Lucky Craft® Stacey King Jerkbait
Target Species: Largemouth Bass
Also Good For: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
The Stacey King signature jerkbait by Lucky Craft is amongst the finest crafted lures on the market as well as one of its most expensive. I've been wanting to get my hands on one of these for a couple seasons and the gift of a recent
Bass Pro Shops E-Gift Card gave me the opportunity to do so.
First Impressions
Like most Lucky Craft lures, the color is striking immediately out of the package. Unlike many suspending jerkbaits however, this stick actually has some weight in the palm of your hand and it's not overbearing. The lure just feels right. The body profile is also somewhat unique with a slightly arched back that affects the action on the retrieve.
Fishing the Lure
I knew the perfect place to take this lure. Barton Pond is a reservoir in my area that gets tons of fishing pressure, but 90% or more of it the hook-and-bobber type. Nothing wrong with that, but that means the fish don't see jerkbait presentations often. What's great about this location (once you learn to work around the muck) is that it is fairly deep, has boulder-reinforced dropoffs and best yet - the Smallmouths are feisty.
Counted-balanced weights within the lure body lengthen the casting distance and my first toss went further than I anticipated catching the attention of a nervous kayaker. After our initial scare, rod tip down I was easily able to bring the bait into the strike zone quickly using the 5-7 ft diving model.
The humped back of the Stacey King jerkbait allows the lure to quiver erratically side-to-side while finishing with a slight forward roll on the pause.
This action is similar to what is seen in a struggling or dying fingerling and a signature of the design. I was able to stir-up both Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass as well as several Northern Pike. As this lure sat suspended, twitching just yards from me, my heart would skip as I would suddenly see the head of a Northern Pike emerging from the depths to take it from underneath. Awesome!
Review Summary
The Stacey King jerkbait comes with the standard Lucky Craft attention to detail, color, flash, and construction. The lure can provide a truly realistic presentation in the hands of the mid-level to advanced angler and if you are willing to pay for quality, the Lucky Craft Stacey King Jerkbait delivers. Otherwise if your budget is limited, let's hope for a sale so we can save a couple bucks. Like Us on Facebook and we'll try to let you know if that happens.
