, other barrier reefs, and floating breakwaters anchored around the perimeters of boat marinas to break the force of wind-driven waves. These man-made reefs and barriers make a safe harbor within the marinas, and they are also bass magnets at times. These types of floating bass cover tend to be out in open water, with little shade. In clear water, bass tend to suspend deeper under the floating breakwaters where depth equates to shade. These suspended bass are deeper than the average crankbait can reach them, but not so deep that a crankbait swimming in the 8-10 foot range can't entice them.

But deep diving crankbaits can be used in shallow water too. Many times I am bouncing, digging and rooting along the bottom in water as shallow as a few feet, even with these 8-10 foot divers. In fact, it is commonplace around ledges, bars and depth breaks to not get many hits while the crank is in deeper open water. Strikes rarely come until the deep diver gets up on the nearby shallow bar or ledge and starts stuttering across the gravel or digging in the sand. At that point, bass will materialize out of deep water, swimming onto the bar or ledge to pluck the bottom-gouging crankbait off the shallow bottom, often only a few feet deep.

At times I replace the tail treble on the Flat CB DR with a feathered one, but it's hardly necessary to do this.

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Lucky Craft Flat CB D-12 ~ Deep-Diving Crankbait

Model: Flat CB D-12
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 3/4 oz (22g)
Length: 3" (75mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #2 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 12 feet

True to its name, the D-12 gets down toward the 12 foot depth range more or less. It is a heavy duty crankbait that's larger and gets deeper than most other crankbaits anglers typically use - and it dredges up larger bass than most anglers typically catch as well. It's hard work to throw all day, but you can be well-rewarded by the D-12. You may not get as many, but they'll be heavy.

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Bassdozer says: "One little thing to remember with the Flat CB's (MR, DR, D12, D20) is to give them all a yank before cranking. Internally they have a large metal ball that moves in a chamber to the back of the bait to help maximize casting distance. The ball does not always automatically roll back down the chamber behind the diving bill at the completion of a cast. So you may need to yank them first to help roll the ball down into the diving position before you crank. If you start cranking without first yanking, they'll struggle on the surface and won't dive deeply until the ball rolls out of the back."

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Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 ~ Super Deep-Diving Crankbait

Model: Flat CB D-20
Type: Floating/Diving Crankbait
Weight: 3/4 oz (23.5g)
Length: 3" (75mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #2 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 15-18 feet

There are only a few crankbaits that can get deeper than 15 feet (without trolling) and that handle well at that level. It's by far the rarest class of crankbaits, the super deep divers. So when Lucky Craft came out with the super deep D-20 some years ago, it was immediately deployed with good results by a savvy cadre of the sport's top national and top regional pro anglers. The pros who have been using these all along desire to keep it low, and a number of regional level tournaments have quietly been won over the years on it.

With a lot of recent focus on fishing deep cranks on the top national BASS and FLW Pro Tours, particularly in 2008, the D-20 has been getting a lot of play and much press recently from the Lucky Craft national pro staff anglers, so you should see the D-20 grow in popularity going forward.

The D-20's much larger and dives deeper than most anglers typically use. Indeed, it's about as extreme and heavy duty as a bass crankbait gets to be. There are few bigger crankbaits for bass (or that dive as deep), and those few that are this big, they are not as solidly-constructed as the D-20. It's heavy duty.

It's hard work to throw all day, but you can be well-rewarded by large bass landed on the super deep D-20. I'm super serious.

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Lucky Craft Fat CB BDS-3 ~ Shallow-Diving Crankbait

Model: Fat CB BDS-3
Type: Floating/Shallow Diving Crankbait
Weight: 1/2 oz (14g)
Length: 3" (75mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: Two #2 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Runs over/through emergent or submerged shallow cover, say 2-5 feet deep

The BDS-3 is the most popular size in the Fat CB BDS series. If you try just one BDS model, this is the one you want. The Fat CB BDS-3 is a relatively chunky, shallow-running, brawny bait with a wide wobble and rolling action. It has the perfect size, heft and hooks for brawling with bass in thick cover using relatively heavier line and cranking gear. It is buoyant and designed to perform somewhat like a balsa wood lure, except it is durable hard plastic construction that holds up to repeated, rugged use.

