A Monster book & a small lure – Strike King’s Baby King Shad is on deck.

This is not only my first blog post for 2011, but my first blog post in nearly a year (with a new look as well!). Why the delay you ask? Well, I took the better part of 2010 putting the finishing touches on my first self published book, Monsters in Absinthe. If you like old-timey science fiction and love monsters, this is the book for you. It’s available traditionally bound, and in a more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) downloadable e-book format. Click the title of the book above or here to check it out. Another note for 2011, I encourage you to practice catch and release for the game fish you seek this year. Let’s ensure our children and their children have a chance to enjoy the sport as much as we do! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Each and every winter, I try to add a few pieces to my on deck line-up - I.e. a couple of new lures I can throw that the fish haven’t seen before. Today I’ll discuss one of those lures, the diminutive Strike King Baby King Shad Swimbait. This lure is a smaller take on its larger cousin, the Top Water Wake Shad. Now you must understand that I’m a bit of a sucker for shallow running hard swimbaits, and I’m also a bit of a small lure maniac (they simply catch more fish – big ones too in my opinion and experience), so when I laid eyes on this little beauty I was instantly hooked. What really caught my eye was the finish; that life-like, oh-so edible wet quality that certain baits have. Heck, I half-expected these tiny gems to start squirming in their plastic clam shells, their little gills furiously pumping. I realized that this bait, worked/twitched slowly on, or just underneath the surface of the water, may be quite good at getting big bass to bite early in the morning and on towards evening. Plus, the lure collector in me had to have at least one for my collection. From the myriad of colors, I settled finally on the attractive Blue Gizzard Shad version, and took my prized possession home. One I got it out of its fantastic tiny clam shell packaging, I realized that the hooks, though very good in quality, are a bit too big for my personal taste. In fact, I like to replace most of the hooks on the factory lures I actually throw with smaller prongs. I do this to minimize the damage I do fishes mouths and, though you will lose more fish, I find that smaller hooks work wonders for pressured fish – it’s all about maintaining realism right? To that end, I replaced both hooks, adding a Rapala feathered rear treble. I plan to through this lure on a medium action spincasting set-up, tied to 10 pound test mono.

A feast for the eyes, and potentially for Largemouth Bass, Strike King’s Baby King Shad is a jointed 3", 1/2 oz detailed and molded swimbait with realistic finish and eyes – diving to a maximum depth of 5 feet. 

Topwater Bottom Line: I have read some reviews online which have questioned the joint in this swimbait. I haven’t thrown it yet, so I don’t know how it will hold up. However, the lure looks and feels like it is well made, so time will tell I would guess (tip: as with any segmented bait you need to have your drag set up properly). Visually it is stunning, and I am glad to have it in my collection and tackle box, something that may not be important to most fishermen. What can I say, I appreciate visual design. The Strike King Baby King Shad Swimbait can be purchased for about 14.99 per unit. As always, please practice catch and release with this lure.  

Topwater Rating:

4 out of 5 bobbers

 Available in a whole bunch of attractive colors, this segmented and diminutive lure should be quite effective wiggling just under or at the surface. I plan to find out this season.