Top 10 Lucky Craft Lures - #10
By: “Triton” Mike Bucca
(www.tritonmike.com)

With the extensive lineup of baits that Lucky Craft has I can certainly understand why it might cause mass confusion on what tool to purchase and for what job. I have received countless emails pertaining to various baits in the Lucky Craft lineup. I have been fishing with Lucky Craft lures since the late 90’s and I have also been on the Lucky Craft Pro-staff for the past year and a half. As a fishing guide here in Georgia with over 200 days a year on the water I have extensive experience using pretty much every bait in their entire lineup and also several Lucky Craft baits that aren’t even offered here in the U.S. I felt this top 10 list would help ease your pain in your bait selection before you plop down the bucks for these fine pieces of craftsmanship.

Be sure to check in here at Probass.net often, as I will give a different review on my top ten Lucky Craft baits that I rely on the most. You just might be surprised to see some of the baits I rely on everyday that you might not think was an effective bait.

#10 Wander 80

Surprised??? The Wander comes in two different sizes: both 80mm (approximately 3.14 inches) and 95mm (approximately 3.7 inches) and comes in 16 different shad type colors which can be seen at LuckyCraft/Wander80

I don’t talk about this bait a lot, as it is a very near and dear secret of mine. The Wander is by far in my opinion the most UNDERRATED bait in the entire Lucky Craft lineup and probably one of the least popular baits in the lineup as well. What makes this little jerkbait bait so unique from any other jerkbait on the market is the fact that it gives anglers unlimited depth control by being able to cover every depth level from the surface to the bottom of the lake with this one lure. Also unlike most jerkbaits, the Wander does not have a diving lip to give it any action or diving depth, but make no mistake about it the Wander does not lack in the erratic action department. Most jerkbaits either suspend or float, but the Wander has a medium speed fall. The fall rate of this bait is faster than that of the Senko, which means less time is needed to reach deeper strike zones. The best way to describe the action of this bait in the water is to compare it to the Yamamoto Senko. In fact, I have heard the Wander dubbed as a “hard senko” on several occasions. The Wander has the profile similar to that of a Senko and it also has a nice erratic “wandering” fall similar to the Senko as well.

There are two strategically placed brass weights in the Wander. These strategically placed brass weights insure that the Wander falls in a horizontal fashion (again very similar to the Senko). This horizontal fall rate actually slows down the speed of the fall due to the drag created by the overall bait profile. The downward swaying action created during the fall of the lure is highly effective and in my opinion mimics injured prey very well.

I find that the Wander has a variety of uses and you can use it anywhere you would use a normal diving jerkbait and have great success. I have had great success working the Wander parallel to bluff walls. That way I can go as deep or as shallow as I need, taking the water and weather conditions into account. I also like working the Wander on suspended fish as well. This is where I feel the Wander excels best. In my areas especially during the fall and winter-time I often have bait suspending at the 20ft level but over 70ft of water. I find that the Wander does an outstanding job of staying in the strike zone more effectively and reaching these fish better than most baits I have tried on suspending fish. I do go back and forth with both sizes of the Wander. In most Lucky Craft baits I have favorite sizes and find that some sizes work better than others, but both the 80 and 95 versions work very well for me. When using the Wander, I find it to be very important to match the size of the bait in your area to make sure your offering is as natural looking as possible. My favorite colors by far are the American Shad and Ghost Minnow as both of these baits mimic the forage in my area very closely.

As far as equipment is concerned, I like to use 12lb fluorocarbon line when fishing the Wander. I like Triplefish fluorocarbon primarily because fluorocarbon is a sinking line and it will allow me to detect those subtle strikes due to its low stretch characteristics. Most medium action crankbait rods will be a great choice for fishing the Wander.

That’s my review on the Wander. Give it a try next time you are out on the lake and I am sure you will find many more scenarios where the Wander will work well in your lakes and rivers. One thing is for certain you’ll probably be the only one to ever fish the Wander 80 in your area, but please do me a favor. Once you find out how versatile this bait is in catching fish, keep it under your hat! ?

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