Heavy duty Fat CB BDS-3 is nearly indestructible.

Its lip design, hook positions and outstanding obstacle deflection qualities let the BDS-3 waltz right through the thickest of cover. It's ideal for fishing through laydowns, stump fields, docks, rocky shallow areas, tough-stalked weeds and other shallow thick cover. It doesn't rattle because the internal weighting is fixed-weight for quick deflection recovery. After the bait hits an object, it comes right back to proper position to continue the retrieve.

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Lucky Craft Crankbait Color Considerations

Lucky Craft is legendary for it's artful, natural baitfish colors. Where Lucky Craft lures excel, what they do better than many other vendors, are complex yet natural finishes. Lucky Craft colors tend to be muted, diffused, subtle, softer colors that blend into each other and blend into the underwater environment.

They're not known for their bright chartreuse-based, fire tiger or other bold color patterns. You won't see a lot of red throat splashes, red eyes or other gaudy lipstick either. Although adding your own red replacement hooks may make a nice accent at times.

The four most popular colors across most every Lucky Craft product model are:

1. Chartreuse Shad #250 is said to be 'the' most popular Lucky Craft color. If you had to limit yourself to just one color, Chartreuse Shad is it.

2. Ghost Minnow  #238 is considered the most popular clear water color currently in the Lucky Craft line-up.

3. Aurora Black #052 is flashy, yes, but not nearly so flashy as MS American Shad. Aurora Black is much more subdued and subtle.

4. MS American Shad #270 is one of Lucky Craft's (or any other vendor's) most beautiful colors. The 'MS' means 'Magic Scales'. It is a high flash color for when fish want a lot of flash in a lure. Yet it is still natural. It is truly a special experience to fish with it.

MS Herring #254 is another of the most beautiful of all Lucky Craft colors. It is similar to MS American Shad in that they are both high flash colors. However, MS Herring does not come in every crankbait model.

Mad Craw #286 (left) and Spring Craw #070 (right) are also highly popular 'must-have' colors for crankbaits.

Visit www.bassdozer.com and www.bassdozerstore.com for more information. Thank you and good luck fishing!

My Lucky-est Choices: Lucky Craft Jerkbaits

Lucky Craft Pointer 100 Model: Pointer 100 Type: Suspending Weight: 5/8 oz  (16.5g) Length: 4" (100mm) excluding lip Factory Hooks: Two #5 VMC Depth: Approx. 4-5 feet (on 12 lb. line)

Lucky Craft Pointer 100 DD Model: Pointer 100 DD Type: Suspending Weight: 5/8 oz  (16.5g) Length: 5" (100mm) excluding lip Factory Hooks: Two #5 VMC Depth: Approx. 6-8 feet (on 12 lb. line)

Pointer 100

Okay, here we go. The Pointer 100 is the king of Lucky Craft's whole product line. It's the best-selling Lucky Craft lure model in the USA. So if you wanted to know, what is the best Lucky Craft bait? This is it.

Compared to the Pointer 78, the Pointer 100 is a bigger, bulkier suspending jerkbait. This is the perfect size jerkbait. It is easy to use, easy to cast even on heavier gear. That ease of use, due to its bigger, heavier size, makes it the most popular Lucky Craft jerkbait in the USA today.

I tend to use it on a heavier rod and at least 12 lb test or heavier, for targeting better than average bass - or for snubbing up on and controlling fish close to bad cover. The heavier gear lets me wrestle a stuck lure or a wild hog away from snags. I can pull just a little harder with the Pointer 100. It's a solidly-built jerkbait. I estimate the Pointer 100 runs 4 to 5 feet deep on 12 lb line.

