Stringjam

Storm Chug Bug - - one of the alltime greatest topwater baits (and my personal favorite topwater) Storm Wiggle Wart - - one of the alltime greatest crankbait designs (and my personal favorite crawfish imitating mid-depth crank) So yeah......I think they have some good stuff in the lineup.

I don't find that they need an inordinate amount of tuning. If you get ahold of the mid 90's Poe's baits that were made in Mexico, you'll have a lot more problems with this....as the lips tend to loosen up over time (sometimes a very short amount of time). I've heard that the new Poe's don't have this problem as badly.

The 400 and 400-P Poe's are the finest deep diving crankbaits in life......the Competition Cedars versions being the highest quality from Poe's. My other deep crankbaits stare longingly at them.....knowing that they are in fact inferior and will never attain the glory of the magnificent Poe's (okay, I'll stop). That said.....they're also fragile, and if you get into fishing them, you'll want to run to Wal-Mart and get some Devcon epoxy to touch them up when (not if.....when) the finish starts cracking. The 200 series is also underrated, and a great bait for digging around thick, mid-depth cover. Of course, the RC3 rocks - and is one of the most righteous flatsided cranks ever. The 1100 is a good little tight wiggling bait, and actually does a pretty good job at catching walleye, too.

Worth every penny.....ever since I found that bait, my Bagley Killer B2's have been collecting dust.

I've had some killin' days on a white hula grub going after suspended bass. I have a lot of confidence in that bait in certain conditions....

Not that I know of.......I've seen some square-billed Poe's from way back, though.......very rarely one will pop up on Ebay every now and then. It looks like they used the 200 body and stuck a square lip in it.

I find myself moving away from wooden baits more and more in favor of well designed plastic baits - I get tired of wooden bait maintenance, and watching $20 plugs crack and split, but there are still some wooden cranks that I haven't found replacements for... Namely the Poe's 400, 400 Plus designs (my favorite being the Poe's Competition Cedars 4400 - a 400 Plus design). These are still my most productive, and in my opinion, most perfectly designed deep crankbaits in life (for my personal preferences, anyway). The 4500 LR is also a design that is, IMO, unmatched for a true 20' diving plug. Another wooden bait that I really dig is the Lee Sisson Slim Willie, in both the diving and shallow versions:

I agree, Natural.....sometimes erratic is not the way to go. If you ever watch David Fritts deep cranking in the summer, you NEVER see him impart any jerky rod action to the lure, only variations of retrieve speed using the reel. He's a pretty good crankbait fisherman from what I hear...

12-18: Poe's Comp Cedars 4400 - - still my alltime favorite deep crank, and I've fished just about every one I can get my hands on. As far as the deepest - - Poe's Comp Cedars 4500LR......there are a few others that will get as deep (3/4 Hot Lips, Mann's 30+), but NONE of them have caught as many fish for me as this one. It is also the easiest to get down there, with the least amount of strain - - VERY important if you're going to throw one all day. It is a true 20'+ diver.

I don't even try to use them past 15'.......a perfectly tuned DD22 on small diameter line will still only do high teens (I've only heard of a few guys who actually claim they can hit 20' with them.....and not consistently enough to warrant the effort.)

I've fished a TON of different vibes - from mass produced to expensive and rare Japanese versions - - I think I was on a mission to fish nearly every one in existence at one time... ;D Surprisingly enough, my favorite ALL AROUND vibe is the BPS Rattlin' Shad. There are situations where I prefer others, but these are very good designs - and cheap! My favorite dirty water vibe is a Shimano Complex Undulator (widest kicking vibe ever) For shallow water or finesse situations is a Sound-Less Air Viper Risebacker (very slow fall, no rattle) For hopping or using in bottom contact situations: Spro Aruku Shad (and Jr.), Jackall TN70, Mamiya OP Hunting Vib Jr. The Cordell Spot is also right up there with my favorite "all around" vibes......but the BPS is a bit more lively.

+1 on what has been said already......and +2 on what Infidel said. DD22's aren't my favorite deep crank, but they are one of the best, proven deep crankbaits in life - - especially for the price.

Some very good information, there Chris! Thanks for putting it up! 8-) I've gotta try out one of those JM Woodcrafts sometime.... I don't agree here (I've tank tested enough to prove to myself otherwise) - but you know how that goes...

