For spring time, clear water situations, few techniques are as much fun and productive as using a shakey head. Missile Baits is a company that John Crews, elite series angler, is heavily involved in. Up to this point, they have been concentrating on a limited number of soft plastic baits all designed and thoroughly tested prior to being released to the public. The Missile Baits Warlock Head is their first foray into terminal tackle.
The Warlock Head is a shakey head that has been manufactured using a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook as well as a short screw type bait keeper that securely holds your soft plastic snuggly against the head without any gaps or interference with the line tie. It comes in three sizes, 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 and two colors, black and green pumpkin.
What we look for in a shakey head
When we got these the first priority was determining how well they stand up. When shakey heads first appeared on the scene, many of them just kind of rolled over with the bait in tow. Not really a very appealing presentation to our way of thinking.
In our testing, the Warlock Head will land and stay on the flattened underside of the weighted head almost all the time. The only exception has been when it just happens to land on something on the bottom about the size of a pen and land just right. However, all you have to do is move it off the obstruction and it stands right up again.
The next thing we wanted to determine was the angle at which this head was going to hold the bait off the bottom. Why? Cause its easier for a fish to suck it in when its standing at attention than when its lying flush on the bottom.
Out came the old protractor. The results are pretty impressive in our opinion although our measurements are less than perfect. The hook shank is at a roughly 35 degree angle while your bait will sit at an approximate 55 – 60 degree angle off the bottom. This makes it very easy for a bass to pick up whatever you’re offering him.
We mentioned the bait keeper. Because of its length, or in this case lack of length, it doesn’t get in the way of setting the hook. While we have seen keepers that flat out protrude way too far resulting in a small gap between the hook point and the end of the keeper, the small spring on the Warlock Head hasn’t interfered or caused us to lose a fish ever. Not even once … Zero … Zip … nada.
So, how’s it fish?
This shakey head comes through weeds exceptionally well due to the design of the head. Most of you will opt for fairly slender profile baits for the majority of your shadey headin’ but don’t hesitate to employ baits with a little more meat on their bones with the Warlock Head. Thanks to its design, it can handle a wide variety of soft plastics.
The Gamakatsu hook is sharp out of the package, penetrates easily and will get them through the top of the mouth the vast majority of the time. This shakey head is ready for action straight out of the package.
We’ve used the Warlock Head in a number of ways including but not limited to, hopping, yo-yoing, dragging, sweeping and of course, shaking. It has performed almost flawlessly for us. What little negative there was, we can’t blame on the product but rather, user error.
You know how it goes. Sometimes you just gotta take a crack at those dad-gum tree bass! It usually doesn’t work out to well, especially for the product we’re testing.
As far as the pictures in the article, let’s face it, you can only photograph terminal tackle so many ways to highlight a particular product. We tried to do that. As far the last photo with the fish, you’ll see part of a bait that you may not be familiar with.
We’re not gonna spill the beans on that yet, but stay tuned. We’ll be doing a full review on that specific soft plastic soon!
The Missile Baits Warlock Head is a very well put together piece of hardware that accomplishes everything it is supposed to without any drawbacks or complaints. It retails for what we consider pretty reasonable. About $5 for a pack of three.
On the MVF rating scale, the Missile Baits Warlock Head earns 4 stars.
See ya’ on the water …