Strike King Lure Company

[Wayne Ek]

Just opened the 2012 SKL (Strike King Lure Company)product catalog, lots of new colors this season to chose from. What's everones fav. for these lures. 1. tubes and creature baits 2. jigs and trailer and finally 3. rattle baits or cranks.

[Deitz Dittrich]

#1's for me please.

[KickNBass]

You're asking for favorite colors in those categories, right?

Well, for 1 & 2 the standard black/blue, watermelon red flake or watermelon candy. They don't have my standard color watermelon/blue.

For #3 I really like the Citrus Shad type colors for the XD baits as well as any natural minnow/shad color.

[RK]

Hiya Wayne -

SK is making some good stuff these days.

I don't throw their plastics much other than the Caffeine Shad (KVD Magic, Watermelon and Silver Bling) and their tubes. For the Coffee Tubes, watermelon w/gold & copper flake or dark melon gold & copper flake are both great on smallies - I think it's a perchy color. On a sand bottom, Honey works good too - kind of blends into the sand and they have to hunt for it, which I like. OH - and Watermelon

Jigs, in all honesty, I bet I throw watermelon or green pumpkin 80% of the time. The smokey shad swim jig form SK is a good one though. I do like the KVD Chunk trailers - big profile but not too bulky so the jig still falls fast, which I like in clear water most of the time. Done OK with the Rage trailers too, but more on football heads or when I want to slow down the fall pitching or something.

In crankbaits, I freaking love the Series 3s and Series 5s. I peed a little when I saw they were coming out with a Series 3XD. I can't wait to try that bait... I just wish the Silent ones were easier to find so I didn't have to order them online.

I could honestly get by with two colors: Green Gizzard and Bluegill. On real bright days either clear sexy shad or sexy ghost minnow is good too, especially in real clear water. I like translucent baits, and all 4 of those colors are translucent to some extent. I may try some of the new chrome finishes in the squarebill baits though. Chrome on a shallow running bait really blends in with the surface glare, which I like - again, I think it makes them hunt for it more.

Strike King catalog = kid in a candy store

[RumRiverRat]

Plastics

Caffeine Shad, Shim E Stik, The Ocho, Coffee Tube, Rage Shad and Toad.

Cranks

3,4XS,5,6,6Xd KVD 1.5 and 2.5 will buy a few 1.0s

Redeye Shad

Really like the Pro Model Swim Jig.

Use the Baby Burner, Burner, Bottom Dweller and Tour Grade Double Willow Painted Blade Spinnerbaits.

[river rat316]

Not trying to be a dink or combative, but Sk's quality has been horrible for for like the past 3 or 4 years or maybe longer, seems like everything I buy or get from them is a step below even baits like Booyah or any of the other major [PoorWordUsage] manufacturers. Last year I bought 6 of the 1.5's and only one would run halfway decent, and that one and like 3 or 4 of the others would fill with water. They have been scratched off my list along with booyah, bps branded stuff, and anything Berkley.

[Wayne Ek]

Sorry to hear that river rat. I feel just the opposite. The quality of the cranks and rattle-baits just seem to get better with a greater selection of colors. The same with the Spinner Baits and Buzzers. The plastics hold up great and the Elaztech plastics are unbelievably tough. One Zero will hold up for 20 or more fish. If you have had some issues I would strongly suggest that you contact Darren Jacobson, his contact information is on the back page of the paper catalog and last page of the web-site.

[RK]

Hiya -

Actually I've been pretty happy with the SK cranks as far as durability goes. I threw the 1.5s a fair amount and didn't have issues, and I throw the Series 5s all the time - they're my go-to crankbait most of the summer. Must be luck of the draw - I know guys that love Bandit cranks, but other than my really old hand-glued ones, I can't get them to run right for anything.

The one problem I have had is with chrome finishes, and that's frankly just par for the course with chrome. From having friends in the lure business on the muskie side of the fence, I know chrome finishes are extremely problematic from a manufacturing standpoint - to the point where they don't do chrome unless they have to, and I know some that just plain won't do it at all.

I don't throw their spinnerbaits or jigs enough to matter, so can't speak to those. I like the keeper on their swim jig, but a Hitch Series works better still. I do like the smokey shad color though.

[RumRiverRat]

Random question about their cranks?

The line tie is oval shaped more or less, do tie to the bend or the straight part?

Seems to me that they put that style on the bait for a reason.

I tie to the bend, I am sure I am doing it wrong.

[Superduty]

Tie to the short side(I think this is the bend RRR is referring to) and not to the longer straight part of the spit ring/oval.

I love the Strike King Red Eye Shads but can't they get the paint to stay on? I can wear out 2 or 3 baits when the lipless pattern is hot!

[Nick Kuhn]

Tie to the narrow end of the oval. If it really bothers you I suppose you could change to a round split ring.

