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Hags Tornado F 6.5

November 6, 2011 by ·

Hag's Tornado F6.5

There are times during the year when the use of larger than normal worms will produce more strikes and bigger fish for you. Although fall is typically the season for faster moving baits, that doesn’t mean that on those slow days, you can’t catch them on worms. If you’ve never tried a larger version of these soft plastic bass catchers, now might be a great time to have your first experience with them. The one that I have grown very fond of lately is the Hag’s Tornado in the F6.5 inch version.

Like its smaller sibling, the F6.5 has the same scent, ribs, floating tail and rattle chamber, but in a larger profile. Why would you want to go with this? Because often bass will pass up a smaller offering in favor of a larger one knowing they have to fatten up for the winter. Given they would need to expend the same amount of energy to eat either one, bass, especially bigger bass, may tend to eat the larger bait. Yeah, the old saying, “big baits catch big bass” can be right on.

One of the things that you’ll need to consider when throwing the Hag’s F6.5 is your choice of rigging options as well as the size of the terminal tackle involved. For me, I don’t throw this worm on anything less than a 5/0 hook with my first choice being the Dirty Jigs Stand Up Finesse Head in 3/16. This shakey head brings out the very best in the F6.5 Tornado.

Rigged with this head, the worm will stand almost vertically off the bottom of the lake and every tiny twitch will make the tail come alive. For that matter, just current will have the worm quivering. This subtle action is what I’ve grown so fond of in the Tornado.

I like to fish this bait on either spinning or casting gear with no more than 10 pound test. In our experience with this worm, we got most of our strikes after allowing the Tornado to come to rest on the bottom and then crawling it up and down opposing sides of points. Using short pulls of the rod tip and then just shaking the lure in place for several seconds before moving it a little more was the most effective.

Big Baits, Big Fish!

You can rig it senko style, wacky style or just Texas rigged on an offset worm hook with a standard worm weight too. We’ve caught fish using all of these methods. But if I had to narrow it down to using only one, it would definitely be on a shakey head. Usually when you get a strike on the F6.5, the take is more toward the subtle side. I like to reel down and pause an extra half beat before setting the hook. This allows the fish to get the whole worm in its mouth prior to getting stuck.

You can use a standard worm rattle with the Tornado F6.5 and because of it’s larger size, the rattle will not affect its tail action as much as it does on the smaller version. The color patterns are the same for the 6.5 as they are for the F5 and as we discussed in our earlier review, there are colors that will fit almost any color of water you may be fishing.

We talk a lot about fishing with baits that you have confidence in and this is one of those for us. If you don’t care for fishing worms on shakey heads, maybe you just haven’t found the right one to match your style. The Hag’s Tornado F6.5 may be the one you’ve been looking for.

Hag's Tornado F 6.5
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Yeah it's big, and big bass love it!

See ya’ on the water …

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Damiki D Hold Unweighted Hooks

November 3, 2011 by ·

Damiki D Hold Hooks

At ICAST 2011, new terminal tackle was being shown everywhere. We decided to pick up a new product from Damiki called the D-Hold Hook. These are offered in both weighted and unweighted versions as well as several sizes in both versions. The first one we obtained was the unweighted in 5/0 to do duty for senko style baits, soft-plastic jerkbaits and other lures like craws, worms and lizards to see how they would perform with these proven standards.

One caveat here, we knew that it wouldn’t provide the same flexibility as a standard EWG when it comes to soft plastics and that you cannot cover your knot with your bait using a product like this. But there are enough applications that hook variations similar to this have found a permanent home in my tackle box and if a new product comes out that would be superior to the ones I currently depend on, it would be silly not to consider it.

The D-Hold Hooks use a piece of wire that is attached to the hook eye that resembles a lower-case, open backed, letter d. The idea being that you thread the head of the bait onto this piece of wire, being very conscious to limit the angle and depth of the plastic that you penetrate, and then onto the hook. The way the keeper is attached to the hook eye is akin to a fast-snap which leaves some of the wire sticking out and pointing to the far end of the wire.

