Nishine Lure Works Chippawa RB DD Blade Crankbait Product Review

Lure Review

Hit That Hole with the Chippawa RB DD Blade by Nishine Lure Works

Date:	5/21/20
Tackle Type:	Lure
Manufacturer:	Nishine Lure Works
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 8.08 - EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD

Introduction: One of the more intriguing companies we met during ICAST was a bait manufacturer out of Ontario, Canada. Hiroshi Nishine started his bait making/designing career back in 1990 while living in Japan. Later, he honed his craft testing designs in Japan's famous Lake Biwa. After moving to North America, his talents helped Shimano and Tru-Tungsten until finally starting Nishine Lure Works in 2006. Today, we take a look at one of his latest creations, the Chippawa RB DD Blade Crankbait.

Nishine Lure Works Chippawa RB DD Blade Crankbait Specifications
Type	Silent, mid depth diver
Length	2.5"
Weight	0.69oz
Depth	8-10ft
Material	Plastic
Colors	9
Hooks	Ichikawa
MSRP	$15.99

Impressions: Hiroshi Nishine's Chippawa RB Crankbait is designed with a tight wobbling, high-pitch action intended to be fished in any environment. It features a compact body with tall sides and a circuit board diving lip. The original crank comes in a standard and slow float configuration. These are the baits we originally saw at ICAST 2018. The following year, Nishine Lure Works released a bladed version of this bait know as the Chippawa RB Blade Crankbait featuring a willow leaf blade attached via a swivel to the bottom hook tie. All three versions of this crank are designed to be fished in up to about six feet of water.

Nishine Lure Works's Chippawa RB Crankbait comes in two configurations. This is the standard crank with a circuit board diving lip

Their most recent introduction takes this last design with the blade, and allows you to fish the bait in a slightly deeper zone by giving the Chippawa RB crank a more standard, long, hard plastic bill. The Chippawa RB DD Blade crankbait is designed for depths of up to ten feet and comes with two hooks by Ichikawa.

The DD version (subject of today's review) has a much larger diving bill

Real World Tests: I fished the Chippawa RB DD Blade crankbait on several different combos but most recently tied to the end of some 12lb Sunline Crank FC tied as a leader onto some 50lb Seaguar Smackdown braid spooled on my classic Daiwa Japan Millionaire I'ZE Light paired with ARK Rods's new Invoker Pro IVP74MHRC graphite cranking stick.

The blade at the bottom of the bait is attached via a ball bearing swivel

Any NFL football fans out there? If so, are you familiar with a running back named Frank Gore? He's been in the league since 2005 and as of this writing is still going. I bring him up because he's characterized by his small size (he's 5'9") yet powerful running style. To repeat, he's small, but very powerful. Nishine's Chippawa RB crankbait bodies remind me of Frank Gore. They're relatively small and compact at two and half inches in length yet the DD Blade weighs almost three quarters of an ounce.

The bait comes equipped with a clip instead of split ring for attaching to your line

The bait has no internal balancing system yet because of that compact size and weight, it casts like a running back breaking free from the line of scrimmage.

It casts like Frank Gore runs. Now Gore is not known for his breakaway speed, and I'm not saying you're going to win any casting distance contests with the Chippawa RB DD Blade Crankbait, but you'll get plenty of first downs and in fishing, first downs eventually lead to touchdowns.

The craw patterns are especially nice

Next Section: Hit the hole like a running back...