[RumRiverRat]

So I am doing it right.

KVD always talks about the wide searching action of the 1.5 and 2.5 baits, I wondered if tying to the straight part makes this happen.

Apparently not.

[Wayne Ek]

With the exception of top-water or small jerkbaits I don't tie direct any longer. I worry about line wear from the split-ring, round or oval. I've been using guality snap-locks. And have never lost a bait brcause the snap opened. Past couple of years I've been using those Norman Speed-clips. The SKL 1.5 and 2.5 have the oval split-ring, but older cranks and even some present models still use the round split-ring.

[Nick Kuhn]

I'm the same way Wayne. The bonus to them is they also act like a 1 inch long wire leader when the toothy critters decide to chomp on the increasingly pricy crankbaits.

[RK]

Hiya -

Count me in as using a snap as well. I need to try the Norman clips - keep hearing about them off and on. I use a cross lock snap, in part because of line wear on the split ring, and partly just to make changing baits easier. Like Wayne, I've never had one open up. You do need to change them out once in a while however - they will fatigue over time and break eventually.

RumRiver - I think there's something to the idea that cranks that 'hunt' work better. With the 1.5s, it's not a super wide, 5 inches of lateral travel thing, but more that they just don't run in a perfectly straight line with a completely consistent motion - there are little jumps and hiccups in the vibration of the bait. Contrast that with something like a Shad Rap that has is basically perfectly straight and consistent. One of my all time favorite muskie trolling baits is the Believer. Trolling Believers, some individual baits "have it" and some don't. The ones that do have an erratic hitch in their wobble once in a while for God knows what reason - they wander left to right at random. Those baits catch noticeably more fish than other baits, especially over open water where they're no cover to make contact with. I think it's the same with bass cranks but on a smaller scale. It's a really weird deal.

Cheers,

RK

[Wayne Ek]

Good point Nick. I hate getting bit-off by toothy critters. But what really chaps me is when it happens on the very first cast.

[KickNBass]

I know guys that love Bandit cranks, but other than my really old hand-glued ones, I can't get them to run right for anything.

I use the deep divers every once in a while, I think they are the 700 series? The lip angle continues straight through the head.

Anyway, I change out the split ring line tie on those because the one they ship with are too big and restrict the movement of the bait.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

When using snaps do you snap onto the split ring or completely remove the split ring and snap directly to the bait?

[Wayne Ek]

I go directly to the split-ring.Just because I don't want to remove the split-ring.

[CAMAN]

The Oval shaped split rings are designed that way to stop the line from falling into the split and fraying. Tie to the bend, not the straight/long part.

[Larson15]

For you guys that use snaps check out the new Spro split snap. I have used some of the ones previously mentioned and this one looks pretty well built.

[KickNBass]

I use snaps to the split ring as well.

I use the Norman speed clips. I have had the rare speed clip work itself open but have always caught it. They are nice and weedless. Nothing really for weeds to catch on.

Those Spros look like the Norman Speed clips, I might have to try them, maybe a bit stronger.

[KickNBass]

RK,

Are you using the Series 5s for deep cranking, i.e. banging bottom? 5XDs? I really like their 6XDs for that.

How are you using your Series 3s?

And I do a bunch of muskie trolling and am always looking for something new, can you give me your got believer size/style/colors? Which line tie? I troll in a deep clear water lake w/ tulibees being the main forage. Have you found most of your believers to be good ones or do you have to try a few to find that right one? I have a big jointed one I use but have only hooked up twice compared to multiple fish on Jakes of all colors and sizes.

[RK]

Hiya KNB -

I like the standard Series 5s for weedlines - they run in that 9-11 foot range where you can fish them through the tops or along the fringes of a weedline. Just runs at the right depth for the job, and fish eat 'em. I like the Series 3s on really bright clear days just because it's a smaller profile, and I can fish them fast. Love them, but always wished they ran in the same depth range as the Series 5, which the 3XD will supposedly do. So I'm pumped about that bait.

I used the 5XDs some last year, and actually did well on smallies with them a couple times out, but didn't use them a ton. Coontail grew so stinking thick and grew so deep last summer it wasn't the best year for the deep weedline stuff I usually do in August and September.

Re: muskie baits - Most of my believers are 10 years old (not like the wear out all that fast) so not sure how it compares to current color patterns, but carp (coppery color) walleye, pearl, and white with a chartreuse back in clear water. Always on the top line tie. Bottom one's for casting - they're too unstable to troll with most often on the bottom tie. As far as "good ones" go, they'll all catch fish, just that some catch more. I use mostly straight ones rather than jointed, and I think that's part of it. Jointed ones run straighter and wander less I think. Even the non-super trolling ones are great for casting though.

Cheers,

RK