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Is It a Crankbait or a Jerkbait? We say it's... Introducing the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp
(continued)
  Weedlessness: As with any suspending, treble hooked bait, the Bevy Shad is very susceptible to hangups, but fish it on your superline of choice on a stout stick, and you can easily rip it through weed beds. The relatively small hooks of the Bevy Shad make it easier, than some baits, to fish in this manner. My preference was to fish this bait in open water in and around rip rap and other rock piles. Snags in these situations occurred somewhat frequently, so be sure to carry a knocker or some other device to help you free your Bevy Shad if caught in the rocks.
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The underside of the Bevy Shad 75sp
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Durability: Most of the Bevy Shads I fished were of the types of colors you see in these photographs, the Pearl Ayu and Pro Blue. These
translucent colors hold up much better than their prismatic or metallic finishes. I acquired one bait, similar in color to the discontinued Aurora Red, and the finish of that bait has not held up well. It flakes off rather easily just from its own hooks. Otherwise, there were no problems with any of the other components of this bait from the hooks to the bill to the body of the bait itself.
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Another look of the baits front profile
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Lucky Craft USA only distributes the suspending (Sp) version of this bait, but in Japan, they are available as a floating (f) bait as well
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Effectiveness: Lucky Craft has the Bevy Shad 75sp classified in their website as a crankbait, but, as stated earlier, I found this bait much more effective when fished as a jerk bait rather than as a crank. While not an answer 100% of the time, it is excellent in tough-bite situations helping to trigger strikes from fish that seem otherwise inactive. It has definitely earned a spot in my arsenal graduating from the test-bin, to the go-to box.
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This fish was caught on Calero Reservoir after zero hits in 4 hrs of drop shotting |
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One last look at our Bevy Shad 75sp in Pro Blue
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Ratings:
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Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp
Ratings (?/10)
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Construction/Quality |
Lucky Craft continues to shine with this product |
9 |
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Performance |
A very good bait for tough-bite situations |
9 |
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Price |
A unique bait at a standard Lucky Craft price.
Due to the
unique nature of
the lure's
performance the
price is more
reasonable than
with some other
lures in the
company's
lineup. The good
news is like
some other
competitor baits
this one is easy
to acquire at
just about any
retailer |
8 |
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Features |
No features to really set it apart from other baits, but solid nonetheless |
8 |
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Design (Ergonomics) |
A cross between a crankbait and jerkbait, but I found it best used as a jerkbait |
8 |
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Application |
Break one out during your next tough bite and you may be surprised.
The lure does
have the ability
to be fished in
a variety of
ways. Depending
on your unique
conditions the
lure may perform
better as a
crank or a
jerkbait (though
the latter was
definitely
better for me) |
9 |
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Total Score
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8.50 |
Pluses and Minuses:
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Plus Minus
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| J Good tough-bite situation bait |
L Didn't like it as a crankbait |
| J Sharp, stock hooks |
L Metallic finishes are still not very durable |
| J Wide choice in colors |
L Inexpensive compared to Megabass, but still a pricey bait |
| J Easy to acquire |
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The Bevy Shad 75sp provides a lot of fish catching fun
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Conclusion: Have you always wondered or questioned the value of "those premium" lures like Lucky Craft? Have you wanted to sample some of these baits to see what the hype was about but can't decide where to start? One very strong suggestion from this Editor would be to try the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75sp. This relatively small bait packs a pretty big punch and is able to deliver when most other baits in the box are doing nothing but taking up room. Baits like the Bevy Shad 75sp can spoil your patience for just about anything you might consider finesse. This bait has spoiled me enough to give it one of my Editor's Choice Awards for 2007.
The Lucky Craft
Bevy Shad is available at:Extremelures
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