When it comes to fishing lures, nothing has been attempted to be copied
more than a high quality, hand crafted, balsa wood crankbait. The low
standard knock-offs come and go. Even manufactures of plastic molded
crankbaits have tried to reproduce the action balsa crankbaits but
have yet to be successful duplicating it.
Although there
is a high demand for hand crafted, custom painted, balsa wood baits
few companies or individuals produce enough for anglers to purchase.
One family owned business, BassHunters
Custom Crankbaits in Knoxville,
Tennessee specializes in custom, hand crafted, balsa wood crankbaits
and custom paint jobs. Owner Brian K. Moore has been selling BassHunters
Custom Crankbaits (basshunterscustomcrankbaits.com) to anglers for
over 4 years. Each hand crafted round or flat sided crankbait comes
painted with a pre selected color pattern or custom painted to an
angler’s
specified design, computer circuit chip board bill, stainless steel
hangers, epoxy injected body, VMC Barbarian hooks, and a 10 step
painting process to go through before being sold. Anglers also have
an option of coffin, round, or square for the bill shape.
The quality of
the finish and the attention to detail draw countless anglers to
purchase hand crafted, balsa wood crankbaits; however, its how these
crankbaits react in the water and catch bass that entices professional
bass anglers to them. Moore explained, “The major
difference between plastic crankbaits and balsa wood crankbaits are,
balsa wood crankbaits have an enticing movement backing up when paused
and their bouncy causes them to run or track completely different;
that’s what causes bass to strike them.” When selecting
either a round or flat sided crankbait style, Moore said, “The
really subtle action a flat sided crankbait has allows it to excel
in conditions like bluebird days, calm wind, and lakes that have a
great deal of heavy fishing pressure; while the round sided crankbaits
do extremely well in heavy wooded cover, bouncing erratically off wood,
both of these movements can not be replicated by plastic crankbaits.”
So, not only do
hand crafted, balsa wood crankbaits have an enticing movement in
the water, they also can be painted to specific color pattern. For
that reason alone countless anglers are purchasing baits and having
the crankbaits painted. It’s not unusual for Moore to get request
to paint crankbaits that resemble tilapia, blue gills, bream, or other
bait fish.
Moore recommended
the following colors depending on water clarity: dark or tainted
water clarity, school bus yellow which resembles a golden shiner
in Florida, stain or muddy water clarity, solid pearl "shines" in
it or chartreuse, clear or green water clarity, try to match the hatch,
shad or more natural patterns, ultra clear water clarity, gray shad,
sexy shad or natural colors, and early in the year, red and orange,
spring crawl, for smallmouth, pearl ayu, splatter Horton, or any with
a subtle chartreuse strip.
The biggest demand
for had crafted, balsa wood crankbaits comes from professional anglers
like FLW Kellogg's fishing team pro and
BassHunters Custom Crankbaits Pro staff, Jim Tutt from Longview, Texas.
I asked Tutt, "Why use a balsa wood crankbait when there are
so many high-tech, overseas made crankbaits available?" "The
2 main reasons are because of their erratic action in the water and
they float faster to the surface making them less likely to get caught
up in rocks or grass, explained Tutt. He also pointed out, "The
prime time for balsa wood crankbaits is summer and in the fall, I will
fish more shad color patterns during this time of year using a model
BB 2, BB 3, Band-it Killer 100, Band-it Killer 200, or Band-it Killer
300, around wood and lay downs; I normally fish the BB 3 where other
anglers will be fishing a jig Tutt continued, In the
spring, I will fish with the smaller balsa wood crankbaits like BassHunter's
Lil Petey to match the hatch; however, smaller balsa wood crankbaits
also catch a lot of bass when the reservoir has a lot of pressure on
it, or can be used to catch released fish. Like the majority
of anglers, Tutt mainly uses a baitcaster reel spooled with 15-to17-pound
test monofilament line when fishing balsa wood crankbaits. However,
not just any hand crafted, balsa wood crankbait will do for Tutt, "I
think the key things that separates BassHunters Custom Crankbaits from
other balsa wood crankbaits is the super tuff clear finish and the
hooks will not hang up together. Because the back hanger is positioned
sideways."
In the end, for
anglers it's all about catching fish. Custom,
hand crafted, balsa wood crankbaits do exactly that.
Brad
Wiegmann is a full time fishing guide on Beaver lake and
Lake SWEPCO in Northwest Arkansas. Brad guides for Largemouth,
Spotted, Smallmouth, Stripers and White Bass. He is also a free-lance
writer who's weekly column "Speaking of Fishing" appears
weekly in several local newspapers. You may also see him doing
seminars, working outdoor shows or featured in outdoor magazines such
as BASSMASTER Magazine, Outdoor life and Arkansas Sportsman. He
also fishes the FLW Tour, Stren and local open tournaments. He
is currently on the Pro staff, promotional staff and guide programs
of numerous tackle manufactures, lure companies, and fishing related
companies. You can contact him at (479) 756-5279, at bwiegmann@cox.net or
visit his website at www.bradwiegmann.com for
more information.
