Recently noticed this video of the Strike King Red Eye Shad and it just confirms that it’s the best rattletrap when it comes to the shimmy when it falls. Sometimes the fish want it burned in which case has a tendency to turn on its side a bit but a lot times, they want you to simply lift the bait and then let it flutter down. When the bass want it this way, the Red Eye Shad is the best bait out there.
That being said, I’m still not 100% convinced the #2 KVD triple grips are necessary since I think fish are harder to hook with the points bent inward but they do stay on better when you’re reeling them in.
The most productive time of the year although it works any time any where is the pre spawn and I do add a red treble to the front which I think is effective any time you’re around the spawn.
Anyone who fishes these things a lot know they get torn up pretty easily but the best thing about the Red Eye Shad is that they’re cheap so you don’t feel bad about losing one or getting another one. Not such a good thing for someone who has tendency to buy something at just about anywhere they sell fishing tackle.
Kistler Rods is coming out with some new offerings in 2012 that’s getting me pretty excited. Those of you who were fans of the Graphite Plus Composite and the Alton Jones Magnesium TS Composite will be excited to hear that glass composite cranking rods will return with micro guides in a 7′ and 6’6″ model. Glass just works for some reason for cranking and can’t wait to see how it handles my traps and squarebills.
Another old favorite that’s returning is the 7’6″ extra heavy Helium flippin stick that’s been sorely needed in the Kistler lineup for those of us who fish in heavy cover and the 7’9″ deep cranking rod that was in the Argon lineup will be returning in the form of a Magnesium.
A new size that I’m a huge fan of is the 7’3″ which is a little lighter than a traditional 7’6″ but also allows you to move more line on the hook set and offers more control over the fish than a traditional 7′ rod. It’s really a perfect compromise and it will be available in a medium heavy, heavy, and extra heavy.
I haven’t heard a whole lot out of any of the major tackle portals, but let’s just say I’ve gotten this info from a pretty reliable source.
I’m a bit of hoarder when it comes to fishing lures and lately I’ve been eyeing some fancy prop baits since the introduction of the Rapala X Rap Prop.
Jeff Holland from the Jeff Holland Blog pointed out another prop bait that I need to try out made by Lucky Craft called the Splash Tail 90. You wanna talk about quality components, it’s a ball bearing double prop bait with a super technical paint job that Lucky Craft is know for.
A quick look at the Lucky Craft site revealed a “Gill” color that’s made but I can’t seem to find anywhere. Supposedly, it’s only available in Japan and it’s no where to be found on ebay. I guess it’ll stay on the wish list until I run into someone from Japan or Lucky Craft.
I’ve been keeping up with all the new releases at ICAST this week and man I wish I was there. The neatest bait I’ve seen so far is the X Rap Prop.
Finally, someone has attempted to improve on the Boy Howdy and Devil’s Horse. They’re both great baits, but let’s be honest… neither one of these lures have quality components.
It appears that wait is over. I’m dying to get my hands on a X Rap Prop but will have to wait until they’re released. As soon as they’re available, I’m gonna get the black and gold as well as the perch color.
I know Devil’s Horse die hards will complain about the bait sitting slightly tail down but personally don’t think it makes a difference 90% of the time.
My favorite setup for prop baits is a 6’9″ MH Kistler Helium LTA and 15 lb mono. The rod has fast action but not so fast that it hinders casting distance or your ability to work the bait. I can literally throw the Devil’s Horse a country mile but I still have a little better accuracy with the shorter length.
The Skitter Prop which is a single prop balsa bait also made by Rapala has been one of my favorites for quite some time.
The Shimano Curado E has been on sale in a lot of places lately for less than $140. My first inkling was to get a few at a really good price, but then I started thinking maybe they’re coming out with a new Curado.
A little research revealed this picture of Dave Mercer on Facebook with a shimano reel that I haven’t seen before paired with possibly a new split grip Crucial or Compre.
The boards that I’ve visited seems to think there will be a new Curado and Chronarch introduced at this year’s ICAST in July with them sharing the same body design like they did with the Bantam Curado and the Curado D series. They’re also supposedly introducing a new reel line to fit between the Core and the Curado.