Sometimes, yes - I fish big worms a lot during the summer, which seems to be when they're at their best (for me) - you would be amazed, however, at how many small fish you'll catch on them as well. In clear water, I like a thinner, more natural worm, however. A Zoom Mag II is a pretty long worm, but it isn't "big" looking - - I've probably caught more big bass in clear water on that worm than any other I've used. Long straight tailed worms also work really well in in the clear stuff.

Everything I've ever used on a C-rig has worked....some better at certain times than others. Soft plastics always amaze me....I mean, look at a French fry - - no action at all - just kind of glides around and does nothing, but I have caught the SNOT out of largemouths, smallies, and spots on that bait.

Don't know anybody that uses those - - but if they are a dead-on copy of the Ever Green, I'm sure they work well (I really like the Combat Flat......has a little more kick than the typical flatside.....really good in cover, too.). I do use the XPS Rattlin' Shads - - very well designed lipless cranks!

The BPS Lazer Eye Nitro Shad Ever Green I don't own one of the BPS cranks, so a direct photo isn't possible - - but it is quite easy to see when you look at them up close (especially the width of the rear of the bait....which is wider than the front (can't see that in the pics).

The Spro Aruku Shad and Ever Green Buzzer Beater are identical on the outside (the Spro is nose weighted, however - - something I prefer) BPS has a crankbait that looks like an exact splash of an Ever Green Combat Flat, as well.

Very cool - - having a hand in the design process and getting exactly what you want must be a trip when it all works out and you end up with a fish catching crank. Whittler's baits look great and I'll probably pick up some before I'm done. My comment was merely made in the context of the post - - finding a good inexpensive crankbait. I think a lot of plastic lures are far too underrated because of the stigma of plastic being inferior. I have some of the best cranks out there, and a lot of my go-to baits are plastic - simply because of superior design characteristics (Lucky Craft Flat CB SR and RC1.5, Storm Wiggle Wart and Lightnin Shad, Imakatsu IK-400R, Megabass Deep-X 200) - - I also have wooden baits that are my go-to's - - it all depends on the conditions and the application that each crankbait is designed to accel at. I even have some crankbaits made of FOAM that are killer.

Another bait you might try is a Bomber Flat A - - I have custom wooden and plastic baits from D-Baits, Catching Concepts, Lucky Craft, Bee-Zee, Zoom WEC, On-The-Line, Megabass, O.S.P., H&T Balsa, Jackall, Ever Green, Tiemco, etc.etc.etc... - a WELL DESIGNED bait is a well designed bait, whether is plastic or wood. A lure made of balsa won't be superior to a lure made of plastic JUST because its made of balsa. The Flat A reacts very much like some of the best custom cranks I have, and at a VERY good price. You're fishing waters where you're getting more bites on subtle baits, so a small flatsided bait would be my FIRST choice for throwing a crankbait. A Luhr-Jensen Speed Trap is another good option.

Rapala Shallow Shad Rap If you're catching fish on a little silent jerkbait, and not catching them on a wide wobbling shallow crank, than it would seem that you're fishing an area where fish may be pressured or in clear water, and prefer a more natural, subtle lure. I've generally done better with those fat, hard kicking lures in stained to dingy water (there are exceptions, of course). A Bagley Killer B II is as close to a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 as you can get without spending $15 (they are $10).

I've caught some fish on them - but they aren't my favorites. I know a few guys that swear by them for catching smallies.

There's no need to work yourself to death with that thing - - Competition Cedars 4500 my friend.

;D ;D In all the time I've been fishing, nobody in the boat has ever out fished me simply because they sprayed scent on their plastics. I even got into it myself for several years - - - never seemed to make any difference. The closest thing to a real world test I've ever heard of was when Ralph Manns fished an area with fish cruising through it for quite sometime - - alternatively casting scentless plastics and unscented plastics, and those results ended up being nearly even. Nevertheless - I'm sure it can't hurt anything.

Good luck T-Rig ---- Lucky Craft discontinued those lures, MUCH to my dismay > (they're one of, if not my FAVORITE shallow cranks). I snagged up as many closeouts as I could and I only have about a dozen. Every once in a long while one will pop up on eBay.