Spring time is always a blast when it comes to fishing. It’s one of our favorite times of the year. One of the genre’s of baits that we really look forward to testing in that transitional time frame as the water begins to warm are lipless crankbaits.
While the Jackall TN60 is not brand new, it’s one that we haven’t had the chance to fish until this season. But we gotta tell you, its been a blast testing this little bait.
What are the spec’s?
The TN60 is not what you would refer to as a heavy-weight in terms of its outward appearance. This bait is 2.4 inches long carrying a weight of just 4/9 of an ounce. Keep in mind though, that it’s the size of the fight in the dog, not the size of the dog in the fight when it comes to this little gem.
The TN60 comes equipped with a #4 on the belly, a #6 on the rear. While these are properly sized for this bait in most situations, don’t hesitate to change out the rear hook to a #4 if the spirit moves you. That small modification won’t affect the action of this lure at all.
Obviously there are lots of lipless cranks on the market. So what separates the Jackall from its competitors?
Oh, let me count the ways … to fish it
The TN has a unique sculpted shape that in turn contributes to its one of a kind action. By that we mean that when it comes to this bait there is no wrong way to fish it. You can burn it, slow roll it, hop it, yo-yo it, rip it, jig it, cast it, intersperse twitches, kill it or let it just sit on the bottom with small, subtle shakes just to mention a few. The only limitation is where the angler is comfortable throwing it.
The other noticeable design element that really makes this bait versatile is the tungsten lip. Yup, both upper and lower lips are made of tungsten. This feature creates more space inside the bait which means more vibration and greater sound. Lest we forget, it also allows the Jackall to stand virtually straight up when it hits the bottom. Can you say … bed fishing? Oh yeah, just one area that the angler should consider using the TN60.
When it comes to the action of the TN, it is excellent. If you’ve ever watched baitfish in the shallows, you will notice that they have more than one gear. When they are just cruising, they flip their tails just a little. Disturb them and all of the sudden there is a more pronounced flip of the tail along with some body roll.
The Jackall TN mimics this in that at start up there is a wider wobble than when you get it up to speed. Slow your retrieve down a bit and the wiggle becomes a little tighter. Kill it and it will shimmy on the way then lock in, nose down, on the bottom.
Another area that this bait excels in is its ability to be fished at a variety of depths and the ease at which the angler can keep it in a specific range. While some lipless cranks out there will dig as soon as you turn the handle on your reel, the TN60 swims fairly horizontally. A plus in our book.
Lipless cranks are a great search bait ‘cause you can cover a lot of water in a hurry with them. The Jackall is very adept for this purpose. Even the small size, the TN60, casts great for distance and accuracy. There is a larger, heavier TN70 for those who want it but the reality is that the 60 has fit our needs to a T, or TN, take your choice.
As far as colors, there’s a very good selection. All of them are designed to mimic some very popular, widespread baitfish with of course, a red craw color. You shouldn’t have any issues finding one that will work where you fish given you know the local forage.
When you can use it
Don’t think that there is only one time of the year to pull this out and tie it on. We’ve been fishing this bait for the last several months and have found that it does produce fish in extremely cold water as well as downright hot water. At the risk of being redundant, this is an extremely versatile bait. Not only in how many ways you can use it but in that appeals to a broad spectrum of fish.
We have caught little dinky bass, trout, crappie, large bluegill and even a bass that went 10 pounds plus!
One other modification the angler can do is remove the rear treble, replace it with a single hook and remove the belly hook. This will make this bait as close to weedless as you can get without Texas riggin’. You will also cut down your hook-up percentage but hey, it’s always fun to experiment!
A final thought on the TN. Back in the old days, lipless cranks were commonly referred to as idiot baits. The reason was simple. You threw ‘em out, then reeled ‘em in. Not much more than that as there wasn’t much finessey about ‘em.
The Jackall TN 60 really adds some more dimension to a time-tested, proven style of bait. No they aren’t cheap. They’ll run you about $15 per. Is it worth it? In our book, this is another value priced, semi-custom lure that is worth the extra coin.
The Jackall TN60, because of its unique design elements, built in versatility and downright fun factor, earns 4.5 stars on the MVF rating scale. See ya’ on the water …
