Stringjam

I don't think this crank will be at all similar to a Speed Trap. The LJ has a narrower lip angle and line-tie in nose. This bait has a longer, sharply angled lip (usually equals wide action) and also has a lip-mounted line-tie. My guess is that the action will be quite a bit different than the tight-wiggling Speed-Trap.

If tight wiggle is your thing, you might give Zoom WEC Wobbler a try. I'm also a big fan of tighter wiggling round baits - especially in clearer water. The Zoom is based on the old "Charlie-O" from the 70's - a killer plug in it's own right if you ever run across one. Luhr-Jensen Speed-Trap is also one of the best tight wigglers out there.....and cheap.

JMO....Eagle Claw dishes it out (they're marketing is aimed at dissing imported hook brands). If you're going to do that, you better put out a serious product to compete with them, or you're going to take a lot of flack. I really don't see the point in making statements like "We ship hooks overseas, not jobs." That's BS - - Gamakatsu, VMC, Owner, etc. aren't U.S.-based companies shipping hook-making jobs overseas. There are some new hook designs from Eagle Claw that I'd like to try out.....it's been awhile since I've used Eagle Claw because my previous experiences weren't good. I would love it if a U.S. company would come out with a top-shelf product.

......that's how the bidding game goes sometimes, I guess. FWIW, Charlie-O's are urethane foamies.

It's getting harder and harder to get a decent price for vintage stuff on eBay. Bagley's are pretty bad......just try to get ahold of an old 70's "Charlie-O." I paid what some people would consider a ridiculous price for these two rather beaten up examples: The new-in-package Charlie's are going from $40-$70. If it looks familiar, it's because it's the basis for the Zoom Wobbler and a few other high-end custom round baits out there. I'm not a big "bulky" round bait guy, so I haven't invested in any 70's Balsa B's, but I would assume with the higher line tie location comes a tighter action. Perhaps a shift in thinking to "wider action is better" is what has been sold to the fishing public, and the companies followed suit(?) Wider is most definitely not better, IMO, in many/most situations I fish. Original 70s DB3's have the tightest action of any deep crank made, and at some point during the early 80's Bagley decided to angle the lip and widen the action on that design as well. I do have a B1 and B3 from Hughes & Thompson that I would be interested in comparing to original Bagleys, but I think these have a much wider action than the originals.

It does indeed cast like a rocket. It has an interesting action.....I'm not sure I like it as much as my other deep cranks, but I'll see what the fish think before I form an opinion. The Bandit 600 had a snappier, livlier action (yes, before coming out with the 700, Bandit still had a deep crank.....for some reason, they just didn't really market it). Here's a pic with the old 600 vs. the 700 I'm not baggin' on it though.....it's a different action and I've caught a few fish on it so far, so I'm going to keep it in the rotation and get to know it better.

Raul, I'm not Natural, but I do have a good share of custom cranks (including the aforementioned coffin-billed Z's). I like to think I'm very analytical about crankbaits - - I don't buy a custom crank and wish it to be better than other production cranks.....it either offers me something that production cranks don't offer, or it doesn't. It's all about the action, and these (and many other Zooms) perform in a way that warrants the price. I have dozens of flatsided cranks in a similar style to this bait, and none of them have the exact same action. The Z-Flat Coffin is completely unique......it has a very tight, lively roll that almost makes it look like a willowleaf spinnerbait blade coming through the water. It's one of the best flatsided cranks I've used in clear water, and especially pre-spawn clear water. I'm definitely a crank enthusiast, so I have a predisposition to appreciate custom baits and the art of those who make them. I like to support the work (in the end - these "expensive" baits are definitely not making anybody rich......it's a real person making these things, not an injection mold pumping out bodies by the thousands). Short end of the story - - these, and a lot of the other custom cranks perform in a way that warrants the price. Some are WAY better than any production cranks out there.....some are definitely not. Best just to pick up a few and see what the fuss is all about.

Superb crank at a great price.

Tom is such a good designer.....anybody who can create such killer cranks with the kind of price-point restrictions that Luhr-Jensen puts on them is talented. The Speed-Trap is one of the best cranks out there at ANY price. I think rapid descent might go even further back. The original Bagley DB3's (introduced in the 70's, I believe) have a pretty darn sharp dive angle. I would assume the almost straight lip angle (a weighted lip, as well) was one of the biggest factors. I know it isn't the first diving bait, but even after all these years, it still performs amazingly well compared to modern deep cranks.

Interesting - - I answer YOUR question and you label my response "product trolling." Anybody with the reading comprehension level of a first grader can figure out who's really trolling in this thread. Moderating is best left to moderators.

"Big M" makes them.....a pm is all ya need.

