Entry 208-2

Mark Menendez on Strike King’s Latest Lures

Part 2: Spinning the Strike Shad

Question: What do you like about the Strike Shad?

Menendez: This crankbait is a step back into the future. It’s made of balsa wood, which all the old crankbaits were constructed of before we started using plastic. This fantastic bait has a very-tight wiggle to it and dives in the 4- to 8-foot range, making it ideal when you’re fishing cold water. This is one of my favorite pre-spawn crankbaits.

I like to fish this lure on 8-pound-test line to get it down to its maximum depth. I really like to cast it on a light-action spinning rod. The spinning rod gives the bait an entirely-different action than the action you get when you’re using crankbait rods or any other type of casting rods. I’ve noticed that even if I’m fishing with a partner who is using the Strike Shad, I’ll catch more bass than he does, when I’m fishing with a spinning rod and he’s fishing a baitcasting rod.

Question: What do you think about the circuit-board lip?

Menendez: If you bust the lip off your crankbait, it’s totally useless. This new circuit-board lip is virtually indestructible, it won’t break, and it flexes and bounces, giving the lure a different look when it hits woods or rocks. This lip doesn’t wear out like the plastic lips on most crankbaits will. The Strike Shad originated in the hills of Tennessee, when the lure designers at Strike King researched to find out how they could make a better, a tougher and an almost-indestructible lip for a crankbait.

Question: What color Strike Shad do you like?

Menendez: I’m really fond of the Root Beer color, because it doubles very well as a baitfish color and as a bluegill color.

Question: Why do you change to a spinning-rod reel, when you’re fishing this particular crankbait?

Menendez: Historically, these styles of lures have been difficult to throw into the wind. But the Strike Shad has a little bit more weight added to the front end of the lure that makes it a little heavier than other lures built on this same design. I can crank this bait a little faster with the spinning reel than I can with a baitcasting reel.

This is an excellent lure because you can take its effectiveness one-step further in changing the way it performs, when you fish it on spinning tackle. Professional fishermen want a different lure or a lure that runs with a different action that the bass haven’t ever seen. When you put a crankbait, especially the Strike Shad, on a spinning reel, you’re not only giving the bass a bait bass probably haven’t seen before, but you’re also giving the bait an action that’s somewhat different than what they’ve seen from other fishermen.

Next: The Flat Shad – the Spinner Bait with Treble Hooks

Contents:

• Part 1: Lucky Shad – Red Eye Shad
• Part 2: Spinning the Strike Shad
• Part 3: The Flat Shad – the Spinner Bait with Treble Hooks
• Part 4: The King Shad – The Next Version of a Swim Bait
• Part 5: How to Poison Bass