Due to this design, you have to be careful to avoid going through more than about 1/4 inch of plastic on the head. The bait keeper will both interfere with, and have to penetrate the head of the bait. You cannot thread a bait on, in the same fashion as using a standard EWG.

The hook point is sharp, the barb is adequately sized but because of the keeper, the hook seems to be oversized when you put a bait on it. It just didn’t matter what lure we tried, the D-Hold always wound up with the hook point further down the body of the bait than other hook styles in the same size.

Notice the strange design of the keeper

The keeper is effective for holding the bait in place. However, if you’re using a slimmer profile plastic, the far end of the wire will stick up through the lure which allows weeds a place to get stuck. Unfortunately, we tried to adjust the holder but when we did, then the lowest portion of the wire would hit the hook shank which tweaked the bait to one side or the other. Not a great deal but enough to be mildly annoying.

I rig a lot of soft plastics with the hook point tex-posed into the bait as I’m sure most of you do. With the D-Hold, the angle of the hook points up a few degrees. This wasn’t at all apparent until we actually started putting baits on the hooks. Personally, I don’t want my hook point sticking out of the plastic for the presentations that are supposed to be weedless. It sorta’ defeats the purpose if you can still get hung up on a bunch of stuff cause’ your hook keeps popping out of the plastic.

We tried a myriad of different baits with these hooks with varying degrees of success, most of which were what we consider sub-par. Damaki makes some high-quality, proven products. Unfortunately, this one misses the mark for us and we can’t give it a rating that it doesn’t deserve.

Damiki D Hold Unweighted Hooks
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We can't give this one a strong recommendation

See ya’ on the water …

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Netbait BK Swimbait 5 Inch

October 30, 2011 by ·

Bigger Bait, Bigger Bass!

We’re going to take a look at the larger version of a bait that we have reviewed before, the Netbait BK Swimbait in the 5 inch size. We use mostly the 4 inch and it has accounted for a lot of fish this year.

However, this time of year presents a wonderful opportunity to fish the bigger bait because the fish are not only getting more aggressive in preparation for the winter but they will eat larger baits in their haste to take advantage of an easy meal. These are precisely the conditions that allow a bait like this to shine.

I’ll never forget a year ago when “The Kid” and I went fishing on a brutally cold day in November on Lake Lanier. Our guide for the day was arguably the best guide on the lake and because of the conditions, his strategy evolved into using live blue back herring and fishing for Kentucky, or Spotted Bass, as they’re known.

I bring this up because the size of the bait got bigger and bigger as the day wore on. The last area we stopped to fish, he put on herring that were at least 6 inches in length. We ended up getting a double with both fish exceeding 5 pounds.

Here again, the old adage, ”big baits catch big fish”, proved to be the true. I know that there are a lot of folks who just haven’t ever tried throwing a bait like this. It simply is out of their comfort zone. But sometimes you have to be willing to throw caution to the wind to give yourself an opportunity at a new experience.

The 5 inch Netbait has all the same endearing features as its little brother. A good solid head, belly slit that makes rigging easy and of course the same over-sized paddle tail. The action is just as good with the 5 inch and the colors are the same.

I like to throw this bait using the Owner Power Lock Plus swimbait hook in the 6/0, 1/4 ounce size. I prefer the larger hook as I believe it makes for a better hook-set. I’m here to tell you that usually when you get a strike on this bait, the fish aren’t playing with you. They hit the BK  hard with every intention of eating it.

I like to fish this bait, this time of year, by casting it out, letting it sink below the level of the shad and then begin retrieving it at a medium to medium fast pace. I know that a 5 inch bait is often larger than the shad that are being chased but, there are time when I want to have some differentiation in my bait so that the fish can pick it out of the crowd.

If that isn’t working or there are no shad in the area you’re fishing, another way to use the BK is to slow roll it along the bottom adding yo-yo style hops now and again while making sure that after the hop, you once again make some bottom contact. I can’t even begin to count the number of fish that I’ve caught this way, using this lure. Due to its action, the Netbait displaces a lot of water and seems to get the attention of bass.