My favorite reel at the moment is the Chronarch D which I’ve plucked off ebay at various times for just above $200 which is a heck of a lot more appealing than the $300 retail price. It’s basically a more solid Core. It’s a bit heavier, but 7.5 oz isn’t that heavy anyway. The slight amount of extra weight is a welcome tradeoff for a more solid feel.
I just wish they put the wider paddle handles found on the Curado E on the Chronarch D. From the looks of this picture, it looks like the wider paddles are coming on the new reels.
I’ve been wishing they came out with a 6:2:1 model with aluminum frame and sideplates and it looks like they might come out with one that’s called something else.
Currently, the only 6:2:1 models are the Core which is super expensive and the JDM Metanium MG which is even more expensive. I just don’t like the feel of the Citica E. I’ve been considering the Daiwa Zillion which has a real solid feel but it’s heavy like the Revo.
There’s also a new magnesium Revo supposedly coming out as well called the MGX and weighs only 5.4 oz. It also features a shallower spool for casting light line and lures.
I own some Revo’s and a lot of Shimano reels. The Chronarch D is my favorite and may be able pick some more up at a great price when these new reels come out. I just wish a 6:2:1 version existed in the US market.
The Revo’s have a real solid feel but too heavy for my taste and don’t throw as good as a Shimano. I’ll probably phase them out eventually.
The Diawa’s are awesome reels but the Zillion is too heavy and I can’t afford the Pixy or Steez.
I’m sure there’s gonna be lots of big news this year at ICAST and my wallet will probably be hurting once I find out about all the new toys.
I’ve got the 7′ medium heavy Micro Mag paired up with a Curado E50 and 15 lb Seaguar Abraz X and the 7′ extra heavy Micro Mag with a Curado 200 E7 and 65 lb Sufix 832 braid.
Both balance real well with these reels and look awesome with the green Curado.
I read the TackleTour review on these rods and they’re right, when you try a rod with conventional guides and then try the Micro Mag it’s like putting on tennis shoes after wearing leather soled dress shoes all day. It really is that big of a difference.
The rod is a lot more sensitive since there’s less mass on the blank itself and there’s a crispness that’s hard to explain with words.
Of course, the Kistler blank is good already. I love the soft tip actions on all Kistler blanks, even on the extra heavy “Broom Stick”. You’ll realize the importance of the soft tip action when you rip hooks out of a fish’s mouth or lose a fish by the boat.
Probably my favorite feature of the Micro Mag is the guides itself. They’re tangle free meaning no more of that dreaded line wrap around the guides and tip. You’ll notice the micro guides are angled upward and the tip has an anti grabbing frame to avoid those annoying tangles. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been frustrated from the line wrapping around the guides. Finally, those days are over.
The 7′ medium heavy will be used for senkos, flukes, and 1/8 weenie worms. I’ll probably get another one spooled with mono for heavy topwaters like Super Spooks.
The 7′ extra heavy is only a frog rod (i.e. Spro frogs, horny toads, mag speedworm, etc.). You could use it to flip with, but I love my 7’6″ Kistler Z Bone which is always on my deck no matter where I go.
These things are freakin awesome and will be getting another medium, medium heavy, and heavy in the near future. My new boat fund is taking a little step backwards but well worth it.
The one tip I can give you if you decide to buy a Micro Mag is that all Kistlers run a little light except for the extra heavy which could be used as a weapon if I decided not to fish with it anymore, so pay close attention to lure ratings. For example, my old Shimano Crucial medium heavy had a lure rating of 1/4 -1 which is the same lure rating on a heavy Kistler.
I had a make a run to Bass Pro this week and as always, walked out of there with something I really didn’t need.
This time, it was the Koppers Live Target Frog. I can’t believe you can get so much detail in a lure for $10. It’s another one of those that may never see the water.
It looks so good, I may just frame it. The photo doesn’t do it justice.
Even the texture on the side is like a real frog. Don’t ask me how I know this, but I guess I’ve picked up a frog or two in my lifetime.
There’s probably no need for so much detail since I think bass just see a silhouette when they look at hollow body frogs anyway, but it’s one beautiful item to add to my collection. I mostly use black or white frogs, so this one will have to settle for looking good in my frog box.