Pointer 100 DD

Compared to the Pointer 78DD or Staysee 90, the Pointer 100DD is a bigger, bulkier suspending jerkbait. The fact that it's brawny size makes it easy to handle, that makes the Pointer 100 DD popular. The deeper-diving Pointer 100 DD isn't nearly as popular as the standard Pointer 100, but it's no slacker either.

I tend to use it on a heavier rod and at least 12 lb test, for targeting better than average bass - same as with the standard Pointer 100, except the 100 DD gets deeper.

I estimate the Pointer 100 DD runs 6 to 8 feet casting on 12 lb line. It can get down even deeper by burning it back in at a blurring speed. Burning the Pointer 100 DD works best when you jerk and give slack to let it stand still every twenty feet during the retrieve, which is when most strikes occur. Fish will race along behind it while you burn it as fast as you can for twenty feet, and tend to react by striking when it darts and suddenly stands still. That's just one unorthodox retrieve that works. However, it is very versatile. One of the best of the brawny, power fishing jerkbaits on the market.

Top down: Pointer 78, 100, 78DD and 100DD.

Lucky Craft Pointer 78 Model: Pointer 78 Type: Suspending Weight: 3/8 oz  (10.2g) Length: 3" (78mm) excluding lip Factory Hooks: Two #6 VMC Black Nickel Depth: Approx. 2-4 feet (on 10 lb. line)

Lucky Craft Pointer 78 DD Model: Pointer 78 DD Type: Suspending Weight: 1/3 oz  (9.6g) Length: 3" (78mm) excluding lip Factory Hooks: Two #6 VMC Black Nickel Depth: Approx. 4-7 feet (on 10 lb. line)

Pointer 78

I must say, of all Lucky Craft lures I have fished, the Pointer 78 has the most life-like action. Something in the design of the Pointer 78 gives it an occasional irregular action which is very special because it approximates the mindless dalliance of a real bait better than the mechanical metronome of most other baits.

Truly a treasure, the Pointer 78 is absolutely perfect for subsurface twitching, jerking or ripping tactics all season long! It works from subsurface down a few feet.

Keep in mind, the Pointer 78 is a small bait and cannot be thrown on heavy tackle. It is at its best with lighter tackle - 10 lb test gear or less.

Pointer 78 DD

Nearly as good as the original Pointer 78 - and deadly, deadly, deadly in the deeper 4 to 7 foot range that the Pointer 78 DD is designed to plumb.

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Bassdozer says: "Lucky Craft was really the first company in the USA to offer high quality suspending jerkbaits right out of the box. Before Lucky Craft, anglers had to add weight (lead wire, slugs, SuspenDots and so on) to existing jerkbaits in order to get them to suspend properly. Lucky Craft did away with the need to jury-rig jerkbaits. As precise as they are, there are still a few weighting tricks to tweak Lucky Craft baits! The Pointer 78 and 78 DD have fixed weights (no moving weights or rattles) that center the lure balance right at the belly hook hanger. Adding three SuspenDots stacked on each other over the hook hanger of the 78DD will cause the 78 DD (bottom) to truly suspend. Without the SuspenDots, the 78DD floats up when paused. Adding the same to the 78 (top in photo) will cause it to fall perfectly horizontal when paused, with a body quiver remindful of a Senko."

Three SuspenDots stacked on Pointer 78 (top) and 78 DD (bottom) fine-tune the action.

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Lucky Craft Staysee 90 ~ Deep-Diving Jerkbait

Model: Staysee 90
Type: Suspending, Deep-Diving
Weight: 7/16 oz (12.5g)
Length: 3-1/2" (91mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: #6 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 10 feet (on 10 lb. line)

Of all Lucky Craft lures I have used, be they crankbaits, lipless, jerkbaits or topwaters, the Staysee 90 has one of the most life-like actions.