Just like its little brother, the 5 inch BK comes through structure like a champ. The semi-solid head deflects well off of stumps, lay-downs, stick-ups or just about any other underwater impediment. You will get strikes as the bait is bumping into and deflecting off of these kinds of cover.

Another cool thing about the Netbait product is that the 5 inch is the same price as the 4 inch. We talked about the fact that you can catch several fish on one of these baits. The first one that I used, the final tally for that bait was 22 bass before it was unusable. These swimbaits are truly an exceptional value at about $5 a pack.

Netbait BK 5 Inch Swimbait
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Great value, and even better results

See ya’ on the water …

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Tightlines UV Flook

October 25, 2011 by ·

Some more of the 2012 baits are starting to trickle into retail and e-tail outlets so we picked up several to see what the new offerings are like. The first one that I wanted to use was the Tightlines UV Flook. I got these in pearl-black back to match any number of baitfish. I really enjoy fishing soft plastic jerk baits this time of year and was anxious to see how these would perform against my current favorites so let’s get um’ on the water.

The premise of the UV series of baits is that bass don’t have the same filters as the human eye, therefore they respond differently to colors that we simply can’t see. These are built into the UV series with the idea that bass will be more aggressive toward a lure that features these colors over traditional baits without the UV enhancer. I really had no idea whether or not this would translate to more bites, but I had to find out for myself.

You’ll notice from the pics of the packaging that inside the outer shell, each of the baits is  individually inserted into an inner envelope of clear plastic. Whether this is to prevent the enhancer from coming off or another reason, I don’t know. However, it does make it easy to get at individual baits without fumbling around inside the bag.

One of the things that is different about this bait as opposed to other plastic jerk baits is that the belly slit on the Flook is shorter than others because the nose is longer. I usually like to throw the 5 inch versions of these lures on a 5/0 EWG but had to make a small adjustment to a 4/0 to accommodate this characteristic and not get to far into the tail section and kill the action. That proved to be a non-issue in the end but you should be aware of it.

The other factor that we ran across immediately is the fact that the Flook is more petite than most of its competitors for the same size bait. It is both somewhat thinner and weighs less than our current favorites in this genre. Due to this, we went with 8 pound versus our usual 10 pound line. Making these two adjustments, we were able to attain the same distance on our casts as with other plastic jerk baits.

The action of the UV Flook is more subdued and less frantic than most of the current crop of jerks. It still provides the side-to-side darting action but doesn’t travel quite as far or as crisply as we’re used to. The fall is angled in a moderate nose down position that is almost graceful to watch but it wants to ride up in the water column when being worked fast. This bait seems to be most competent on a moderately slow retrieve.

So how did the UV Flook do when it comes to catching fish? To begin with, almost every strike that we got we converted to fish on our thumbs. They were typical plastic jerk bait bites with most of them coming as the lure was moving, not at rest or being dead-sticked. Did it outshine our current first string? No, it hasn’t to the point that I would replace my old reliables with the Flook.

They are a little pricey for this segment considering you are getting 5 for about $5.00. They are moderately durable but not so far superior to others as to out catch them 3 or 4 to one. Does that mean that they are a bust? No, I can actually think of instances that would lend themselves to using the UV Flook over my other go-to baits such as stained water or where the bait is smaller than what I am used to. In these instances, the Tightlines product stands a good chance of outshining most of its competitors and provides a tool for those specific conditions that take advantage of it’s strengths.

Tightlines UV Flook
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Decent bait in a narrow set of conditions

See ya’ on the water …

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Tightlines UV Beaver Creature Bait

October 23, 2011 by ·

Since the introduction of the Sweet Beaver from Reaction Innovations, the “creature bait” has accounted for countless fish caught by the pros and the weekend warrior alike. The fact is that this style of bait catches bass. We’ve fished some Tightlines products but have not reviewed the UV-Beaver until now.

Like so many of the offerings out there in this category, the basic design is similar. A ribbed body with two small appendages at the top of the body with two larger claw like digits on top. Out of the package, they are connected and can be fished this way or separated to allow them to move independently and give the bait more action. Some use softer plastics while others use a firmer, more durable version.

