We’re still on our top-water kick as the weather is still ideal for that type of fishing. Yeah, when it’s hot, muggy and downright miserable during the day, we spend most of our fishing time either in the wee hours of the morning or the cooler hours of the evening.
When you focus on those low-light periods it helps to have a bait that can make a ruckus.
The Jackall Binksy is one of those baits that has a ton of built in features, can be fished multiple ways, is fun to use, is quality from stem to stern and flat our catches fish.
This Thing is Loaded
The Binksy is 2-3/4 inches in length with a weight of 1/2 ounce.
Besides the cupped mouth that moves a ton of water, it has a free spinning, small blade between the front and rear hooks, a prop on its posterior, comes with two Owner trebles and an internal rattle system that produces both a low pitched knock as well as a higher pitched rattle.
The body of the bait has molded in scale detail, gill plate and jaw etchings with color patterns that aren’t overdone but are striking. The shape appears to be simple but has those subtle profile variations that tell you it was custom designed to behave in very specific ways.
The way all of the components work together are nothing less than we’ve come to expect from the folks at Jackall but are still, at the same time, very impressive to say the least.
The cupped mouth on this lure is perfectly designed to allow the angler multiple retrieve options. With your rod tip low, a quick rip makes a baritone “blurrp” sound as it makes a splash similar to other high quality poppers.
A straight-in retrieve creates a wake in front of the bait that allows other parts of the Binksy to shine while a traditional pop, pop of your rod tip produces the “blurrp, blurrp” sound while walking the dog better than a host of spook style baits out there.
The cupped mouth also is designed so that the bait stops on a dime when you kill it. This keeps it in the strike zone longer and allows you to further entice any potential followers as well as not taking the bait away from a fish who just missed it. We have caught several fish on this bait who had to make a second attempt to get it.
The rattle system is another draw for fish that is executed perfectly in the Binksy. While not the loudest out there, this dual sound is audible to the angler especially on a walk-the-dog type retrieve. We can’t speak to how it’s perceived by the fish but, based on the reactions we have gotten from fish, it is at the very least up there on the annoyance scale.
Jackall designed the blade to work in tandem with the prop. As the Binksy is being retrieved, the blade makes contact with the prop as it is spinning which emits another distinct sound. Additionally, the prop creates a bubble trail behind the bait on a medium retrieve or higher.
Can it all Work Together?
You might think that with four separate components hanging at or near the bottom of a bait that it would be inevitable that they would become entangled either on the cast or the retrieve.
Yeah, you would think that but in this case, you would be wrong. Jackall has designed the Binksy in such a way that even though this is a smallish bait, you cannot foul the components.
We’ve tried to do just that from any and every angle possible but we just can’t make it happen.
We’ve been fishing the Binksy on a Shimano Curado 201 paired to a Shimano Crucial spooled with 12lb Hi-Seas copolymer fluorocarbon coated line. This combination allows us to throw this bait a country mile, work it any way we choose and gives us the power to bring in solid fish from distance.
We have to say that our most productive retrieve to this point has been a walk-the-dog style retrieve. We’ve changed the cadence but the basic idea is the same. Just wing it out there and start with the pop, pop, pop – pause – pop – pause – pop, pop – pause – set the hook!
We’ve caught multiple fish on our baits with the worst damage being the loss of one eye and scratches in the paint job. The Binksy has appealed to a wide range of fish from about 8 inches long to the largest to date being a solid 6 pounder.
Getting in Close
You can put the Binksy into tight places because of the smallish profile. We’ve used this to cast into holes in matted vegetation that we just knew had to be holding fish but we couldn’t get them to commit to a frog.
With its ability to stay in the strike zone while still making its presence known, we’ve been able to coax those fish into striking. Of course getting those fish out of that slop has been an ordeal at times but always worth the effort.
The hook-up ratio with this bait has been excellent. As with any top-water lure, you have to wait to feel the weight of the fish before you swing. But once you do, you are hooked up!
With this bait it’s hard to say that any one feature is better than the others. They all work in tandem no matter the retrieve you use to make the most of your presentation.
You can pick up the Binksy for about $15 retail. While this is more expensive than some other poppers out there, but it is inexpensive for a bait of this quality. Once again, we have to give Jackall props for their ingenuity, execution and willingness to put together a truly unique lure.
| Jackall Binksy | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| A popper with all the bells and whistles | |
See ya’ on the water …