When it comes to jerkbaits, they can be divided into two broad groups:

1. Lights: Where smaller bass abound, or in clear water, or with lighter gear, I am basically going to cover the water column with the smaller, lighter range of jerkbaits: the Pointer 78 to get a few feet deep, the Pointer 78DD to get six feet deep, the Bevy Shad 75 to reach about 8 feet deep, and the StaySee 90 to dredge even deeper to about ten feet down.
    

2. Heavies: Where bigger bass are found, or in snaggy cover or with heavier tackle, I will go to bigger jerkbaits such as the Pointer 100, 100DD and others in the 100+ size range. Here still I will use the Staysee 90 to delve deeper than the others.

Whether you use the bigger 'power' jerkbaits (the 100's) or the smaller 'finesse' ones (like the 78's), the Staysee 90 fits in with either group, and the Staysee dives the deepest of all. When the jerkbait bite is on, I am basically going to use the Staysee to reach deeper than any other Lucky Craft jerkbait.

A tip from Lucky Craft pro Gary Dobyns is to affix a couple of SuspenDots under the chin, where the bill joins the body. This lets the Staysee reach another foot or two deeper down to 12 feet.

Affixing the next size bigger trebles to the Staysee beefs it up tremendously. With upsized hooks, it becomes a great, great deep-diving jerkbait. It has not gotten the full attention it deserves, but that's okay by me.

Staysee 90 with one size bigger short-shank hooks.

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Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75 ~ Hybrid Crankbait/Jerkbait

Model: Bevy Shad 75
Type: Suspending, Deep-Diving, Hybrid Crankbait/Jerkbait
Weight: 3/8 oz (10g)
Length: 3" (75mm) excluding lip
Factory Hooks: #6 VMC Black Nickel
Depth: Approx. 8 feet (on 10 lb. line)

The Bevy Shad is kind of a hybrid jerkbait/crankbait. I don't think it's ever become popular. Uncertainty over what the Bevy is, confuses many anglers.

The Bevy Shad has a more crankbait-shaped bill and a more crankbait-shaped body than most other slim minnow jerkbaits. Is the Bevy Shad a jerkbait? A crankbait? Two baits in one? Does how a lure looks define it, or does the suspension system inside it define it? Or does how you fish it (crank it or jerk it) make something a crankbait or a jerkbait? Disturbing as such questions may be, should we really care?

Bottom line, the Bevy Shad is a great fish-catcher. It's versatile, letting you offer different presentations with one bait.

It can be used 100% of the time as if it is a jerkbait, and that's how I favor it in the cool weather months - or it can be cranked.

The Bevy Shad is not a big lure. It's approx. the same size as a Pointer 78 or 78DD, except the Bevy has a deeper belly and dives a little deeper.

The Bevy Shad (bottom) is approx. the same size as a Pointer 78DD ( top).

The Bevy Shad has a fast, tight wriggle like a swimming shad. It darts widely like a disoriented shad when paused and twitched. It works deeper than most any other jerkbait (except the Staysee 90). It's effective working depth is about 8 feet down on 10 lb. line. When it comes to 8 feet deep, there is hardly any other jerkbait that get down there.

The Bevy Shad is internally balanced to swim with a nose-down angle until it reaches its maximum depth where it will level off and swim on a horizontal plane. Its nose-down nature and arrow-shaped bill is good for bouncing the hooks away to deter snags in cover or on bottom, and then suspend and twitch it after it bounces off bottom or cover. When suspended, it dips its nose down into a feeding posture which often infuriates following bass to strike. In shallower water, the Bevy Shad sinks slowly as opposed to suspending as in deeper depths. This nose-down dip and settling towards bottom in a feeding posture is awesome over shallow spring spawning sites.

As shown, I often fish the Bevy Shads with feather tails. I have experienced high catch rates with feathers on Bevy Shads. I am not one to indiscriminately hang feather tails on all my hardbaits. In the Bevy Shad's case, however, this feather tail seems to enhance the lifelike allure of the Bevy Shad. Add a long thin feather tail and watch as the feathers makes the Bevy Shad come alive! It adds a kind of fluid squiggle to the Bevy's wiggle. This trick, adding the feather tail, has been bevy, bevy good to me!

