Stringjam

Very different cranks. The Sand Flea is smaller than the Wobbler - also has a bit more of an aggressive action.

Based this lure off of my most productive color of soft-plastic worm. This was some sort of weird thing.....don't like how it turned out but thought I'd take a pic of it anyway. Closest thing I can think of is a Christmas ornament. Oh well.....I can't be happy with all of them.

Pick the style you need based on what type of depth / cover / situation you're using cranks for already. My personal picks... Stumpy DR - - awesome mid-diver.....one of the best, period. Z-Flat Coffin Lip Wobbler Hickey

Like I said earlier - it's a Jackall, so include that in your search or you probably won't find it. Here ya go - a pic of the Chico. Keep watching eBay - - that's where I got mine, and that's the only place I've seen them pop up. Unless you have some contacts in Japan, I'm not sure of any other way to get it.

I assume you're talking about Jackall Japan's balsa cranks? I had a Geronimo Chico -- sold it before I really fished with it much (very unlike me.....I must have had a moment of vulnerability while caught in a vortex of space/time or something). It was a pretty bodacious crank....kind of like a big Bagley. If I remember correctly, the action was moderately wide......wider than vintage Bagley. The regular Chico I haven't tried - but has a pretty strong following from my understanding in Japan. Might be worth a try - - check eBay for em'......there's a lot of good Japanese stores on there and I've never had a single bad transaction with the dozen or so I've ordered from.

I find it MUCH easier to hold the line instead of the rod.

Faulting a light-wire hook for bending is like complaining about having diarrhea after eating at Waffle House. It is what it is. I've never had problems with Gamakatsu hooks. I use Mustad Ultra-Locks simply because their design holds up soft plastics so well, but I used the Gama Superline worm hooks for years with no problems. Lately I've been using the Gama EWG Trebles on my cranks and am supremely pleased with the result. So much so that I believe I prefer them over the Owner Stingers (which are a of benchmark of sorts among crank enthusiasts).

Great job, Ben.....I like your interesting choice of backgrounds - the nails are awesome! Nice photos. 8-) What kind of action does that first bait have? I think that's about the shortest lip I've ever seen in a crank!

I've done some bending on polycarbonate lips. It will work (increasing lip angle) if you want a wider action. I don't have too much interest in increasing lip angles because I tend to prefer a tighter action. I use a little torch or a lighter - you want to be careful......if you get the polycarbonate too hot it will bubble and discolor.

Nice take on the eyes, Dave. 8-)

It's been a long time since I've thrown one of these....it's not the current BPS vibe - this design was discontinued years ago. The bait is nose-weighted and stands on it's nose extremely well - - one thing I like about it. I don't remember it being particularly lively, though. I'll give this one a try and see how things go again.

Very nice, fishwhittler. Crackle is an interesting effect....I'd like to try it sometime as well.

Lots of blue....lots of sparkle.

Like the way you do your fins. That Skeleton Craw is completely bada**.

Thanks - and yeah, that's an Xacto handle.

This lure was really beat up....decided to give it a sparkly new paint job.

Yes there are - and there are big differences in how well some lipless cranks work at low speeds compared to others. At one time, I tested all the different lipless cranks I had in a tank to see which ones required the least amount of movement to illicit the action. Long story short, the Jackall TN is pretty much the best. It requires very little speed to get going. Plus, when you stop the Jackall, it sits there on it's nose with the tail up in the air......try that with an XCalibur and it falls flat on it's side. If you want to hop these things down rocks, it's no competition. As far as the lipless baits I tested that required the most speed to get moving - it was the Rapala and the XCalibur. At the speeds I could get the Jackall to wiggle, they would basically just glide through the water with no action at all. A plain old $2 Cordell Super Spot does a great job as well.

There's a lot of good lipless cranks out there.....I have (had) over 20 different brands - from very expensive and rare designs, to cheap ones. Get a 1/2 oz. Cordell Super Spot to start with - and be prepared to be disappointed with baits that costs 2 or 3 times as much. For a bait that is good for dropping into deeper water, and can nose-stand on a rocky bottom (which is something you should consider given your set of conditions) you will find no better bait than the Jackall TN/70. It's awesome.....very awesome - - and is one of the FEW expensive lipless cranks that I actually believe is worth the price. It's not a very large bait, but it seems to have a pretty fast sink rate. For a little bit less coin you can get a Spro Aruku Shad that will also do the nose dance and drop quickly. I dislike XCaliburs - I find their action (what little of it there is) only works at fast retrieve speeds and completely dies if you slow it down, but a lot of people are successful with them, and success is something you can't argue with - - so take recommendations with a grain of salt and try out some different designs to see what works best for you.

Awesome! Love the color schemes on the lower two in the first pic - looks killer!!

Wow, that's some beautiful artwork.......if you can do that with an airbrush, I'm looking forward to see what you do to a crankbait!

Looks great - and also a very good job on the photographs. 8-)

That looks like one of Marty's "Charlie" clones......they're supremely righteous cranks - one of the best round baits you can buy - period.

Nice job - - some angry looking cranks you've got there! I like the top color pattern.

Yes - I made 3 stencil shapes for the body plates. do you use that stencil tape, or like a template style where you lay it over and spray it! For stuff like this, I use a stencil-making product called "Frisket." You can get it at Hobby Lobby. Clear, very flexible plastic with an adhesive backing. It comes with paper backing, so you can just stick it back on the paper when you're done. I heard about this stuff from BobP - - I really like it. For general on-the-fly body masking or stenciling, I just use 3M delicate blue painter's tape (orange inner label).

Yes - I made 3 stencil shapes for the body plates.