Why This New Crankbait Excels In Cold Water Conditions

We’ve all heard the cliché – “I’d rather be lucky than good.” During wintertime fishing when anglers oftentimes catch fewer fish, we hope to “get lucky” and run across at least one big one. However, you do not have to choose between catching MORE fish and catching BIGGER fish. This winter, with Strike King’s NEW Pro Model Lucky Shad featured in your Mystery Tackle Box, you can be both lucky AND good!

About the Pro Model Lucky Shad

In the Pro Model Lucky Shad, Strike King crafted a crankbait perfectly suited for catching bass in the bitter cold. This bait possesses the unique action of a balsa bait, but with the durability of plastic. It excels in cold-water applications due to four important characteristics – flat sides, a baitfish profile, natural patterns, and the perfect diving depth.Flat sides – Due to its flat sides and rectangular bill, the Pro Model Lucky Shad has a tight, subtle wobble that appeals to lethargic bass. Even when crawled along at painfully slow retrieves, the Lucky Shad maintains a consistent action.Baitfish profile – In most bodies of water across the United States, bass mainly forage on dying baitfish during the winter. As the name suggests, Strike King designed the Lucky Shad, with its slender body, to closely mimic the appearance of a shad. Also, the Lucky Shad is the perfect size to replicate young-of-the-year baitfish. Natural patterns – Generally, anglers catch more bass in cold, clear water than in cold, murky water. The Lucky Shad has a variety of natural patterns and colors that make “matching the hatch” a snap. Most of the 12 available colors are natural hues, befitting clear water use.Perfect diving depth – The Lucky Shad dives between 6-8 feet deep – a perfect depth for winter bass. However, on sunny days, bass have been know to move up even shallower, taking advantage of the sun’s warm rays. The Lucky Shad is just as effective in 3-5 feet of water. Bottom contact is vital to cranking, and anglers can adjust their rod angle to grind the bottom in depths from 3-8 feet with the Lucky Shad.

Tips for where and when to fish the Pro Model Lucky Shad

When the water falls below 45 degrees, the few brave souls that continue to fish often opt for tried-and-true winter patterns such as finesse jigs and float-and-fly patterns. While some people may prefer these methodical techniques, other anglers feel the need to move around a bit and get their blood circulating. Plus, search baits can be more effective than slow presentations when locating bass over a large body of water, and the Lucky Shad allows anglers to more actively seek feeding bass. However, bass, being the cold-blooded creatures they are, do not have a surplus of energy to go chase a fast-moving lure. Think of fishing the Lucky Shad as finesse fishing. Try to keep the bait in a bass’ potential strike zone for as long as possible. Begin by simply reeling the bait in at a slow, consistent retrieve, bumping along the bottom and colliding with any cover. If you think you are reeling too slow, slow down some more! Reel just fast enough that you can feel the subtle thump-thump. The beauty of fishing the Lucky Shad is being able to cover lots of water, but still anglers ought to focus on certain areas. Those areas are standing timber, bluff walls, sea walls, and pea gravel banks.

Gear for fishing the Pro Model Lucky Shad

Continuing along the theme of thinking about the Pro Model Lucky Shad as a finesse bait, anglers will have their most success using spinning tackle when fishing this technique. A medium spinning rod with a moderate action is perfect for fishing the Lucky Shad, since this setup allows the angler to hook the fish without ripping the bait from the fish’s mouth and also carefully play the fish once it is hooked. The Lucky Shad is relatively light, so a spinning rod can also help with casting distance and accuracy. Anglers can use 6-8 pound fluorocarbon or monofilament, depending on personal preference. Thomas Jefferson once said, “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." Get out on the water, even if your rod guides are icing up between every few casts. It can be hard work, but bring a few Strike King Pro Model Lucky Shads with you, and you just might find that luck has nothing to do with it. Tight Lines!