Jerk it. Crank it. But above all use it.

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Lucky Craft Jerkbait Color Considerations

Jerkbaits often work best in clear or lightly-stained water, and you suspend or pause a jerkbait motionless underwater. Fish swim up and decide to eat it while it sits there perfectly still, often taking a good look at it first. For these reasons, many of the best jerkbait colors tend to be natural baitfish colors, including silver- or gold-sided, pale white-bellied or semi-transparent 'ghost' minnow patterns. Not too gaudy. Of course, there are always exceptions, but that's a safe rule when it comes to jerkbait color selection.

It's no coincidence that Lucky Craft is legendary for it's artful, natural baitfish colors, especially for jerkbaits. Lucky Craft colors tend to be muted, diffused, subtle, softer colors that blend into each other and blend into the underwater environment.

The four most popular natural baitfish colors produced by Lucky Craft are:

1. Chartreuse Shad #250 is said to be 'the' most popular Lucky Craft color. If you had to limit yourself to just one color, Chartreuse Shad is it.

2. Ghost Minnow #238 is considered the most popular clear water color currently in the Lucky Craft line-up.

3. Aurora Black #052 is flashy, yes, but not nearly so flashy as MS American Shad. Aurora Black is much more subdued and subtle.

4. MS American Shad #270 is one of Lucky Craft's (or any other vendor's) most beautiful colors. The 'MS' means 'Magic Scales'. It is a high flash color for when fish want a lot of flash in a lure. Yet it is still natural. It is truly a special experience to fish with it.

MS Herring #254 is another of the most beautiful of all Lucky Craft colors. It is similar to MS American Shad in that they are both high flash colors. However, MS Herring does not come in every jerkbait model.

Listed below are two relatively unknown jerkbait colors that have produced many, many bass for me. These colors don't come in every jerkbait model:

1. Golden Shiner #239 has always been a favorite and most productive jerkbait hue for me.

2. Misty Shad #284 is another uncommon yet highly productive jerkbait color.

Visit www.bassdozer.com and www.bassdozerstore.com for more information. Thank you and good luck fishing!

My Lucky-est Choices: Lucky Craft Topwater Lures

Lucky Craft Sammy Series

I wonder who came up with 'walking the dog'? Walking puppy or walking puppet would have been a better name because the Sammy certainly is a puppet. Like Pinocchio, the Sammy is utterly lifeless until you, the puppet master, pull its string.

When given the proper action, the Sammy will zigzag on the surface side to side like a wounded baitfish.

When I cast out, I want the Sammy to make a big splash as it hits the water. I want to trick bass into thinking this big splash was made by another bass that just smacked a shad on the surface. I want bass to hear a big splash, think it was another bass blasting a meal, and see my injured Sammy limping away from the scene of the crime! When bass think other bass are feeding, they get very competitive and want a piece of the Sammy for themselves before other bass get it. They get greedy and lose caution. So I cast out, let it splash loudly like a feeding bass and immediately start the zigzag retrieve with no hesitation. Bass rocket up and belt it!

When bass hit a walking bait, they often miss it. I do not think the bass can clearly see it because of all the surface disturbance. In fact, I have seen many bass swimming along underneath and behind walking baits. Apparently, the bass are trying to get a clear look at it. I do not think they can see it well. Often, the bass will be zigzagging its own head from side to side, trying to get a better look at a walking bait from the left and from the right. Have you ever seen bass do this? They will follow walking baits for a while, trying to get a clear view of them.

When they've seen enough, the bass will boil up behind it and blast a walking bait. Never stop giving it the zigzag action with the rod tip even when a bass is cartwheeling all over it. As I say, they often miss it. If you keep zigzagging, they will belt you two, three, four times until you finally feel solid weight on the rod tip...and the bass is on!

