Kevin VanDam and I have something in common—we are both bass fishing crankbait monsters!
Ok, ok, maybe I’m not quite the crankbait fisherman KVD is, but it is still one of my favorite ways to go after bass. Recently, I picked up a few Spro Fat John shallow running crankbaits to test out and review.
Construction
The Fat John is a shallow running crankbait that dives between 1-3 feet. As such, you have a narrow, short bill.
The finish on the body of the bait is decent, if somewhat unsophisticated. It certainly gets the job done, but lacks the details of some other very good cranks.
The hooks on the bait come very sharp, and have a longer shank. These hooks need to be changed out before you ever throw them out. Because the shank is long, and the bill is short, they have a tendency to get caught on your line while casting, especially in windy conditions.
This will cause you to have no action at all, and the bait will just spin all the way back to the boat. Switch these out for a short shank trebble.
The Action
The action is where the Fat John really makes it happen. It has a tight wobble, which obviously gets tighter the faster you retrieve.
When you see the bait diving, it seems as though it is diving with a purpose. This little bait looks like it’s on a mission when you are burning line!
Tips
Like I said before, you need to change out the hooks for a short shank model.
I also removed the slip ring, and attached my line directly to the bait. This increased my strike to hook-up ratio, and also let me feel what was going on in the water much easier.
This is a great crankbait for fishing in shallow, rocky points. You can burn it, and let it make contact with the bottom, and because of the construction of the bill, it will bounce around and avoid getting snagged.
Conclusion And Overall Rating
The Spro Fat John definitely earned a permanent spot in my tackle box, and should do the same in yours. Just be sure to make the small modifications I mentioned earlier and this bait will put bass in your boat.
Overall, the Spro Fat John receives 3 out of 5 stars.
Click Here to order the Spro Fat John from our friends at Bass ProShops today(aff).
See ya on the water…
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