Top Micro Ultralite Fishing Lures

Several months ago, I came across an excellent article at In-Fisherman, speaking volumes about “Might Mini Cranks.” The author discussed a wide range of tips, tactics and lures to use for ultralite anglers wanting to throw tiny cranks and jerkbaits. Since then, I've built up an ever-expanding collection of ultralite fishing lures and I wanted to take this opportunity to share with everyone what I have found. 

(Please excuse any typos in this post; it’s a fairly long one!)


Jet Tackle Lures is one of the best sources I have found of ultra cheap fishing lures in the United States. They also happen to offer a fantastic line of micro lures, perfect for ultralite anglers on a budget. While I love my expensive Yo-Zuri micros, I also maintain a collection of cheap small lures that I’m not afraid to cast near heavier cover or other snag-prone areas. Here’s their page of micro lures (web link-view ALL micro lures from Jet Tackle here) and following are profiles of several of these lures.

S3-Jetx (bottom 3) vs S4-LKA039

Catches trout too!

Tiny

Jet Tackle’s S3-JETX0002 is pretty solid little lure. Actually, it’s one of my favorite micro lures they offer, coming in at a tiny 1.2 inches (3cm). I’ve nailed a load of different sized green sunfish and other panfish on this tiny micro lure. I’ve also caught several wild rainbow trout on it from different secret SoCal creeks, thus showing off its versatility. It’s probably closest in shape to a mini Rapala, although considerably lighter. It has a fairly slow sink rate and a nice wobble on retrieve. They offer the S3-JETX0002 in 8 different colors, each for the stellar price of just $1.27. Try and beat that when you are looking for decent micro lures! It’s definitely one of the best micro lures offered by Jet Tackle and one I would urge any ultralite angler to purchase. ★★★★★

The S4-LKA039 is another tiny (1.6 inch) lure from Jet Tackle, in a mini jerkbait shape. It’s also one of the most detailed micro lures they offer and comes in a wide array of enticing colors. I have several of them in my ultralite box. It has an excellent side to side wobble, but unfortunately, it doesn’t sink fast enough to be of as much use to me as the S3-JetX. I still like it and adding a snap swivel to the front does help, but it’s mostly shallow water bait. It’s available for $1.27 as well. ★★★★


The tiniest true crankbait offered by Jet Tackle is the S4-LKA046. It’s definitely a solid shallow water crankbait, with an excellent wobble, even on faster retrieves and required little to no tuning. However, I wish it could dive a little deeper, as it is probably limited to 6 inches or less of diving depth. It’s still not a bad lure for $1.27 but it won’t replace my trusty Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow crankbait. ★★

One of the neatest tiny topwaters offered by Jet Tackle is the S5-FLA031. It’s a typical topwater popper and looks great in the water. The S5-FLA031 comes in at a true 2 inches and pops like a pro on retrieve. I’m not worried about casting it near thick cover for bass or sunfish on my urban creek fishing trips, because at $1.27 it doesn’t hurt to lose it (well, not too much at least). Definitely one I would recommend picking up for topwater ultralite fans, one of the better lures offered by Jet Tackle. Get it! ★★★★★

( more after the jump) 

The S6-FLA076is another tiny jerkbait, although not as small as many of the other lures profiled here (2’’). It looks really good, nice details and all, and is also super cheap ($1.27). It’s decent on retrieve but feels a little too lightweight to be of much use. I think a slightly heavier model would be better, as it would offer better balance and diving ability. I’ll keep it as backup but not as a primary lure at all. ★★

Jet Tackle Micro Crankbaits

I can’t rave enough about the  S6-JET10966 line of mini crankbaits from Jet Tackle. These 2.4 inch cranks are excellent, with great diving depth  action (throw a snap swivel on front for best action), tons of excellent patterns, and they catch fish! I hooked up with largemouth bass and sunfish on these ultralite fun lures, no questions about that! While I’d love them even more if they were .5’’ smaller, they are awesome ultralite lures and definitely some of the best bargains offered by Jet Tackle. ★★★★★

Sadly, the S7-FLA040line of 2.8’’ jerkbaits look amazing but do not perform well, in my opinion. They simply don’t have much action in the water, unless violently jerked (much harder than many Rapalas or XPS jerkbaits requires). A steady retrieve makes these look like a knife cutting through water, with little or no action. I was really disappointed by these as I had high hopes for them with their excellent appearance and price. ★

Lastly, the TinyBomber range of crankbaits are a little chubbier and longer than most covered here (2.4’’ long) but they look great in the water! They have an excellent wobble, dive well and come in 5 different colors. $1.39 is a terrific bargain for these too! I liked them so much I put in a second order for them, definitely worth a shot. I think they are a little too “fat” for most panfish, but will work great for city park pond and urban creek largemouth bass fishing. ★★★★


Overall, I’m really pleased with the line of small Jet Tackle Lures. While you can purchase a few of their lures from other websites or eBay for cheaper on occasion, only Jet Tackle ships from inside the United States. Their customer service and shipping times are excellent; shipping costs are very low as well.