Because bass have such a problem hitting a walking bait, I like to help them out by putting the biggest hooks I can possibly fit on my walking baits without ruining the action. With the Sammy, I will put size #2 hooks on the 3/4 oz Sammy 115. I put a pair of heavier, longer shank #4 hooks on the 1/2 oz Sammy 100.

Even with bigger hooks on them, bass will still miss walking baits when they swipe at them. With the Sammy, the heavier hooks slow down the frantic, splashy action a little. The heavier hooks give the Sammy a bit slower, more stable zigzag that leaves a vee wake on the surface. I think this slower action helps bass hit them more accurately and the larger hooks are harder to avoid.

Sammy Actions

With the bigger hooks, I give action to the Sammy in three ways:

1. I give very short movements of only 3 to 4 inches to the rod tip, and I turn the reel handle slowly so the Sammy comes across the surface at a medium pace. The only thing I like to see is one inch of the Sammy's nose twitching back and forth, which leaves a rippling vee trail wake behind it. The rest of the body stays underwater. This is the retrieve I use in open water away from shore or cover. I use this retrieve when active fish can not be seen breaking the surface. It is the most life-like retrieve of all, but takes more time because it is moderately slow. This is a finesse fishing presentation, and can really pull fish up from deep water when nothing else will.
    

2. When active bass can be seen breaking the surface here and there, you do not need to go so slow. I do the same as above (move the rod tip 3 to 4 inches) but I turn the reel handle faster so the Sammy zigzags across the surface at a fast pace. This fast pace seems better for fish that are up on top competing with each other for food. Still, I usually only want to see the nose of the Sammy come out of the water on this faster retrieve for active fish, and the heavier hooks help keep the rest of the body lower in the water. Instead of or in addition to heavier hooks, you can also stick a couple of Storm SuspenDots or SuspenStrip adhesive weights under the tail to make it lay lower.
    

3. When I fish up against shoreline or cover, I do something different. In this case, I use longer, slower movement of the rod tip, and I want to see the entire side of the Sammy come out of the water on every zig or zag. I try to make this happen in slow motion so the Sammy kind of hangs there between each zig or zag. The whole Sammy should move side to side - not just the nose. It looks very much like a dying fish. This slow, sweeping tactic keeps the Sammy hanging next to cover where bass are hiding. It draws them out. Almost pausing in between feeble flips and dying flops is fine. Retrieves #1 and #2 above would go past shoreline cover too quickly - not hang there long enough to infuriate bass to come out of their hiding holes deep inside the cover like tactic #3.

Lucky Craft Sammy 100 Model: Sammy 100 Type: Floating/Walking Weight: 1/2 oz  (13.5g) Length: 4" (98.5mm) Factory Hooks: Two #4 VMC Black Nickel

Lucky Craft Sammy 115 Model: Sammy 115 Type: Floating/Walking Weight: 5/8 oz  (18.5g) Length: 4-1/2" (115mm) Factory Hooks: Two #4 VMC Black Nickel

Sammy 100 (top) and Sammy 115.

When to Use Sammy 100 or Sammy 115

The Sammy 100 is by far the most popular Sammy size across the USA. The 100 out-sells other Sammy sizes by a wide margin. Indeed, the Sammy 100 is one of the most popular of all Lucky Craft lures of any kind. So if you were going to rely on or wanted to try only one size of Sammy, the 100 is certainly it.

The bigger Sammy 115 is a distant second in terms of popularity. There are two smaller (65 and 85) and one larger (128) sizes of Sammy also. All do work well, but the 65, 85 and 128 are not as popular as the 100 nor even the distant second-best seller, the Sammy 115.

In terms of  my own personal favorite size, it is the Sammy 115. It casts extremely well. When replaced with #2 hooks, the Sammy 115 becomes very special to fish in deeper, calm water using a slow, gentle walk-the-dog action that makes the nose barely twitch without splashing as described above.

