Now what the heck is a Crabby Crawdaddy? Well, I will tell you that is one of the nicer craw imitators that I have ever used and came in my possession about a week ago. This plastic craw was thrown together by the mix masters at Crabby Bass Lures. Brad Wilkins and Chuck Simon set up shop last year to provide premium plastic lures to the Dupage County community and beyond. You got a color you have in mind....done! You want a certain flake you want in it that you don't see on off the shelf plastics...done! You want it to smell like it could scare away a vampire....done and done!
Well, I shot a message to Brad asking for a custom color that I have used pretty heavily....green pumpkin with purple and copper flake. After today, I think I am going to have to start calling this color....MONEY! It was game on from the time that lure hit the water tonight until 2 hours later when I walked away with 22 bass with more than 10 more missed on top of that. Add a 3/0 EWG Gamakatsu hook with an 1/8 oz bullet weight...game over! With the recent rain however, the water was slightly murky....so I added my own little final touch, which is something that I have done previously to my craws. Chartreuse Spike-It on the claw tips to give it a little more pop in the dingy water....yup, they ate it up! Besides spilling some though all over my hand and turning my fingers chartreuse it worked quite well. So what was the final name of this completely custom craw with a spritz of chartreuse....TOXIC MONEY! haha. I think it has a nice ring to it.
Anyway, on to the catching. Throw it out, hop it through some weeds....felt that 'thunk' of the weight getting sucked in....and SWING! Fish after fish...same textbook bite. Those crabby cold front bass didn't stand a chance against the Crabby Crawdaddy!
About 17 bass in and then I started to get crabby....starting to miss fish, wth? I would get a bite....line would tighten up, then they would drop it. I mean, clear as a bell bite and then nothing. I think at that point the bass were on to my scheme and were making it a little tougher on me. After grinding it out and waiting a little longer on the bite...two more on the board. Then number 20....and holy cow number 20...what a sow! Sidebar....my camera on my phone will be struck by a hammer shortly after this post for losing a great picture of this behemoth....lol. Buuuuttt, I did get a picture of the craw being choked down by the 5+ lber...just sad I didn't get her bugeyes and gut....the bass are definitely still in pre-spawn mode here
Now for the other nice bass caught in this 2 hour window! 22 fish....all between 9-21.5 inches
After seeing what this new plastic lure is capable of, I know this will be in my back pocket this tournament season. I am pretty picky when it comes to new plastic baits as some of you already know, but this one passed the test with flying colors. With the ability to choose my own colors...I can get the right bait for the right time of year, and I know Brad and Chuck will be ready to go when I need them. If you want some of your own go and check them out at....
www.crabbybasslures.com
Tight Lines,
Fluke