Crawlers - The Final Frontier

[FishDr]

I think I just figured out my Xmas wishlist. Thanks for sharing your insights, everyone.

[SumoNinja]

I won this one from a mlw usa drawing. Have not put the time into it that I should. 

That's gonna have to change... 

[ricardo]

2 piece battle wing is an awesome bait too, I’ve caught a bunch on it this season and never really had to tune it.

[NEbucketmouth19]

I mostly fish fairly clear lakes. Am I better off with a one piece crawler (less noise) or should I just go with the two-piece (FPJ Monka or 2 piece Battlewing?)

[ricardo]

2 piece, I feel the whole idea for a crawler is noise and commotion in the water.  For the most part they don’t look realistic, so you might as well get as much metal on that sucker as you can haha.  

[Harshwaters]

2 hours ago, NEbucketmouth19 said:

I mostly fish fairly clear lakes. Am I better off with a one piece crawler (less noise) or should I just go with the two-piece (FPJ Monka or 2 piece Battlewing?)

I'm partial to the one FP myself.  I fish alot of clear waters. Can't go wrong either way. Check out the Got em' section for my Monka catches or my Instagram account. Good luck.

[chevro1et]

19 hours ago, NEbucketmouth19 said:

Thanks for the replies guys I'll probably look into the Raid and the Monka! Any tips for grabbing one? Does Monka do drops or should I just keep an eye on the Japanese tackle sites?

Check The Hookup Tackle, they carry Monka for sure, dunno about the Raid. 

[Basszilla]

One more vote for the Monka FPJ.  Good luck

[urbanhick]

I was intrigued by the crawler so I bought a Imakatsu berlinetta and ran it along a submerged road bed in 12 FOW on a bluebird post frontal morning and on the second cast with it caught this fish.  I'm definitely sold on them.

[WaterWolf44]

On 11/13/2020 at 4:02 PM, captainhookset said:

Without a doubt my favorite is the Raid Dekka Dodge.  Not even close for me personally.  I've fished most of em and the Raid is a stud.  They are resin not wood, so you can get them for "cheap" (retail is like 5500JPY).  They have a bunch of cool colors, and each hook as marabou hair on them.  I get a lot of bites when I cast the bait out and let it sit motionless until all the ripples in the water disappear - i think the hair makes a big difference but that's just me.

Every bait runs great out of the box, no issues with tuning and spinning in circles like some of the more expensive wooden ones (one brand in particular).  

And they make a great sound - not the best sqeak, but good enough.  You can work the bait fast or slow - like the previous post said, they are great for stained water and great for colder temps bc you can really work them slooooooow.

Good luck!

Im new to crawlers myself. I got a custom painted deka coming in the mail. I found a blank online

[WaterWolf44]

On 11/13/2020 at 7:48 PM, NEbucketmouth19 said:

Thanks for the replies guys I'll probably look into the Raid and the Monka! Any tips for grabbing one? Does Monka do drops or should I just keep an eye on the Japanese tackle sites?

Alternative lures has a deka blank you can have custom painted any color. I got one coming in the mail

[brootalititties]

I have a monka but I’ve only fished it a couple times and caught dinks. I’ve always fished it at night and the other day I fished it during the day and noticed the action was pretty awful. Absolutely would not start “crawling” until I got it going fairly fast which is not how these are supposed to fish from what I’ve heard. Only thing I can think is that I need to add a snap or split ring? Can someone confirm this. I mostly fish rats on top and I’ve Always tied direct on those as I feel the subtle action/knock gets bit more than a wide swim so I kinda was going with the same idea but I’m thinking that a snap or split will free the bait up to move around on a crawl

edit

i also know these things can be tuned and adjusted, I’ve never screwed with it since I got it but wondering if I need to tweak something. Thanks for any help

Edited November 18, 2020 by brootalititties

[NEbucketmouth19]

On 11/15/2020 at 6:26 AM, urbanhick said:

I was intrigued by the crawler so I bought a Imakatsu berlinetta and ran it along a submerged road bed in 12 FOW on a bluebird post frontal morning and on the second cast with it caught this fish.  I'm definitely sold on them.

Nice fish! I might start with either that one or the Aventa crawler and then try and snag a Monka if I like them. 

[Biggs]

On 11/17/2020 at 8:08 PM, brootalititties said:

I have a monka but I’ve only fished it a couple times and caught dinks. I’ve always fished it at night and the other day I fished it during the day and noticed the action was pretty awful. Absolutely would not start “crawling” until I got it going fairly fast which is not how these are supposed to fish from what I’ve heard. Only thing I can think is that I need to add a snap or split ring? Can someone confirm this. I mostly fish rats on top and I’ve Always tied direct on those as I feel the subtle action/knock gets bit more than a wide swim so I kinda was going with the same idea but I’m thinking that a snap or split will free the bait up to move around on a crawl

edit

i also know these things can be tuned and adjusted, I’ve never screwed with it since I got it but wondering if I need to tweak something. Thanks for any help

mlw_usa on Instagram has a good video on how to tune them.

 

[ikaika]

On 11/15/2020 at 4:18 AM, WaterWolf44 said:

Alternative lures has a deka blank you can have custom painted any color. I got one coming in the mail

Thanks for calling this out!  Just ordered one as well.  Can't beat the price, especially if it's a bait where you can get away with a rattle can paint job.  I've had good experiences with his glide bait blanks and am excited to try this one.