New Strike King KVD 1.5/2.5 Square bill Crankbait

When you hear Strike King you might think crankbaits, Kevin Van Dam, Spinnerbaits or Denny Brauer or maybe all of the above.  Strike King is known for making the best crankbaits on the market.  They sponsor the best bass fisherman in B.A.S.S. or even the world, Kevin Van Dam.  So when the two have teamed up to make a new lure, you know it will be phenomenal.

The new KVD 1.5 and 2.5 square bill crankbaits live up to the name they have on them.  The baits come in two sizes the 1.5 is 3/8 OZ where the 2.5 is 5/8 OZ.  They both dive to 3-5 FT.  They are silent baits with no rattles in them for a stealth approach in shallow water.  Bass Pro Shops exclusively carries a rattling line of 1.5 and 2.5 baits when you want to fish dirty water with these baits.

The square bill allows the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 baits to deflect off of cover easily without fear of getting hung up.  Another great feature of the baits is that if floats.  You can real down the bait and pause it allowing the lure to float to the surface.  I used this technique with the KVD 1.5 fishing shallow rip rap, I would bounces the lure off the rocks and then pause it allowing it to float to the surface.  I would then reel it back down to the rocks and repeat the process.  The bass would devour the bait both well moving and during the pause.  The KVD 1.5 and 2.5 also work great around docks and bridge pilings.

The KVD 1.5 and 2.5 are a great in between bait for the Strike King Line up.  They fill the gap between the Series 4S and Series 4.  Yes Strike King has a crankbait for that in the Series1 but the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 are heavier baits and the profile is bigger.  This gives those larger bass something bigger to entice them.  Also the new lures have a truly square bill unlike the Series4s and Series1 that have more of a triangle bill on them.

The KVD 1.5 and 2.5 come with VMC #4 hooks on both the front and back of the baits.  This allows you to get good hook sets on those violent strikes that come from the bass you are catching.  They also both come with oval split shot rings on the nose of the bait which allows you to keep the bait running true without fear of your line causing any problems.

Over all the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 are great products.  They perform great out of the package without any modifications to them.  They come in a variety of colors and live up to the name KVD that daunts the package.  They cost $5.79 at Bass Pro Shop.  If you are looking for a little larger crankbait to fish those fallen trees, docks, rocks or bridge pilings make sure you pick some up before your next shallow water fishing trip. 

The Fog

I was out fishing the other day and since I live in Michigan bass fishing in December is not a normal thing. It was 27 degrees outside and the wind chill was 15.  I have come to the conclusion I am crazy or just really driven to fish.  Maybe it was the two products I needed to test out and get some reviews written for but I went fishing in the cold regardless of the reason.

To be honest I didn’t really want to brave the cold and hit the water, but I did.  I find most of my inspiration for writing my blog when I’m on the water but not Thursday.  Fishing was tough that day, I caught 10 bass and got to use my new Skeet Reese bait-casting reel which I have been wanting to use since I saw an article about them.  So that opportunity in itself was awesome.  Despite the new reel, I was still in a funk, standing on the deck of my boat casting, bundled up, and thinking why do I write this blog? When I got home, like I wrote about recently, I was blessed and renewed by an email.

One of the coolest things about fishing in cold weather with warm water is the steam rolling up off of the water.  There I am casting and because of the steam rolling up off the water, I couldn’t see the exact place I was casting to.  It was eerie and peaceful in the same moment.  As I cast into the steam, I could not help but think about the fog I used to live in.  That fog was my life without Christ.  I spent more than half of my life in that fog. Through God’s grace and the gift of salvation given to us by Christ’s death on the cross, I came out of the fog.

Out of the fog I became a new person, a new creation in Christ.  I threw my crank bait into the fog, not sure of where it landed or if I’d hit the target I was looking at and aiming for.  Then as I reeled in the crankbait I felt a violent bite, set the hook and fought a 5 pound bass to the boat. This bass had a big red blemish on its head, much like me because I still have scars and wounds that only God can heal and he is still healing.  But out of the fog comes a prize, whether it is a 5 pound bass or a new creation in Christ.

Inside Bass Fishing

This week Tyler Brink and I started the Inside Bass Fishing newsletter.  It is a weekly newsletter that is sent to your in box every Monday.  Its free which doesn't happen much anymore.  The newsletter has bass fishing articles, contest and product reviews.

The idea behind this is to help other anglers that want to write bass fishing articles get there work out there to the public.

Like I said its free all you have to do is send an email to insidebassfishing@gmail.com.  I am really excited about this and hope that others will like it.  If you are not on the Inside Bass Fishing mailing list do yourself a favor and get on it.

Trokar Hooks: Does the Hook Live Up to the Hype?

All anglers have faced the challenge of setting the hook on a fish, and coming up empty handed.  At times we don’t set the hook hard enough, which allows the fish to come free from the hook.  Trokar has come out with the sharpest fishing hook on the market to help us catch more fish.  Trokar hooks are surgically sharpened and allow an angler to set the hook with less force.  The three sided cut makes the hook sharpening process different from all other hooks on the market and allows an angler to set the hook with less force and still have a better hook up with that fish you are fighting. 

            I have always been a Gamakatsu hook man, but when I got a call from Eagle Claw to test out the new Lazer Trokar hooks, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  When the hooks arrived, the first thing I did was get in touch with Shaw Grigsby, one of the pros who helped design the hook shape and someone who uses Trokar hooks exclusively.

Grigsby told me that no matter how many fish you catch with it will never dull.  To be honest I wouldn’t believe it if I had not put the Trokar hook to my own test.  I took the Trokar TK 130 flipping hook and drove the point into a block of wood repeatedly.  Then I took the same hook and used it to pitch and flip with.  The hook still set easily into the mouth of the bass.  According to tests, the Trokar hook needs less force to set the hook.  This has shown in my own fishing experience.  It seemed that every bass I caught on the Trokar hooks set themselves, even when pitching and flipping.

            The high carbon steel that is used to make the hooks show it’s strength and stands up to the toughest logs and still comes back in the same shape as when you started.  The Trokar B.A.R.B. works wonders as well.  It holds the plastic in place, securely like nothing I have ever seen.  With two barbs it keeps the plastic in place better then just one barb like on other hooks.  This allows you to spend less time pushing your soft plastic back into place between casts.  With 11 types of hooks there is a Trokar hook for every application.

            Trokar hooks are also being used by lure makers as well.  Wayne of Atomic Tackle Company (atomictacklecompany.com) even offers hand poured jigs with Trokar hooks you can order casting jigs in 3/8, ½, 3/4 and 1ounce with these awesome Trokar hooks.

            There are drawbacks with the Trokar hooks.  According to Grigsby “You can’t use the Trokar hooks for practice”.  The reason for this is because you will not be able to shake the fish loose before getting it back to the boat.  There is also the price of the hooks.  A package of four hooks runs around $10.  If you consider how sharp the hooks are and the fact that I have not lost a fish using the hooks, it is money well spent in my opinion.  I believe that the hook lives up to what Trokar says, and that ten dollars may be the difference of winning a tournament or losing it. In that case, does the ten dollars really make a difference?   

           

Now that I have tried the Trokar hooks and seen what they can do, I know that I cannot go back.  The point on the hook is too good and there is nothing like it out there.  So if you want a better hook up ratio and want to lose less fish, do yourself a favor and go get some Trokar hooks today. 

Check out the Trokar website www.lazertrokar.com