Lucky Craft has long been known for great jerkbaits, topwaters and deep-running crankbaits. But the company recently introduced two new squarebilled shallow-running crankbaits that are flat catching bass, and we decided to find out why.

The new Fat CB BDS-1 and Fat CB BDS-2 have helped several Lucky Craft pros with victories and high finishes. For example, Takahiro Omori used a BDS-2 to win a recent Bassmaster Open on Arkansas' Norfork Lake. The ability to fish shallow (1 to 5 feet) was the key at that event.

Fellow Lucky Craft pro, and 2005 Bassmaster Angler of the Year runner-up, Marty Stone puts it best: "No one had these baits, except for us, for months, and we had an edge on everyone. But not anymore. Now everyone knows the secret."

Design, Consistency Are Keys

What makes these baits so good? Start with design. "A lot of companies talk about building a great square-billed crankbait, but we felt we had one that ran out of the box better and more often than any of the competition," notes Stone, who helped design the baits.

The shape of the bait is unique in that it has a flat top tapering off the bill, and angular tapers to the rear of the bait. Stone says, "It's all about water flow. Because of the design, we get the best flow-lines, which means straighter retrieves." Those "unique flow points" also mean easier tuning, he notes.

Also, while many companies build their line ties into the lip of the bait, Lucky Craft doesn't. "The line ties on these baits are in the nose of the bait, and that's done for a reason," he says. "We do not want to lose fish.

"And after thousands of casts over rocks, around docks and through wood, these baits will continue to run true. We don't get the slop that baits have that have line ties in the bills."

Each bait made has super sharp Daiichi hooks that rarely hook together, and everyone knows that Lucky Craft bait finishes can't be beat. The large red eyes – positioned near the nose, just in front of the front hooks – and pronounced gill patterns, scales and colors make these baits appear very lifelike.

Did we mention the 45 bait colors (hand-painted or hand-applied)? If you can't match the hatch with that, give up.

Our Tests

According to Stone, the key components of the Fat CB's design were finish, durability and consistency. Here's what we found:

> Not one needed tuning out of the box. That's good consistency.

> The bait has a tight wobble, yet still has the ability to bounce off of objects and not hang up – key for shallow-cranking.

> The BDS-1 is the smaller of the two baits (2") and dives to approximately 2 1/2 feet if retrieved quickly. The BDS-2 (2.5 "), although larger, will dive to 4 feet at the same retrieve speed (all based on line size).

> We liked the baits' buoyancy. It's similar to balsa, but actually wobbles better at different retrieve speeds. The bottom line is that the baits are lifelike at slow and rapid speeds.

> Both baits hopped right up (like balsa) when stopped, either glancing off an object or to trigger a strike.

> We cracked these baits on underwater rocks, and couldn't get them to break.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that we liked these baits – not really a surprise when you're talking about Lucky Craft quality.

Notable

> The suggested retail prices for these baits are 14.99 each. Worth it? You be the judge.

> Stone says, "I believe in the 'WWF' style of fishing with these baits: Whack and Wind Fishing. I like to used 15, 17 or even 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS green line with these baits, and fish them in tough spots. I whack them and then wind them out."

> He likes to fish these baits in spring, summer and fall. "When bass are up and feeding, the BDS-1 and BDS-2 are tools used in addition to jig-and-chunks and spinnerbaits."

> He notes that Lucky Craft builds baits "designed for very specific applications. They are not do-it-all baits."

> For more information, check out www.luckycraft.com.