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Lure Review


Is It a Crankbait or a Jerkbait? We say it's... Introducing the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp
 

Date: 12/24/07
Tackle type: Lures
Manufacturer: Lucky Craft
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 8.50 + EDITORS CHOICE!

 

Introduction: How many times have you taken the water this past year and had one of those "tough bite" situations where you threw just about everything in your tackle box but couldn't get bit? Or maybe you knew the fish were probably on a finesse bite but you just can't bring yourself to break out the drop shot gear? This past year, more often than not, when running into this situation, I was glad I had this bait in my "test-bin". Already with its more than loyal following, you can add another to this baits long list of fans. Introducing the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp.
 

Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp Specifications

Type Jerk/Crankbait
Depth 6-8 feet
Class Suspending
Size 3" (3/8 oz)
Colors/Patterns Approximately 30 different colors and patterns
Hook Sizes #6 front and back
MSRP $15


Impressions: Anyone already familiar with Lucky Craft knows the quality of their baits is undeniable. The Bevy Shad 75sp is no exception and there were no surprises opening this bait up and taking it out of its package. The Bevy Shad features a long, narrow body that falls somewhere between a crank and a jerkbait. It's bill is neither square nor round, but oval and pointed at the end. The stock, #6 hooks, sharp and durable. Interestingly enough, in Japan, this bait is available in both suspending and floating configurations. Here in North America, Lucky Craft only distributes the suspending version.

 

Introducing the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp
 

The Field Tests: I fished the Bevy Shad 75sp over the course of this past summer on a variety of combinations, but settled, most often on either my Daiko Burroughs BRSC-68M paired with a Shimano Conquest 51, or my Megabass F4-610XDti Eseil paired with a Daiwa Alphas F.

 

Complete test rigs for Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp Field Tests

Rig One Rig Two
Rod Daiko Burroughs BRSC-68M Megabass F4-610XDti Elseil
Reel Shimano Conquest 51 Daiwa Alphas F
Line 12lb Sunline Machinegun Cast 12lb Sugoi Fluorocarbon

 

A closeup of the subtle head detailing on our Bevy Shad 75sp
 

A view from the front of our Bevy Shad 75sp

 

Casting: At three-eighths of an ounce, the Bevy Shad falls right at the low end of baits that are easy and comfortable to cast with baitcasting gear. Easy and comfortable to cast it was on both of the listed combinations. The Bevy Shad features the familiar internal bearings that shift on each cast and help direct the baits momentum in the direction of travel enabling precise and distant casting. I did end up replacing the majority of the split rings on my Bevy Shads with the LureSaver split rings and found that when I used the larger sized replacement rings, the hooks often tangled together during my casts, but switching these back out to the smaller sized rings, that are, incidentally, closer to the size of the stock rings, resolved this issue.

The Bevy Shad 75sp in Pearl Ayu
 

The Bevy Shad 75sp features a long slender body somewhere between a crankbait and a jerkbait
 

Retrieving: The Bevy Shad is a cross between a jerkbait and crankbait and is supposedly equally effective fished in either retrieve. I did not like the feel of this bait fishing it as a crankbait. It didn't dig and bite enough of the water, or bottom, as I'm accustomed to when fishing cranks. I did like it, however, as a jerkbait. Fished on a twitching retrieve with ample pauses in between, I was able to trigger strikes all summer long - a season not really known for hot jerkbait action out here in California. But true to form, when the waters were pressured and the bite got tough, over half the time when I pulled out the Bevy Shad and started jerking away, I started catching fish.
 

Typical of other Lucky Craft baits, the Bevy Shad comes with very good stock hooks
 

The Bevy Shad 75sp is a suspending bait and sinks slowly after landing in the water, with a nose down position. Give it a quick jerk or two, and it quickly dives down reaching depths of somewhere between six to eight feet depending on the type and diameter of line you're using. It also suspends in a nose down position and has good darting action on each twitch of the rod tip. As with most jerkbaits though, the secret is in that pause. Twitch two or three times in succession, pause and vary the length of your wait time, then hold on!

 

The Bevy Shad has a bit more width to it than a typical jerkbait yet is still more slender than your run of the mill crankbait

Next Section: Weedlessness, Durability & Ratings

 

   

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