The Tightlines UV-Beaver is definitely on the firm side of the spectrum. This translates to  less tearing and more fish per bait but conversely, less action from the flapping parts. Like all UV baits, the Beaver has been developed using ultraviolet colors that, the company claims, bass respond to 3- to 7-times better than traditional colors. This may account for the limited palette available for these baits. However, the basics are covered including Black/Blue, Blood and Green Red Flake.

We fished this lure on both a jig-head and a standard Texas rig to see what would be the most effective when using this bait. On a jig-head, by itself or as a trailer, proved to be the most effective. Furthermore, because there is less action from the claws on the UV-Beaver, a more subtle retrieve produced the most strikes.

Use Finesse, And Make A Few Adjustments

While there are baits in this genre that are most effective when the angler uses sharp pops and jerks of the rod-tip, this one is more of a finesse style bait. We found that using about half the energy that one would use with something that has more action from its moving parts was the sweet spot for the Tightlines.

Allowing the bait to utilize its body properly by lifting it off the bottom gently so that it glides back to rest, was the key to getting strikes on the UV. This is accomplished by using lighter weights like 1/16 to 1/8. We also found that the most effective use of this bait was in stained versus clear water or low-light conditions.

The other tweak you might consider is using a scent with this bait. We definitely got more strikes when we used our Fish Sticks Lure Enhancer in crawdad on the Beaver. While I can’t quantify the actual effect of the UV technology, there does seem to be something to it. It could be that the fish can spot this bait better than others in murkier conditions.

All of this being said, the Tightlines UV-Beaver has earned a place on the second string. It really does shine given the conditions that we mentioned above.

Tightlines UV Beaver
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When the conditions are just right, this is a good bait

See ya’ on the water …

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Optimum Double Diamond Swimmer

October 19, 2011 by ·

If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we always have a swimbait tied on when we hit the water. The reason is simple, they

Optimum Double Diamond

catch fish and can be used in lots of different conditions. We are always open to trying a new product in this category and today’s review is on one that we have been experimenting with for a while, the Optimum Baits Double Diamond Swimmer.

We chose the 3.75 inch version for our testing because it matches the size of our local forage better than the other options. This version also lends itself to more possibilities for rigging than its larger cousins.

The Double Diamond Shape

It’s called the Double Diamond because of its shape. Both from the side and top or bottom, it is an elongated diamond with a small head and narrow section just in front of the oversized paddle tail. If you’re looking for 3D eyes, you won’t find them on this bait because the design of the head doesn’t allow space for eyes.

There is a belly slit in the bottom that isn’t as deep as one that is found on a split belly swimbait for aligning your hook whether you are rigging it weightless or using it as a jig trailer. However, because it is relatively shallow, you have more plastic to go through on the hook set than with more traditional swimbaits.

Rigging The Double Diamond

We started by rigging the Optimum on a 4/0 weighted EWG to see how it would cast and what the action would be like. The paddle tail does a good job of moving water but does have a sweet spot in terms of achieving the most kicking action. This bait will stay fairly horizontal on the retrieve without rising in the water column as fast as some of its competitors.

Note the diamond profile

On the fall, the tail stops kicking but it does have a moderate nose down descent with no rolling to the side. We found in fishing the DD that a lot of our strikes occurred as we would snap the bait off the bottom and re-start our retrieve. As far as fishing it by itself, this proved to generate more strikes than any other retrieve we tried.

We also fished it as a trailer on both swim-jigs and chatter-baits. The design of this lure really lends itself to this rigging. Because of the shallow belly slit and fairly solid back, it seems to be more at home when threaded onto one of these baits so that your hook point can be exposed. We also found that it enhances the action of both of these products versus a craw style trailer in terms of the side to side kicking action.

When used like this, we only got strikes as the bait was moving. Not one occurred as the bait was sitting on the bottom. We had our best results by swimming this through stalks and lily pads. When we matched the colors of the Double Diamond to the colors of our jig skirts, we were hit more often than using either a complementary color or opposing colors.

