For fans of Strike King baits, this little number requires no introduction.

Performance: Baits like this really intrigue me because they're a little different in appearance. Strike King tweaked the cookie cutter, shad shaped body a little, added some contours for interest, and put together what seems to be a successful bait. I couldn't wait to get out on the water with this product.

Interestingly enough, not all color patterns for this shad feature a red eye.

Castability: No surprise here, the Red Eye Shad, like most lipless cranks sails through the air. I only fished the half ounce size in this bait but it really sails through the air straight onto your intended target with very little big league slider action.

To see what makes one "tick" we go to extreme measures.

Slow and High Speed: Another great thing about this bait is it swims true and with a lot of vibrating feedback no matter your retrieve speed. I know it's just my imagination, but it almost feels as if this compact, half ounce sized little head swims faster than other lipless cranks I've thrown.

Strike King's Red Eye Shad is packed with noise making rattles.

Yo Yo Action: On the lift and drop yo-yo retrieve, the Red Eye Shad does some really interesting things! On the descent, it falls in an almost neutral body position parallel to the surface of the water. What's more, as it descends, the bait shimmies top to bottom like a baitfish that's not doing too well. The action on this bait is really good!

This bait falls over on the bottom.

Position at Rest: Let the Red Eye Shad sink all the way to the bottom and? Like the great majority of lipless cranks, it falls over. It probably would have been unfair if Strike King found a way to make a bait with this tiny rear profile stand up on the bottom.

Performance Ratings for Strike King Red Eye Shad
Castability (1-3)	Slow Speed (1-3)	High Speed (1-3)	Yo Yo (1-3)	Position at Rest (1-3)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
3	3	3	3	1	13	15	8.67

Hardware includes two #4 sized VMC Vanadium Cone Cut trebles