Primus

I've also been impressed with this company but I have not yet tried the Sick Sick, looks like I might have to order a few. Regarding Soft baits I use a combination of mass produced & hand pour. I typically use the hand poured baits for custom colors. I typically go with Dichoso baits when the need arises, he's terrific to deal with and the quality is very good. One hand made crank that has performed well for me is the C Flash, all the ones I use are from the original bait maker I can't comment on the ones made when the business changed hands. Most of the hand made baits are from the swimbait world though the best mass produced baits that I have used would be the 6" & 8" Spro BBZ's and they are part of my line-up as well. The bottom line is catching fish and like to use whatever works whether it's handmade or mass produced.

I still fish them, great bait that can be rigged a large number of ways.

I think you are spot on. To me they are inconsistent & overated. When I buy Rapala cranks they are usually sharp half the time, I do the fingernail test and they don't stick like the sharper hooks on the market do. Even when touching them up I can't get them as sharp as the Gamakatsu & Owner hooks that I usually replace them with. That said the only non treble hook that I have used were the spin shots and the ones I've used so far have been reasonably sharp though my sample size is limited due to the fact that I don't dropshot very much . Now that Gamakatsu offers a similar design I doubt that I will continue to use them.

Versatility would be mine, that said my go to for finding fish would be a crankbait in most situations. No one crank does the job as I have a variety that will fish the surface down to app 20' deep and everything in between.

Hello Crankenstein, doesn't look like you are to far away from where I'm at in Battle Creek based on the lakes you have mentioned. Anyway, I've always been intrigued by these baits especially under low light conditions or dark stained waters. That said I haven't tried them yet.

Xcite baits are the real deal. Their Maximus worm profile was copied by Yum but is a much better bait due to it being bouyant. The Raptor tail junior makes a nice bulky jig trailer.

That's been a real good one for along with Ghost minnow & Chartreuse Shad.

The old version Excalibur had an Advantage series of baits which had clear sides with a holographic insert in them. I have done very well on the Guppy size in a shad color which had a dark back with a white belly. This is still a go to bait when the fishing is tough. I used to kill them on a Powerbait ribworm fished behind a mojo rig. The jury is still out for me but so far I prefer the old version of the Matt lures hard bluegill over the newer version in terms of the way it swims. The newer one is a big improvement in terms of durability. I've only used the newer version one summer so far which may not be a large enough sample size but it seemed like I caught more with the older version.

I like both baits, that said if I had to go with one it would be a RC 1.5 in the Ghost color.

I'm interested, when you see a 3lber choke down an 8" Hudd it changes your perspective on lure size. I would love to see larger & heavier trap style baits available as well.

It's what we do

I haven't used it in a while but the Strike King - King Shad has stuck a couple of 5lbers for me which is a nice bass in my part of the country. Tackle Warehouse is selling them for $ 7.99, I paid about $ 20 when I bought mine. That being said have read complaints that some have had these break at the joint though mine have held up.

The 6th sense bait seems to have quite a following based on the reviews it gets on Tackle Warehouse. I really like the looks of their Baby Bluegill pattern, going to try a couple next season after the ice melts away.

Thank You

Everyone else probably got this but it went over my head, when you say clip the bootail do you mean cut it off or split it ? Thanks

Lucky Craft 1.5 for numbers of quality fish. When the fishing is real tough I will through the 0.5 in the Ghost color. For big fish the Lucky Craft RC 3.5. - Lucky Craft is still the champ in my opinion as far as plastic squarebills go. Others baits that I like include the KVD 1.5 & 2.5 , Ima Bill Lowen squarebill & River to Sea Creepin' squarebill. The Ima one has come through me on some tough bites when they wouldn't hit the other baits.

Try the River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker, they are much more consistent and come in a variety of sizes. Just like the Storm they are very affordable. The only thing I don't like about them is that the eyes are prone to popping out which is why I put a couple of coats of 316 softbait glue over them B4 I take them fishing.

Check your message box.

21farms if I may ask are you using a Dobyns and if so which model ? Please review it's strengths & weaknesses if you can. Thanks

I want to upgrade my old black color 7' Med BPS Crankin' stick, last year I bought the supposedly upgraded newer 7' Med crankin' stick and I didn't care for it as it didn't rip my cranks off of the weeds as well as the older model. Which brings me to a G loomis rod that I saw in a local tackle shop. This model is spec'd for baits ranging 3/8 - 1 oz and 10-20 lb line. What I'm hoping for is that rod will upgrade my sensitivity, have enough flex to keep fish pinned on treble hooked baits yet have enough backbone to rip a trap off the weeds using 12 or 14 lb florocarbon line. The types of baits I would throw on this would be a RC 1.5, Baby 1 minus, 1/2 to 3/4 oz traps and medium diving cranks up to a DT 10 or a Wiggle Wart.I have other cranking rods for deep divers and prefer a spinning rod for light baits like a shad rap so I'm not concerned about using this rod for those applications. That said versatility is important. Can this rod comfortably cast 1/4 oz baits like the 1.5 even though it's a little below spec? As already mentioned, does it do a good job ripping it off the weeds ? Even though I've been happy with my older model crankin' stick this rod has me tempted, but I want to get as much input as possible given the price. Thanks

On my spinning rods I prefer the White braid with app a 10' florocarbon leader, I can see the White line a lot better than the green. On my Frog rod I stay with green braid with no leader, with the strikes being obvious there is no need to see my line.

Lunker Punker Reaction Innovation Vixen Lucky Craft Gunfish Zara Spook

Didn't produce enough fish for me. The bait would seem to tumble a lot on the cast and which result in too many wasted cast with the hooks fouling on the line. Perhaps their was user error on my part but many of the times it failed to produce I was able to generate strikes with other crankbaits. Maybe others have done well with it but it didn't work out for me. Now watch someone post a trophy that they caught on this bait

ABT lures came out with their X2 Slow Sink Crankbait which can reach deeper depths. I bought one but didn't get around to using it much as I got it late in the year. Did make a few cast to see how it swims, looks like it might have promise. Will fish it hard next summer to see if it can earn a spot in my tackle box. I also bought a Bass Star Dredger a few years back which is another sinking crank, didn't care for that bait.

Forgot about the Yozuri, another real good one. I fish most of my lipless cranks on 12 lb Floro and a 7' Med BPS Cranking Stick.