There are a number of patterns available in the Optimum bait. They range from the subtle, more natural, to very dark as well as very bright giving you something that can be fished in almost any color water. Again, knowing the local forage should dictate which patterns you might want to try.

As far as cost goes, the Double Diamond will run about $4 bucks for three. While this isn’t cheap, it isn’t close to the most expensive soft plastic swimbait out there either. The durability of the DD is a little less than average mostly due to the narrow section of plastic just in front of the tail. It can be torn and was the weak link in our testing. However, it is also fairly versatile which comes in handy when you have to make adjustments while you’re on the water.

Optimum Double Diamond Swimmer
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Unique design deserves a place in your tackle box

See ya’ on the water …

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Gambler Buzzin’ Cane Toad

October 13, 2011 by ·

We all know about frogs for summer bassin’ but there are still lots of folks who haven’t taken the plunge and given the newest generation

Cane Toad Packaging

of soft plastic buzzin’ frogs a shot. Earlier in the year we reviewed the Attraxx Mystic Frog and we’re pleased with its performance. Since then, we acquired another frog that is very similar in design and application to that, the Gambler Buzzin Cane Toad.

This bait is 4.5 inches long with two buzzin’ legs and a very similar canoe shaped underside. The colors are limited but well thought out. The product is consistent from one color to the next in terms of size, weight and structural features.

The biggest concern with baits of this style is how fast or slow they can be fished while staying on the surface with the legs kicking. The Gambler does a very good job of allowing the angler to use it for a variety of speeds, even pausing to allow the bait to sink when running it over an open hole in grass mats. The weight of the bait allows for good distance when rigged with nothing other than a 4/0 EWG on both casting and spinning gear. This can be a critical factor when choosing a bait of this style.

Another advantage to the Buzzin Cane Toad is that it is excellent when it comes to maintaining its position in the water. Even if it lands upside down, simply starting your retrieve gets the bait right side up in a hurry. In our testing, this toad tracks true as well. Now I suppose if you really wanted to align your hook way off center, you could theoretically make the bait run to one side, but why would you want to? There is no tuning or complex rigging necessary to fish this bait. Just thread it on the hook like you would a worm and you’re ready to go.

Buzzin’ Cane Toad Retrieves And Tips

We’ve fished this bait throughout the summer season, always putting it in harm’s way and have been pleased with the results. You can use a straight retrieve, pop it during your retrieve, allow it to sink and speed it up or slow it down. Generally speaking, we were able to get some fish to strike when we were throwing the Cane Toad. It was all a matter of varying our presentation to suit what the fish were responding too.

Another less utilized retrieve is to rig the Buzzin Toad on a Texas rig. By keeping the bait down at the bottom of the lake, it imitates a frog who is looking to bury itself in the mud. We employed short jerks with longer drags when using it this way. During the spring and early summer, this was an effective way to fish the toad. Just because it’s underwater doesn’t mean the legs quit kicking when it’s moving.

However, our favorite way to fish the Toad was definitely as a top-water bait. Our hook-up ratio when fishing it on top was excellent. Due to the lack of plastic the hook point has to go through and the fact that the fish hit this bait as it was moving, setting on a strike didn’t require swinging for the fences. In about half the hits, the fish set themselves just by taking the bait under.

The toad

This is good bait for novice fisherman to use who are experimenting with top-water as they can throw it for good distance and the retrieves are both uncomplicated and don’t require a high level of skill to master.

The Gambler Buzzin Cane Toad is about $3.50 for a pack of 5 and are better than average in the durability department. This makes them a decent value in today’s market.

Gambler Buzzin' Cane Toad
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Great price, good action, and above average durability

See ya’ on the water …

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Hag’s Tornado F5

October 12, 2011 by ·

Every once in a while, a bait that we have been using for some time will slip through the cracks without getting reviewed. The Hag’s

Tornado In The Package

Tornado is one such bait. We have been using this worm for the past couple of seasons with very good results on a number of rigging options but haven’t gotten around to doing the write-up—that is until today.

