The Uniquely Designed Jackall Aragon MR,
is it as good as it looks?

Date: |
6/09/05 |
Tackle type: |
Lures |
Manufacturer: |
Jackall Lures |
Reviewer: |
Cal |
Total Score:
7.91
Introduction: With the scores of baits we have sitting in our bins, 2005 has been unofficially declared the Year of the Crank here at TackleTour Headquarters. Next up in our review list is a rather unique looking lure from one of the least talked about but quietly popular lure manufacturers to make a splash here in the United States from overseas, Jackall Lures. We caught wind that one of their new baits, the Aragon, was making waves, so we went out and acquired some of our own to bring to you, the story of a very
original and unique bait.
Jackall Aragon MR Specifications
|
Type |
Crankbait |
Depth |
8 ft |
Class |
Floating |
Size |
2.5" (1/2 oz) |
Colors/Patterns |
6 different colors |
Hook Sizes |
#4 front and rear |
MSRP |
$15.00 |
Impressions: The lore of this new bait from Jackall Lures is obvious at first sight. It's a jointed crankbait with the body of a traditional crank. We've seen jointed jerk baits, top water baits, and swimbaits but very seldom do we see a diving crank with this kind of configuration. Hence our interest in this particular product. Add to this intrigue, the traditional attention to quality finishes found in the majority of overseas lure producers and it wasn't difficult to justify adding this bait to our review list.

|
The Hinge Bodied Jackall Aragon MR |
The Field Tests: We tied the Aragon onto a number of different rod and reel combinations searching for the right combo. This included running the crank with the 2005 Shimano Metanium XT, but we soon found the retrieve rate on that reel was
a bit too fast for this crank, so we scaled back and went with one of our tried and true cranking setups, a Kistler Helium He76MC coupled with one of our Calcutta Conquest 101 reels.
Complete test rig for Jackall Aragon MR Field Tests |
Rod |
Kistler Helium He76MC |
Reel |
Calcutta Conquest 101 |
Line |
12lb Yozuri Hybrid |
Next, we hit our local waters for a series of exciting crankbait fishing trips. We were anxious to see how this curious little lure would produce for us and just distinct its action would be.

|
One of our Jackall Aragon lures rigged up on a Kistler Helium He76MC and Conquest 101 reel |
Casting: Weighted
at half an ounce and paired with our one-piece 7'6" medium action Kistler Helium, it's not hard to imagine we had little to no difficulty casting this lure any direction we wanted to sling it. The jointed body does nothing to interfere with presentation and the lure sails through the wind like there's no tomorrow.
|
A closeup of the quality connection between halves on the Aragon
|
Retrieving: This is where it got interesting. Three out of the three lures we brought in for testing required some tuning in order to run properly. Each of the three lures ran at about the same rate to our left as we pulled them in through
the water. Since this malady affected all three baits in the same exact way, there could very well have been some issue in the production batch from which our lures were produced. Luckily, correcting this defect doesn't take much more than a couple of minutes if that, but when paying to dollar for a bait, we expect them to run true out of the box.
 |
The Aragon has the unique feature of being a jointed, diving crankbait |
Next came the matter of retrieve rate. As mentioned earlier, when matched with a relatively high speed retrieve reel, the Aragon does not run well. For best results, we found running this crank with a reel that retrieves at a rate of 22" or less allowed our bait to dive and work its magic more effectively. The Aragon, as billed, has a wide wobbling motion and produces a rather loud clacking sound and vibration when the two halves collide. This action can be felt through your rod as the bait comes swimming back to you in the water and could be the very reason why this lure needs special attention while tuning and selecting a reel with the proper retrieve rate - too fast and this crashing, wobbling action just blows the lure up in the water.
Next Section: Application