Nothing discussed so far isn't available to anybody that wants it. Big M's baits are commercially available. Is this your own personal thread now? ;D Somebody forgot to tell Rapala......I can get a DT-16 almost 18' deep. I have a couple other balsa cranks that get into the low-mid 20's. My old lead-lip Bagley DB3's are awesome deep divers that work into the mid-teens. Materials are a means to an end, not a defining factor. Deep crank design is an art.......as is deep cranking itself.

Have you ever seen a squared bill used for deep cranks ? Sisson P-20 Big M knows what it takes to get em deep. I have some cranks from Marty that get around the 25' range. My experience -- the straighter the lip angle, the steeper it dives. The overall surface area of the lip, line tie location, and also the ACTION effect the diving depth.

Bagley DB3's (my favorite being the original version with the straight, unreinforced lip). A lot of the other Bagleys as well. Pete Reynold's "Little Petey" Zoom WEC's Z-Flat coffin lip and Lexan lipped Wobbler, as well as the Deep Stumpy I would say old Poe's, but I keep in mind the quality on these baits was NEVER really that great. I have original "Made in California" Poe's with crooked lips and some of the worst hardware locating you've ever seen. The body carving is very inconsistent as well. The design has always been a good one - the execution has most certainly not. Ron-E-Bee or Richard Manley cranks......if you're ever lucky enough to find any. Lucky Craft Flat CB SR's Rapala Shallow Fat Raps Arbogast Mud Bugs and Original Bombers As far as I can tell, the new "old" Wiggle Warts work as well as the old ones.

I crank with braid because: - I can get my baits to maximum depth without sacrificing strength - It's strong enough to handle fish around cover - The sensitivity allows me to detect and manipulate the bait around cover far better - especially in deeper water - You have better control for manipulating the action of shallow cranks - it maintains sensitivity using magnum deep divers (20-25') I use it for ALL my cranking needs.......but I figured out what worked best for me from lots of trial and error and EXPERIENCE - - something I think a lot of folks who bash braid don't actually have. You have to figure out for yourself what works best for you - - you might be missing out if you just make your decisions based on hearsay or generic fishing articles. Keep an open mind and use what works best for you.

I'm with Big M on this one.......20/6 PowerPro braid for all my cranking - usually with a short section of mono leader to absorb rock abrasion.

Do you have a telescoping retrieval pole? Your money would be well spent here.

I bought a Vortex and a Helix from him. He has skills with an airbrush, that's for sure.....but intricate finish work really isn't my thing. The lipless baits were alright, but didn't stand out to me from my standards.

Small cranks only? Some of my favs: Flat-Shad Little B (also casts well and behaves well in cover) Bagley Honey B, Bitty B, or KB1 round lip (on the bigger end of the spectrum) Norman Deep Tiny N Zoom Sweet P

Cross-locking snaps are very secure. I like the Berkley snap....it's pretty easy to operate. If you want some heavy duty cross-lockers, pick up some C'ultiva's (Owner). They are STOUT. Even the smallest ones (which I highly recommend). I've tried out cross-locks from Berkley, Jespa (also good), P-Line, and Decoy, and the C'ultiva is definitely the strongest. The C'ultiva is on the left (Jespa on the right). The Jespa is the ultimate cross-locking finesse snap. Very light, but strong. You can see the difference in wire diameter. I also have some slightly larger C'ultivas that I bought accidentally that I think would be killer for larger species (and maybe swimbaits). They're insanely strong. Stay away from duo-locks if strength is your concern.......I would venture to guess that comments like "just something to fail" and the like stem from using cheap duo-locks. I can pull apart the BPS duo-locks tying a knot with 10 lb. test.

Really every depth range....from 1' up to 24'.

Zoom Mag II

Raul knows. Use a high quality SNAP (NO SWIVELS) on your cranks. I prefer to remove the split ring on my cranks when I'm using a snap (which is 99.9% of the time). Snap to line-tie = optimized action. Tying directly to line-tie = inhibited action. This is a fact....so use a high quality snap, or directly to a split ring for optimal action. You can use loop-knots if you want - I only use them on very small, very light baits. I think it's inferior to a snap when you start getting into normal sized bass lures and conditions. Crosslock snaps are the strongest, surest connection to your lure. They aren't quite as easy to use as duo-locks, but they can't pull apart, and they can be had in smaller, lighter configurations that work great for finesse cranking. Anybody who says a snap is a "weak link" either doesn't buy good snaps or is inexperienced at using them.

As far as baits that are truly designed to run under 2': Rapala Shallow Fat Rap (eBay only - since Rapala dropped the model.. >) Lucky Craft Flat CB SR (again...eBay....one of LC's best designs ever bites the dust) Both of these baits have something most newer super shallow cranks don't have - a TIGHT action. For baits still around, a Bagley Honey B or KB1 (shallowest versions) can be killers.....I'm more apt to use them in finesse cranking situations.