We all have our favorite worms that we tend to use day in day out as well as season in season out. Often, we are reluctant to make a change and when someone finally convinces us to try something a little bit different, what do we instinctively do?

We take a half-dozen casts with it, not really learning how to use the product, and pronounce it a loser. With that, we go right back to what we were throwing, exercising the patience of Job, and may eek out an acceptable day if we’re fortunate just because we’ve caught some fish with it in the past.

Such was the case when I first got the Hag’s Tornado. The fact of the matter was that I simply didn’t know how to fish it nor was I willing to take the time to learn. However, that changed one day when I had a well-planned, very long day on the lake. All my usual prep went into this outing except for one little thing. I forgot to check my supply of worms. Yes, within an hour I had exhausted my almost non-existent supply of my favorite worm and while digging through the tackle box searching for an acceptable alternative, I ran across the Tornado in the F5 version.

Rigging The Hag’s Tornado

I started throwing it on the same rig that I was using at the time which was a simple Texas rig with a 1/8 ounce weight. I have to be honest in that I was never a big fan of baits with all the ribs on them. This worm has some serious ribbing! But I didn’t have a choice so I kept using it and started hooking up. Watching the bait in shallow water was an eye-opener in terms of how well the tail floats up off the bottom, as well as how little effort it takes to make that tail quiver.

After a little more experimentation, I gave it a go using a Picasso Shaky Head with a screw type keeper. This seemed to be a marriage made in heaven! This set-up allowed the Tornado to really take advantage of its built in action more than any other rigging option. Every little jerk, rip or pull of the rod tip resulted in some lively action from the Hag’s worm as well as when the jig bumped into anything on the floor of the lake.

Hag’s Tornado Colors And Rattle Chamber

The two colors that I now depend on the most are Tilapia and Storm Chaser with a little Purple Haze thrown in for good measure. I use the F5 more than any of the other size but will use the F4 for drop shotting. These have been the most productive for me due to the fact that I usually fish fairly clear water. However, the Tornado comes in lots of colors including some that I wouldn’t hesitate to try given I were fishing stained to muddy water.

Speaking of the aforementioned conditions, the Tornado has another little feature that is ideal for helping the fish to find it. There is a built in rattle chamber that allows you to insert a worm rattle into the spine of the bait, about an inch from the end of the tail, without tearing the worm. I have taken advantage of this but it does affect the way the worm stands up as opposed to using it plain.

The other two ways that I like to use the Tornado are weightless, just like a senko style bait, and on a wacky head with some weight added to the head of the lure. With these three options, you have several effective presentations that can be made using the Hag’s Tornado.

If you haven’t given any other worm a real chance in a season or more, this is definitely one to put on your short list to give a try.

Hag's Tornado F5
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Versatile and effective addition to your tackle box

See ya’ on the water …

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Power Team Lures Bully Grass Devil

October 7, 2011 by ·

We’ve discussed fall fishing and the baits that we like to use for that time of year. However, there are still a lot of places that are more in

Bully Grass Devil in package

the late summer phase for the moment. For these conditions, there are some baits that will help you put more fish in the boat including the subject of todays review, the Power Team Lures  Bully Grass Devil.

There are situations where you will want to be able to punch through or in the midst of stick-ups, matted grass, lily pads or other dense vegetation. To this end, manufacturers produce what are called, “punch baits”. Typically, these are designed to be smoother, with less appendages sticking out, than a swimming bait.

Enter the Bully Grass Devil. This lure is 4.5 inches in length, has a set of claws and a set of extra appendages. Both are designed to be shielded by the body of the bait so that they slide easily through grass but still provide enough action to get noticed by bass who are under all this slop, waiting for an easy meal. This makes an effective tool that mimics a crawfish but doesn’t get hung up as it’s descending through the muck. The strikes usually come on the initial fall or after only a couple of pops of the rod.

