Lucky Craft® Rick Clunn 1.5 Crankbait

Target Species: Largemouth Bass
Also Good For: Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Northern Pike

The Rick Clunn Pro Model series from Lucky Craft is a collection of high-end, fat body crankbaits developed in conjunction with cranking legend, bass pro Rick Clunn. Incredible well balanced, smartly proportioned and finished in an array of fantastic colors, these lures are tuned right off the bat and will dazzle you with their beauty and action. They've got us hooked, but what about the fish?

First Impressions

Let's not beat around the bush: these crankbaits retail for $15.99 a piece. A couple of years ago, Lucky Craft literally defined the high-end lure market and these crankbaits do not disappoint. Considered the "Cadillac" of lure manufacturers, quality of construction, design and balance has never been called into question. After all, you do pay for it. That's great if you are an experienced angler with deep pockets. But what if you aren't. For $16, you could buy four quality lures instead of just one, targeting the same fish in the same water. Lucky for us, we bought a collection of six of these on sale for $35 at Bass Pro Shops.

Fishing the Lure

Armed with a square bill and flat top head, this shad dives quickly with a tight wiggle. The Rick Clunn 1.5 is a medium-sized, buoyant lure that dives to 5-8 ft. Stop and the lure begins it's rise to the surface. Practice this technique on the edge of weed beds and rocky drop offs and you'd be surprised the size of the spots that pull themselves out of the shadowy depths to investigate.

The RC 1.5 also casts incredibly well. It is a very easy lure to fish, being well tuned right out of the package allowing any amateur to quickly learn the feel of a pro-style cast.

Watching the action, it is also very apparent that a lot of thought went into the colors and paint of the RC Series lures. They actually seem to come alive under water. Our RC 1.5 Red River Craw is a beauty to behold out of water (see picture), but this deep red-hued lure literally lit up underwater, creating an iridescence about it with lots of flash.

Review Summary

We give the Rick Clunn 1.5 crankbait a 71 out of 100 or an Excellent rating and it'd be even higher if it didn't cost so much. The only knock we can find on this lure is it's price which adversely affects its Value rating. If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on one you'll never forget the first time you cast one as well as the first time you lose one. We'd definitely recommend it for the more experienced angler who knows how to work around stumps and debris. If you're just starting out however, other options will stretch your $16 further.