Other Micro lures:

Conquer Outdoors

Imagine my surprise when I walked across a new stand of lures in the fishing section at WalMart, complete with micro crankbaits for just $1! Sold under the name Conquer Outdoors, these “Crappie Lures” were incredibly cheap and came in several different colors. They are just a little larger than a Bitsy Pond Minnow but have a similar action in the water. Not only do they work fairly well on both slow and fast retrieves, but they catch fish too! I was super excited to find these and have to admit that I may have cleaned out one WalMart’s stock of these lures, sorry! Unfortunately, when I returned, they stopped carrying the smaller ones and only carry bass-sized jerkbaits, cranks and spinnerbaits now. These are also very cheap ($2 or so) and I’ve picked up a few of them as well.  I’ve seen the little cardboard stand holding these lures at several WalMarts now but haven’t seen the crappie crankbaits previously sold at any of the stands. Keep your eyes open and maybe you’ll find them at your local branch.

wLure

Both wLure (C146) and Jet Tackle (S4-LKA046) carry a nice selection of chubby micro crankbaits. They don't have a very deep diving depth (6-10 ''?) but they have a solid wobble and definitely catch fish.I've caught a lot of green sunfish on these, as you can see in the photos.

Yo-Zuri

 Yo-Zuri Goby

Yo-Zuri Aile Kilifish

Between the Aile Goby and Aile Killifish, Yo-Zuri has some of the highest quality micro lures, period. The Killifsh is great for topwater and the Goby is more of a crankbait. They require light line and gentle touch to fish, but they absolutely destroy the sunfish! The Killifish is one of my favorite ultralite lures available on the market today.

Top and Bottom-Tsunami MicroCranks
Middle-YoZuri Snap Bean

Also worthy of mention is the Yo-Zuri Snap Beans. These are the ultimate in micro cranks. While a few decent alternatives exist, these little guys are fantastic on sunfish. I’ve had my ultralite fishing pole violently struck as I’m slowly retrieving a Snap Bean in an urban creek, thanks to aggressive green sunfish. I highly recommend picking up a few of these for sure!

Rebel

Rebel Jerkbait

Rebel has a nice selection of ultralite lures available. I have a few, including a small jerkbait (it performs excellently). Prices are decent but it can be hard to find some of these at local tackle stores (easiest is to look online for them). They also have a really nice tiny crawfish crankbait, a bee, frog, grasshopper and more. The one I really want to get but haven’t yet is the Rebel Tadfry-keep your eyes out on this tiny guy, looks like a killer lure for panfish.

Bass Pro Shops

BPS MicroMinnow

BPS MicroCrankbait

BPS carries a great line of micro lures. They have a nice micro crankbait, a Yo-Zuri style ultralite crank, and a unique “worm” colorful wiggler crankbait. All are very affordable and I’ve scored some decent fish on the micro crankbait.

Ladybug (generic) Lure

This little lure pops up on eBay from time to time and always interested me. I finally picked one up and was rather disappointed by it. It’s small, but is also quite wide-not the micro lure I was looking for. It also struggles to dive on retrieve, although it has a decent wobble. Stay clear of this one.

Cali Urban Creek Bass and Green Sunfish Fishing Action

 Bass Attack Urban Creek Bass Fishing with Underwater Shots

Last week, I visited one of my favorite urban creeks in California. It's packed with cover and loaded with largemouth bass, green sunfish, carp, catfish and other eager biters. So far, most of the bass I've caught in this creek are tiny. However, this last trip really blew me away-several decent-sized largemouth bass were caught, along with a bunch of chunky green sunfish on an assortment of lures.

I was really impressed with this section of the creek. It's relatively un-trashed, when compared to some of the upstream parts of this urban creek. The tree canopy is pretty dense, covering the surface of the water with loads of shade. There is scattered fallen logs and brush along the shore, with fast sections and slow, deep pools. It really feels like a different world from many other urban creeks I've fished. Even better, I had this section of the creek to myself. That's not to say it hadn't been fished before, as evidenced by a few stray pieces of fishing line and beer bottles. 

I started out catching one nice largemouth on a Real Fish Swimbait Hard Shad model. He hit it after a long retrieve in some rapids near a spillway. Catching that fish set the pace for the day. As you can see from the above video, I ended up doing pretty well on this trip. I'm also very pleased with how the video turned out; it's definitely one of my best urban creek YouTube fishing videos so far. The music choice may not be perfect for all audiences (dubstep?) but I hope you still enjoy the fishing!

