Time For A Lipless Crankbait Cage Fight!

One of the propensities that all us fisherman seem to share is the ongoing search for the next great bait. Even when we have one that has worked well for us for years, if something new comes out that we believe that it has the potential to out catch our “old favorite”,  or add to our arsenal when the fish start refusing that bait, we run out, buy it, and get it out to our favorite body of water to see how it performs.

We here at MVF are no different and today we’re going to show you how we go about deciding on what new lures have promise as well as how we like to test them.

The promise part of the equation is simple. The new lure has to have something special built into it that no other lure in it’s class has. Another factor is that it has quality components. Sometimes you get an unpleasant surprise and find that a product doesn’t live up to it’s billing but we try to do our due diligence prior to purchasing anything. With that said, let’s move on to what class of lures is the subject of today’s article, the lipless crankbait.

In This Corner, The Spro Aruku Shad Jr.

One of my ‘old favorites” is the Spro Aruku Shad Jr.. I have used this little lipless crankbait for several years and been more than happy with it. This year is the first time that new products have come out that have piqued my interest enough to get them to see what they can do on the water.

Let’s begin with with our contestants. The aforementioned Spro Aruku Shad Jr. Is 2 1/3 inches long and weighs 3/8 oz. We have reviewed this lure because it has some attributes that make it especially well suited for spring time fishing. The length is just about perfect for this time of year. The rattles are loud with a medium-high pitch. This bait runs nose down and unlike most of the lures in this class, it will not fall over when at rest on the bottom. This makes it an excellent choice for bedding bass.

Meet The Challengers

Our first challenger is the new Koppers Live Target Bluegill Trap. This bait is 2 3/16 inches long and weights 1/4 oz. The finish on this lure is amazingly realistic. If you haven’t seen the Koppers line of products yet, you have to see them in person to appreciate just how photo like they are. You’ll notice that the Bluegill Trap is an 1/8 oz lighter than the Spro bait.

No doubt this will affect it’s casting distance but on the other hand, it may be better in shallow water due to it’s lack of weight. Another thing that you’ll notice when you have these baits side by side is that the Koppers is a bit broader across the beam than the other two contestants. We’ll have to wait and see how this affects it’s performance. The rattles on the Koppers are similar to the Spro with some mid-range thrown in.

The third lure in our field is the new ExCalibur XRK 25. This is the smallest version of the popular series. The XRK 25 is 2 1/4 inches long and weighs 1/4 oz. The finishes are nice but not as detailed as our other contestants. What really intrigued me about this product is that it is a “one knocker”. In other words, as opposed to using several bee bee’s to generate sound, this bait uses one ball inside the sound chamber for it’s rattle. The reason this is so interesting to me is because we have been fishing the Spook One-Knocker since it was introduced and it has out produced all of our “old favorite” top-water lures. Who knows, maybe it’s just a matter of that odd sound that makes an enormous difference.

So here are our contestants. The rules of the game are simple. We take them all out on the same day and use them all on the same equipment. Our rods will be a 6 1/2 foot medium action casting rods with Quantum Energy PT IV’s spooled with 10 pound, P-Line Voltage.

We will be throwing them side by side and leap frogging each other for the next spot. We control as many variables as we can so that we get the most accurate results possible. We’ll also try to expose them to the same treatment, i.e, running them though the same water, deep and shallow, running them into the same structure and with luck, hooking some of the same size fish.

That’s it, now for the real test, getting them on the water! Stay tuned ‘cause the results will be here in just a few days.

See ya’ on the water …