Today, let’s look at another of the contestants from our lipless crankbait cage fight, the ExCalibur XRK 25 One Knocker. This small crankbait comes in a variety of colors and features the one knocker sound chamber. Simply put, as opposed to using several small bee-bee’s to generate sound, this lure uses one ball that knocks back and forth for its unique sound.
When we made our choices for this contest, this was the primary reason this bait was chosen. We have reviewed the Heddon Spook One Knocker and it surprised us by out-catching our old favorite top-water lure. The biggest difference was the one-knocker sound chamber in that particular head to head matchup.
The XRK 25 is 2 1/4 inches long and weighs 1/4 oz. There are some very good patterns available for this bait that are tried and true from the heavier lures in this series. The XRK casts as well as you would expect for its size but no better. They run true right out of the package, no tuning necessary, which in the water translates to slightly nose down on the retrieve. And this characteristic is one that I was disappointed in.
Watch The Running Angle
The reality of the running angle when you have two treble hooks hanging from the bottom of the bait is that if it doesn’t run at a steep enough angle, the hooks can and will get fouled on anything that they come in contact with. This is the case with the ExCalibur. The hooks will pick up slop easily. The hooks are good quality but are standard round bend hooks which don’t deflect potential snags well. Maybe if they had used a hook design similar to the triple grip hooks, the XRK wouldn’t pick up as much muck during the retrieve. The other potential upgrade would be to use a hook with a slightly shorter shank. This too would cut down on the snags that we experienced using this lure.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the one-knocker technology translated very well to this size bait from its larger predecessors. Obviously the sound is going to be different due to the size of the bait, but I’m not convinced there is enough room between the sides of the bait to generate the same unique thumping that is enjoyed by its larger siblings. While the XRK did catch fish, it didn’t really light our fire with either numbers or size. It’s possible that our expectations were just to high.
A Good Wiggle Action
The wiggle on the ExCalibur was the tightest of the three competitors in our cage fight which seemed to take away from the performance of the bait. While the XRK ran true and didn’t exhibit anything unusual in its performance, it just didn’t seem to get the attention of the fish. We ran this right by some fish that we could see and while they didn’t spook, they didn’t turn on the lure with much interest.
We aren’t giving up on the XRK 25 and will continue to use it when conditions are right until it either proves completely ineffective or earns a more permanent place in the tacklebox. I for one hope that it is the latter. Unfortunately, all tackleboxes have a finite amount of space and I just don’t believe in carrying anything to just take up space when there are other possibilities out there that may prove to be more effective.
See ya’ on the water …