Impressions: Conan O'Brien has a bit on Late Night called “If they Mated” where celebrities are combined to form some pretty hilarious, sometimes scary, images of what their offspring might look like. In this case the Kreature is pretty much what the offspring of the Senko, Ika, and double tailed grub would look like “If they “Mated.” Only in this case the result isn’t comical, it’s actually downright deadly when it comes to loading up a single lure with so many fish attracting characteristics.

The Yamamoto Kreature comes in 12 color choices

Long swimming arms, a thick bodied tube body, and an assortment of tentacles is what the Kreature is comprised of. Gary Yamamoto first started using the original hula grub over 20 years ago, and has said that the bait “imitates nothing in particular and everything in general.” The same thing can be said about the new Kreature. At different angles the Kreature can emulate different prey, ranging from a falling worm, to a quiescent lizard, or even a fleeing crayfish.
 

Field Tests: To test the Kreature we head out to a local bass lake as well as the California Delta. We rigged the Kreature a variety of different ways and employed an assortment of distinct techniques ranging from pitching to high-speed surface retrieves.
 

The back of the lure has a familiar tentacle skirt and two paddles

  
Casting: Casting the Kreature will vastly depend on how you choose to rig it up. This is one of the most adaptable plastics we have tested in terms of available methods to make use of. If you are fishing the Kreature weightless you will discover that you will still be able to cast the lure a respectable distance when paired with 12lb line, but many anglers will opt to pitch and flip this bait in and around structure. Casting weightless is easily done, and the slightly added weight makes it simple for beginners to target areas repeatedly. If you desire more distance or wish to target fish hovering over the bottom the Kreature can be rigged Texas or Carolina.  

The Kreature is very flexible in terms of rigging, one of my favorite ways to fish it is Texas style with a pegged bullet sinker

If there is rocky structure below it is possible to rig the Kreature with a jighead, though we were able to catch fish vertically jigging rocky structure we found this method to be the least effective. On the other hand we were surprised how many fish picked the Kreature off the bottom when we rigged the lure Texas and pegged the sinker, or dragged it slowly on a Carolina rig. With a weight on the front of the lure the rear paddles and tail still provide plenty of movement with every jerk of the rod. This is one of those lures where it definitely is a plus to have a quality high-modulus graphite rod. There will be times when fish engulf the lure and just start running, and other times where fish will nibble at the end of the lure or pick it up tentatively. A sensitive rod and sharp terminal tackle will help increase your strike to hookup ratio considerably.

With a little extra weight the Kreature can be fished slowly across the bottom of the weed line

 
Durability: The one area where the Kreature doesn’t one up the competition is on durability alone. Yamamoto lures deliver amazing action, and can be fished effectively many different ways, but they also take a real beating from aggressive fish…the Kreature is no exception. We found that after one or two small fish the top of the lure would often tear, or appendages would break off. The lure still remained effective, but it is likely most anglers would want a fresh lure to target hotspots. A nice trick is to actually take the Kreature off the hook and trim the top and remove damaged appendages, in essence you have resurrected the spoiled Kreature as a Yamamoto Ika. While there are a number of new-fangled plastics on the market that are near unbreakable, few can inspire so many fish to commit.

Bass often will engulf the Kreature completely, but a quick hookset certainly help stick more fish

Applications: The Kreature is an excellent lure to target heavily weeded areas or make precise drops into structure. This lure is very effective in stained water, and there are 12 colors available to help match different conditions and prey. The ability to fish the lure different ways, over close and far distances make this lure a great choice to not only find fish, but accurately target the bigger ones. Anglers on shore can fish the lure weedless inside the weed line, and anglers on watercraft can venture into the thickest structure with the Kreature.

Pluses and Minuses:

Conclusion: Yamamoto baits have long been a vital part of my cache, and it looks like I have to make room yet again for another quality lure. The Kreature is an successful amalgamation of some of the best that Yamamoto has to offer. The arms, tentacles, and tubular body are all familiar…and yet the lure has an action unique to itself. Anglers that can flip a Senko or bounce a twin tail grub will have absolutely no learning curve to fish the Kreature with success. With almost scary results the Kreature proved to us that it has what it takes to compete with the wide assortment of creature baits already available. With quality design, spectacular action, and a proven brand name backing it all up the Kreature is the first and only plastic to win an Editor’s Choice Award!

Until next time....Tight Lines.