Creature Baits

[Larry313]

I was just looking for some opinions as to what company produces the best selection, quality, etc. for creature baits?  I haven't used them too much but I plan to do so this year and I'm not sure what to look for.  Thanks

[Waterfoul]

I've tried them all.

Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. 


It's all I throw now.

[McCarter]

there are so many different creature baits out there, it would be like asking what kind of ice cream you should buy.  the reaction innovation beaver is a great bait, but i found something last year that is every bit as effective ( for me at least ) as the beaver and it costs less and is available locally.  Gander Mt brand beaver.  you wont get the color selection that RI offers but the watermelon/green pumpkin, watermelon red, and black/blue cover all my needs.  Yum came out with a wicked little bug last year,too.  i dont remember what its called, but it basically looks like a beaver but has beefier arms.

some other great creature baits that all have there place would be:

Zoom lil critter craw (excellent on bedding fish, as a finesse trailer, or on a light ball head)

Berkley Mud Critter ( no longer available, but if you can find them, buy them.  they put the chigger craw to shame )

Berkley Chigger Craw ( crazy action, at times too much, but will get reaction strikes from fish with its ridiculous action )

Strike King Rage series ( there are a few baits in this line up, again, with crazy actions )

Yamamoto Kreature ( bulkier bait with a lot going on.  I actually like to pull some of the skirt and the large curly apengages off and throw this on a football head.  Very effective on pressured fish )

Gene Larew Biffle Bug ( kinda beaverish in style, but a little differnt.  Designer Tommy Biffle has won 2 or 3 tournaments on this new bait paired with a new style football head already)

Lunker City Ozmo ( looks like something out of the Alien movie franchise and is considered a "morph" bait.  meaning they put so much stuff on it that you can literally create your own bait just by tearing pieces off of it.  you end up with several different options out of one bait )

Kinami Nories Bug ( its actually no longer called the Nories bug but i dont remember what they call it now.  There is something about this bait that gets big fish to bite.  It is especially dangerous on a couple bigger local tournament lakes, but i cant tell you which ones.  last time i did, i was shunned from the local bass fishing community for a day and a half)

Net Baits MacDaddy Craw ( i dont know if they are making these anymore, but BPS had em on clearance 2 years ago and i bought about 30 bags.  Another creature/morph bait with a ton of possibilities.  I have done very well on this when the bite has been tough)

These are a just a few.  There are tons of them out there.  They will all catch fish.  My suggestion would be to start off with a smaller bait.  You will catch more fish on a smaller bait and it will help you build confidence in throwing creatures. the faster you get confidence in them, the faster you are going to want to explore your options and really fine tune your technique.

I have one that Angling AI is just finishing up for me.  If you pm me your address, i will send you out some from the first batch.  They arent small, they are 4" long, but they are pretty subtle and designed to get lots of bites.  you play with em in the spring and then just let me know what you think.

McCarter himself

[fasttrack]

I've tried them all.

Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. 


It's all I throw now.

Just cant get the beaver out of your hand now, huh? Nothing else is as good? (sorry!)

[Waterfoul]

What can I say Marc, I love the Beaver!!

I should add that I do thow a lot of the Rage Tail baits... space monkey and the craw.  But I don't really consider them a true "creature" bait.  They make great jig trailers too.

Brian, you know I want some of those first shots to check out!!!!

[eetz]

Berkley Mud Critter ( no longer available, but if you can find them, buy them.  they put the chigger craw to shame )

Do you know how long have these been off the market? 

I have one that Angling AI is just finishing up for me.  If you pm me your address, i will send you out some from the first batch.  They arent small, they are 4" long, but they are pretty subtle and designed to get lots of bites.  you play with em in the spring and then just let me know what you think.

Looking forward to seeing these!  When will these be available on your site?