The Year of the Crank just
wouldn’t be complete without a look at one of the company’s baits, and we turn
now our attention to the smallmouth bass. Found in greater numbers in colder
weather Smallmouth are commonly found in lakes and rivers throughout Eastern
Central North America. Though found in much greater numbers in the East
Smallmouth also inhabit lakes and rivers in Oregon and Washington and can even
be observed in some parts of the Northern California Delta region here on the
West Coast. Even though they are a popular gamefish in their own right, juvenile
smallies are often preyed upon by other Bass, Walleye and Pike.
Here we hold the shallow diving
version, the deep divers have much longer protruding lips
Real World Tests:
To test the Koppers Smallmouth Bass we headed to Lake Berryessa and Clear Lake
in Northern California as well as the uppermost region of the California Delta
where smallmouth can be found in the river system. Berryessa is home to smallies
near the river mouth and spotted and largemouth bass throughout the lake.
Because the Koppers are designed for “match the hatch” situations we
intentionally targeted areas where we knew smallmouth and largemouth commonly
come into contact with one another in the first portion of our field tests and
in bodies of water that is totally devoid of smallmouth in the latter part of
the tests.
Notice how the dark lines extend
into the fin to give the appearance of a translucent fin, now that's detail!
Casting:
Once we stopped examining all the intricate details on the Live Target
Smallmouth Bass we finally tied it on our Cumara test rig and started our cast
tests. We fished both the 2.75” and 3.25” versions and found the larger version
casts slightly farther due to the increased weight. The 2.75” shallow diver
weighs 5/16oz. and the deeper version weighs 3/8oz. while both versions of the
3.25” lure weigh in at 1/2oz. We found that we were able to cast the lure in
light to moderate wind without issue. This is made easier with an internal
weight transfer system that features a metal bead that travels down the lure
during the cast. Not only does this system increase overall casting distance but
it also helps the bait travel in a more predictable arc for more precise casts.
Red gills are painted into the
side and bottom of the lure