The last pool I stopped at was absolutely amazing. Landed a healthy largemouth bass on my first cast, with a dropshot Zipper worm. Next up with several more missed strikes on the same worm. Switched over to a Yo-Zuri Snap Bean and was instantly back in the action. The largemouth would chase this tiny micro crankbait, but it was the green sunfish that went wild over it. I lost track of how many of these big-mouthed greenies I landed on this ultralite crankbait, but at one point I was hooking up on every cast. I'll be posting a review series sometime soon of my favorite ultralite crankbaits and jerkbaits, with more on these wonderful micro cranks! 

 

I also landed several fish on the usual assortment of microjigs, crappie jigs and one other lure, a hand-painted blank lure jerkbait from wLure. II don't have an airbrush, but I've still had a fun time hand painting a few blank crankbaits and jerkbaits from wLure. Catching a fish on a lure you've painted yourself is especially rewarding.

The new time change really throws off my fishing schedule, in a good way. I'll have to agree with a recent post over at UrbanFlyVentures-let's Spring Forward and stick with it, no more Fall Backs! I had been fishing for several hours but the sun didn't appear to be anywhere near ready to set. Definitely felt odd, but I'm thrilled to have a longer time to fish each day, at least until next Fall. Sounds like there will be plenty more urban creek fishing adventures to post at Hunting the River King in the near future!

Topwater Cicada Lure Reviews: Megabass Grand Siglett, wLure T4, Jet Tackle Crazy Bug

 

So, what is a cicada? Chances are, you have heard them singing in the trees during the summer, yet not seen them up close. They are basically a large, buzzing insect with prominent wings. Upon falling in the water, they put up a tremendous disturbance, making them easy prey for largemouth bass and oversized bluegill. An obvious example of this may been here, in a YouTube clip depicting the cicada's action in the water and subsequent demise.

Jet Tackle's Crazy Bug

Cicada lures for bass are nothing new, but few topwaters on the market today really imitate a true cicada very well, in my opinion. Today I'll cover three topwater cicada lures I have; two affordable models (Jet Tackle Crazy Bug and wLure T4) with one well-known and very expensive lure, the Megabass Grand Siglett. For a comparison of the action of each of these bass lures in the water, check out the above YouTube video, shot at tiny Ford Park, in Redlands, California.

MegaBass Grand Siglett

MegaBass Grand Siglett

Design
All three lures look great out the outside, with nice finishes and a variety of colors available. However, the Megabass Siglett really takes the cake when it comes to amazing design. The internal rattles create a sound supposedly tuned to match the cicada's buzzing sound, seen in this YouTube clip. The semi-translucent finish of the Siglett scores high marks with me as well, it's incredibly realistic and almost too good looking to use as a lure. It feels more at home in an insect collection! It's certainly the most photogenic of the three lures, as you can see in many of the photos. That being said, the other two from wLure and Jet Tackle both look great as well. Unless you are fishing for the most extreme, picky eaters, the different in external appearance probably won't matter much and will do more to catch anglers than fish.Interestingly, the Crazy Bug and Grand Siglett use a similar, soft, flexible plastic for the wings. The wLure T4 uses a hard plastic, different from the other two.

MegaBass Grand Siglett

wLure's T4 with Siglett in background

Action
On retrieve, these lures aim to imitate the struggling, floundering and often crazy buzzing action of a cicada landing in the water. As you can see from the above video I put together, they do a very good job of this (note: first lure shown in video is Megabass, second wLure, third Jet Tackle Crazy Bug). You can twitch the lures, pop 'em, or just do a nice, slow, steady retrieve, resulting in a crazy wobble, tantalizing wobble.
The Megabass Grand Siglett is certainly the loudest in the water. The internal rattles work together to really create a cacophony on the surface. The wLure lure and Jet Tackle cicada's are considerably more quiet, but still create a ruckus with their wings.
One important note. To get the best performance from the Crazy Bug from Jet Tackle, you'll need to do some modifications, namely, remove the center hook and screen, and also switch the wing positions so they are facing forwards. Sounds confusing? It's really quite simple, you'll just need a small screwdriver to do this. Flipping the wings around forwards, to resemble the wLure T4 and the Megabass wings position will create the right wobble in the water; the out of box position really doesn't do enough.
Do they catch fish? Sure, just wander over to YouTube and find the myriad of videos of people catching fish on the Megabass or the Tiemco Soft Shell (Australian version of the Crazy Bug/wLure T4). Unfortunately, the cooler weather over here hasn't resulted in a quality topwater bite yet, but I have had several missed strikes on these lures already.
Here's the bottom line: All three lures have basically the same action. The Megabass Grand Siglett and wLure T4 are virtually identical on retrieve in the water. The Jet Tackle Crazy Bug is very closely similar, you'll just need to tweak it a little more to get the best retrieve (definitely doable).

