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Lure Review

 

 

Creature Fever : Big Bite Bait's Hybrid Soft Plastic Craw Tube

 

Date: 12/13/22
Tackle Type: Lures
Manufacturer: Big Bite Baits
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 7.92 - GOOD

Introduction:
Early on in my bass fishing adventures, flipping was a go-to technique on the California Delta. One of my go-to baits to pitch up along the outside edge of the pennywort and other overgrown vegetation was the combination of a tube bait capped with a single or twintail grub trailer. It was an effective technique when the bass would come out from under those weeds to hit a bait, but now the only way to get to them is punching over the top. Fast forward to when Pro Angler Mike McClelland showed me a new product from Big Bite Bait Company, their Craw Tube, and it was almost like being transported back in time.

 

Big Bite Baits Craw Tube Specifications

Type Tube and Crawdad Hybrid Bait
Material Soft Plastic
Colors/Patterns 19
Sizes 4"
Scent/Plastic Treatment Big Bite Baits Bite Juice
# per package 8
Resealable Bag? Yes
MSRP $4.49


Introducing Big Bite Baits's Craw Tube

Impressions: Big Bite Bait's Craw Tube is a much more refined bait compared to my hodge-podge bait combo from over thirty years ago. The bait's main body is a tube, but with rings on the outside all leading to the traditional tube bait skirt. However, out from the sides, just before the bait transitions to the skirt, protrude two claw like appendages.


The front part of this bait is an actual tube only with rings

Real World Tests: I actually had this bait in my arsenal for a good year before spending time with Mike McClelland on his boat during a writer's conference in the Fall of 2017. We were deciding on what to talk about when he got excited and wanted to show me a bait that had been working well for him the past year or so. It was of course, the Craw Tube. So he rigged one up Texas Style for me and we pitched and flipped our way down a shoreline to see what we could catch.


The tail end is a traditional tube bait skirt joined by two crawdad arms

 

Ease of Rigging : McClelland pulled out some of his new G-Finesse Hybrid Worm hooks and tied one on to the end of his line behind a small bullet weight. He then thread the Craw Tube onto the hook in typical Texas rig fashion. The Craw Tube is a very simple bait to rig. I've also had success sliding a ball headed jighead up through the tube and fishing it with the exposed hook in non-weedy areas.

 


Rigging the bait is pretty straight forward

 

Ease of Actuation : After rigging the bait, it's just a matter of casting, pitching, or flipping it up into the area you think the bass are hiding and letting it sink. The subtle ridges sometimes create air bubbles as the bait hits the water, but the hollow body give the bait a buoyancy that slows the bait's descent into the water allowing the skirt and claw to move around as the bait sinks (if you're using a light enough weight).

 


Mike McClelland prefers to Texas rig this bait

 

Position at Rest : On the bottom the claws will raise a little but more so if you keep the bait moving up and down. There are no air pockets in the skirt or claws to keep the bait standing up if you leave it at rest on the bottom, only the material's natural buoyancy.


In hand, the bait is actually a pretty good size

Durability : Big Bite Bait's Craw Tube is about as durable as any craw like soft plastic I've fished. The claws will occasionally get bitten off or just tear off after some use, but in general, it's no more or less durable than other soft plastic trailer type baits I've fished even given the bait's hollow body.


A closer look at that transition at the tail of the Craw Tube

Design & Ergonomics: The Craw Tube comes in a resealable bag of 8 baits and is packaged with the company's Big Bite Juice fish attracting scent. There are at least 19 different colors/patterns from which to choose, so there's plenty of opportunity to match the forage in your local waters.


Priced at $3.49 per pack of 8, the Craw Tube comes to about $0.44 a bait

Price & Applications: Priced at $4.49 per pack of 8, the Craw Tube comes to $0.56 a bait. Just a few seasons ago the bait was priced under 50 cents per bait but as with so many things these days prices are up. Even at the current priced Big Bite continues to be one of the more aggressively priced options and we think the price per bait is reasonable. You can fish it like a traditional craw trailer or fish it like a tube bait. It is a true hybrid and certainly much easier to rig and fish than my unrefined bait combo from three decades ago.

Rating:

Big Bite Baits Craw Tube Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Very consistent bait to bait 8
Performance Really versatile bait for pitching, flipping, or casting 8
Price At $0.56 per bait for soft plastic - Reasonable these days 7.5
Features Resealable plastic bag packaged with Bite Juice 8
Design (Ergonomics) It's the out of the package solution to my bait combo hodge podge from 30 years ago 8
Application As versatile a soft plastic as you could want 8

Total Score

7.92
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ Hollow body tube action - Only one size (4")
+ Built in claws give the bait an extra dimension  
+ Good selection of colors  

 

Conclusion: Making our way down that shoreline pitching and flipping next to patches of weeds, submerged stumps, and docks really took me back to my early days on the California Delta fishing with my 7'-6" telescopic, Team Daiwa, Denny Brauer, Pitchin' Flippin' stick made from IM6 graphite and Daiwa's exclusive Power Mesh technology (yes, I still have that stick!). The great thing about the Craw Tube was I didn't have to stop fishing to readjust the bait and make sure the claws weren't sliding down off the end of the hook or the grub's body out of the tube.

 


Bite Bait's Craw Tube is a hybrid bait that offers both classic tube and new school creature features

 

In fact, after fishing this bait, I'm not even sure how I managed to get my strange bait concoction onto the hook to fish with anymore! Nevertheless, there's something about the way tube baits fall in the water, and the texture they have when a fish bites them. Combine those characteristics with the added attraction of built in claws and really, this bait is a no-brainer for me. Thank you Big Bite Baits and Mike McClelland for a closer look at this bait and reminding me of my early flipping days.

 

Looking for Big Bite Baits Craw Tubes?

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