I just took advantage of the Black Friday sale at Tackle Warehouse with 20% off nearly everything and bought some stuff I need and don’t need. Among the items I needed were rattletraps although I’ve got boxes of them.
I’ve been looking at the Lucky Craft LV500 in Gunmetal Shad forever and finally made the plunge. I don’t care if it ever catches a fish, I just like the way it looks. I mean really, just look at this thing.
Also, got a Xcalibur xr50 Real Craw that really looks nice for the price with incredible detail. The only knock about the Xcalibur lipless cranks is that the eyes fall off but this one doesn’t have an eye. Other than that, Xcalibur makes ones of the truest running lipless crankbait that hold up well and has a good shimmy when it falls. It’s my favorite trap for most occasions since it costs less than $7 and also comes with a one knocker option.
The lipless bait that seems to hold up the best is the Spro Aruku Shad. I’ve got a black gold one that I’ve been throwing for a couple of years now and it’s still in good shape. It’s caught tons of fish and been through more hydrilla than you can shake a stick at so I had to get one in Wild Shiner and Chrome Blue. You just gotta swap out the #6 back hook with a #4.
The Yozuri Rattlin Vibe also holds up well and catches fish so I had to get one in the standard Florida black gold color. It’s purrrty.
I’ve got boxes of lipless crankbaits and probably don’t need any more but I can’t seem to stop buying them. We are coming up on the pre spawn where these baits really shine so you never know.
Anyone who fishes these baits know how easily fish get off so I had to splurge and get some of the extra wide gap short shank KVD trebles.
For some reason, I love collecting crankbaits. As a bass fisherman, we all have some sort of a collector gene that’s innate in all of us and one of things I find fascinating is the handmade balsa crankbait.
We hardly ever get to throw them in Florida with all the vegetation, but they can be deadly in late summer/early fall. They’re awesome around laydowns and even around kissimmee grass.
For some reason, I always gotta buy a balsa crankbait if I see one. I’ve got lots of the old Bagleys, Rapala DT Fat, and Bombers but they’re nothing like the handmade variety.
I noticed this post on the W2F blog and it’s got me lusting after some more of these hand crafted jewels made by Ed Chambers of Zoom Bait Company. Each one is hand signed and they really are works of art.
I own the W.E.C. E1 and the Sweet P and I always say a little prayer to keep those jackfish away before I throw them because they’re so doggone expensive. You can definitely notice a difference as soon as you start crankin those babies in. There’s something about wooden baits that I’m drawn to.
They can be the only bait a bass will hit, even in Florida. Ben Matsubu won a Bassmasters event on Lake Eustis crankin grass in November not too long ago. Crankbaits do work in Florida. They also work well around pads during the spawn. You just gotta be pretty accurate.
If money was no object, I’d get every model that was available. Especially the “Tapp” model which accounted for wins by David Fritts and Jeff Coble. It’s the type of crankbait I can’t find a use for in Florida, but you never know when you’ll need it.
You can take a look at the different models at Pepper’s Baits.
It seems like the big fish are on the jig bite on the Kissimmee Chain lately and I’ve been having some issues with hooks bending straight with my jigs. A 8 ft flippin stick and 65 braid can do some damage to a normal hook.
I thought it would be great if someone built a jig around the Bad Mother Flippin hook or the Paychex Flippin hook, and then I stumbled across the Hack Attack Jig by Strike King.
The best I can tell, the jig comes with the Bad Mother Flippin hook made by Gamakatsu. I love the fact that it comes in Okeechobee Craw. It might as well be Kissimmee Craw or Toho Craw because it works just as well around these parts. It also comes in the go anywhere, do everything black and blue color.
The 40 degree line tie seems to work better around grass than my other favorite jigs, the Denny Brauer Pro Model and the Rattleback Jig.
I also like the fact that it doesn’t come with rattles. For some reason, I believe rattles are a detriment around the spawn and having a silent jig option is great when the fish are a bit spooky.
I like these jigs so much that I’ve began experimenting with a heavier 1 ounce version to get into even thicker cover. I’ll probably try a 3/4 ounce version as well some time soon.
For those of us who flip jigs with extra heavy rods and 65 braid, practically everyone who flips in Florida, the Hack Attack Jig seems to be the jig made for us.