Fishing punch baits is not like using the average craw imitation on a jig in open water or with only sparse cover. You want a punch bait to penetrate the cover easily to elicit a reaction strike. For this technique, you’ll want a pretty heavy sinker, 3/4 ounce or heavier depending on the conditions, and I prefer to peg the sinker. I don’t want my weight to have any distance from the bait itself. I usually fish this rig with braid because I am not making a stealthy presentation. On the contrary, I want those fish who are buried in the slop to know that something is coming so they will look for it. I also want a quick drop so that they aren’t analyzing the bait. The idea is that they see it and react quickly to it before it has a chance to get away.

The Power Team Lures Bully Grass Devil accomplishes all of this in an attractive and effective package. I like to use a heavy flippin hook with these baits as there is a groove molded into the plastic that is ideal for tex-posing a hook without having to worry to much about it slipping out. It also provides less plastic for the hook to go through on the set which increases your hook-up percentage.

There are several good colors offered with many of them using two colors. One of my favorites is the Delta Destroyer that is kind of dark brown on one side and a deep red on the other. This matches our local mud-bugs to a T. When you’re shopping for a lure like this, matching the hatch is an important ingredient to your success. Remember, you’re goal is to make the presentation such that your bait doesn’t arouse any suspicion from the fish.

A lot of folks don’t have access to a boat but don’t let that stop you from adding this technique to your arsenal. You can use this from shore simply by casting into holes in cover and allowing the bait to drop to the bottom. From there, just pop it quickly off the bottom and hold on!

On the MVF rating scale, the Power Team Lure Bully Grass Devil earns a 3.75.

See ya’ on the water …

The bully grass devil has a very creative design

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Picasso Shad Walker

October 5, 2011 by ·

When we got done with our review of the Culprit Ultimate Topwater Shad, one of the things that “the Kid” and I discussed was the fact

Shad Walker In Package

that this style of bait was going to generate some more entrants because it addressed a new niche market. Sure enough, Picasso Lures has come out with the Shad Walker.

This is a similarly styled bait but uses a more realistic body profile and colors. This bait is slightly longer at 4 inches but weighs the same as the Culprit at .5 ounces. Of course we had to get some of these and see how they performed considering we still have the opportunity to catch some fish on top-water lures and there is still plenty of lily pads, matted grass and other inviting areas to throw a bait like this.

So out to the lake we go, the Shad Walker tied on a frog rod with braided line, looking forward to putting the Picasso through its paces. Sure enough, the bait casts just the way you would expect it to. Due to its size and weight, you can get good distance on your casts but not great.

Know this going in and you will position yourself properly to your target. We always like to use lures right out of the package without making any modifications to them, at least initially. That way we experience them the way they were designed to be thrown and can assess the strengths and weaknesses as they are from the factory.

The hooks are sharp out of the box but have a little bit of distance between themselves and the body of the bait. This could be to facilitate good hook-ups but it also makes this bait a little less weedless. You can indeed pick up slop which we found out first hand. However, we didn’t get any snags to speak of. We were a little bit cautious not to throw this bait in the middle of stick-ups. I think this is the one area that we had any misgivings casting the Shad Walker. On top of pads, grass or other floating gunk, there wasn’t a problem as the bait does a very good job of landing in the right position.

Top View

Where the Picasso seemed most at home were areas that had weeds growing to the surface but still had pockets of some open water interspersed. The Shad Walker is very easy to walk-the-dog and probably comes closer to a spook type action than any soft-plastic, double hooked bait that we have fished to date. This was a pleasant surprise and made fishing with this lure just plain fun.

We fished the Walker side by side against our favorite frogs to see if the fish would prefer one over the other. Our experiences so far have been positive in that the fish seems to prefer this bait over a frog in open water with it coming in a close second when fished over slop. Our hook-up ratio has been fairly consistent since we’ve been using this bait at just about 75%. I don’t consider that bad at all for a lure of this style.

Does all this mean that I’m gonna’ give away all my frogs? Absolutely not. But it does mean that I have another tool that I will be using on a regular basis when the fish are unwilling to hit a frog and I need to fish in the same area.

Picasso Shad Walker
Overall Ratingwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Fantastic bait that needs to be in your tackle box

See ya’ on the water …

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