I favor the bigger Sammy 115 for covering deep water on big lakes and large reservoirs.

I downsize to the Sammy 100 in shallower water (where fish can be spookier), on smaller bodies of water, or whenever the fish show no interest in the 115, that's when I'll break out the Sammy 100.

Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 Model: Gunfish 95 Type: Floating/Walking/Skating/Splashing Weight: 3/8 oz  (12g) Length: 4" (95mm) Factory Hooks: #5 Belly; #6 Feather Tail VMC Black Nickel

Lucky Craft Gunfish 115 Model: Gunfish 115 Type: Floating/Walking/Skating/Splashing Weight: 5/8 oz  (19g) Length: 4-1/2" (115mm) Factory Hooks: #4 Belly; #5 Feather Tail VMC Black Nickel

Gunfish 115 (top) and Gunfish 95.

The Gunfish is unique in shape and different in action compared to other walking baits like the Sammy. The Gunfish has a more spitty, slashy, frantic action. It skates its body side to side rather than roll or waddle like other walking baits. Many anglers tend to work the Gunfish faster and more frantically than they would a Sammy. With its flat, dished face, the Gunfish throws a splash like a popper, and walks the dog like a Sammy. So it combines features of both a popper and a walking bait into one. However, it is first and foremost a walking bait, so the best action is to keep it walking, not pop-and-pause it. Just keep it walking, and it will splash and spit from its mouth as it sashays side-to-side. Get a good, consistent cadence going, and don't stop the action, especially not when a fish is slashing at it. Just keep it coming like nothing's happening, until the striking fish finally hooks itself.

The Gunfish throws more surface commotion than a Sammy, so the Gunfish may be at its very best when there's a little wind smear or surface chop rather than a slick calm day. However, give it a try any time, and let the fish tell you what they want.

Both the Gunfish 115 and 95 are top-selling Gunfish models. The 95 and 115 are about equal in sales, and they both work well.

One more thing to keep in mind is that fish see poppers and walking baits every day on every body of water. What fish don't see all the time is the Gunfish with its little different action. Because it isn't so commonly used, you'll often see Lucky Craft's top tour pros opt for the Gunfish whenever there's a topwater bite. Reason is, even at the top tour level, fish haven't really seen the Gunfish before and most pros (except the LC pros) aren't going to be throwing it. In many places, the Gunfish is still a fresh new lure that fish have not seen much, and there's something to be said for that.

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Lucky Craft Topwater Color Considerations

I like the natural baitfish colors of topwaters for all water clarities from clear, stained or dark. I have always found that natural baitfish colors work with topwaters under most conditions. I have not really found many conditions with topwater baits where brighter or bolder colors work better than natural ones. Of course there are always exceptions, but you can't go wrong with the natural colors - white-bellied or semi-translucent 'ghost' colors with darker backs, optionally with silver or gold flash sides. Those will work most of the time. Some of the Lucky Craft colors along these lines include:

• #052 Aurora Black

• #237 Ghost Blue Shad

• #238 Ghost Minnow

• #250 Chartreuse Shad

• #254 MS Herring

• #262 Laser Clear Ghost

• #268 Pearl Ayu

• #270 MS American Shad

About the only time that natural baitfish colors will be a disadvantage is when you are targeting bass, but other species like stripers keep hitting your topwater lures. The trick is to try an unorthodox color then, find one that stripers won't hit as eagerly, thereby allowing bass more time to crash the party.

#247 MS Black is a beautiful 'magic scale' (MS) black finish that is popular for night fishing- or any time there's low light or dark water.

Also, once you get an old, beat up Sammy or Gunfish, you can spray one with a light coat of flat black, but don't do too good a job of painting it so that some of the black can wear off during use, thereby revealing some of the original finish underneath. It will look ugly, but try it anytime you may need a secret smile.

Visit www.bassdozerstore.com for more information. Thank you and good luck fishing!