Jet Tackle's Crazy Bug
Shown with wing swapped for proper forward-facing, be sure to also unscrew the first hook eye and remove it

Price
Here's where the three lures really differ. The Megabass Grand Siglett Cicada lure is incredibly expensive, selling online for roughly $20. It's also rather difficult to locate, as few US retailors carry it, even in their online inventory. eBay has been one of the best places to find the Megabass Grand Siglett.
Both the wLure and the Jet Tackle cicadas are far more affordable. The wLure T4 cicada sells for $2.99 ($1.99 if you buy in bulk), with free shipping. The Jet Tackle Online Crazy Bug cicada is the best priced lure of the bunch, at only $1.59, not including shipping. You can also find Jet Tackle's lure through their eBay page.

Jet Tackle's Crazy Bug

wLure's T4

Jet Tackle's Crazy Bug

Jet Tackle's Crazy Bug

Company Info
Both Jet Tackle Online and wLure have been very professional in all my inquiries and responded promptly to emails. I've been very impressed with the lure selection offered by both these fishing lure websites. They both offer incredibly good prices, great customer service and a huge selection of lures to choose from. I've received a lot of interest from anglers inquiring as to my opinion on both wLure and Jet Tackle Online's lures and hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be doing more reviews on my favorite lures from them in the near future. The key difference between these websites is product location: Jet Tackle's lures are shipped from a US location to the buyer, while wLure ships directly from China. I really like wLure's free shipping, but keep in mind that you will wait at least 3 weeks, sometimes more, to receive these lures, so order well in advance. On the other hand, Jet Tackle has a small shipping fee, but their lures arrive very quickly, roughly one week or so, standard USA shipping times, which is always appreciated.

wLure's T4 with Siglett in background

Summary
While some anglers will undoubtedly only buy the most expensive Japanese lures and only settle for the Megabass Grand Siglett, I would encourage those of us who are looking for a more budget-friendly option to try out the other options for topwater cicada lures. All three of these lures will certainly catch fish, just at considerably different prices. For me, I feel much more comfortable casting a $1-$2 lure than holding my breath every time I cast a $20 lure near thick cover. If you want a lure quickly, and aren't afraid to do a little tweaking of it, go with the Jet Tackle Online cicada. If you don't mind waiting and want to save on shipping, check out the wLure T4 cicada. Finally, if you just simply must have the photogenic (and arguably still impressive in the water as well) Megabass Grand Siglett, load up eBay and start hunting!

wLure HS6 Swimbait Review

After taking a look at wLure's excellent trout swimbait and chunky sunfish swimbait, let me turn your attention to another interesting Chinese swimbait they offer. The HS6 from wLure is an affordable sunfish imitation lure, not frequently seen in the United States.

(More after the jump)

Design

The HS6 is a 4 inch swimbait, shaped after a basic sunfish pattern. wLure offers 4 unique patterns for this lure, including a black crappie one (seen in my photos). They all look pretty great, especially for a bargain Chinese swimbait. The joints are rather unique for a swimbait. Instead of using the typical hinge metal joints found in many swimbaits, wLure has opted to go with a flexible band of tough material to link the swimbait. It's pretty unique but doesn't seem to detract from the motion of the lure.

Price
The HS6 is priced fairly competitively, at a little over $7 with free shipping from wLure. For this price range, a comparable model is the H2O Academy Sports line of swimbaits, with one seen in the following image. The H2O swimbaits sell for a little more and are considerably more difficult to obtain, unless you happen to live in the South/Midwest. Bass Pro Shops also sells a similarly priced swimbait model, but I'd argue that the wLure model is much more appealing to the eye. 

wLure's HS6 in action at Ford Park

Action
I found the HS6 to have the best action at a medium to fast retrieve. It's not a lure that has to exclusively be retrieved quickly to get any good action, but a very slow retrieve is not recommended! Also, it reacts favorably to short pauses with rapid intermitent jerks and twitches. I'd estimate that it sinks at about the same rate as a Baby BBZ swimbait, and it falls horizontally in the water column (as it should). It's really not a lure I would throw for timid or lethargic fish, especially during the colder months. However, I think the HS6 will certainly shine and catch loads of bass when they are feeding more heavily on sunfish (Fall), or protecting their beds from hungry bluegills (Spring). Working it medium-fast past ambush points should also yield good bass.

Durability
The paint job on the HS6 appears to hold up decently well, even with a few errant casts on to the concrete shoreline at a portion of Fairmount Park in Riverside, California. As far the inner band that links the swimbait, I have no complaints. Anglers will certainly be wary of a non-metal joint material, however, I applied a lot of pressure to the joints and couldn't get the link material to rip or stretch easily. Of course, a massive strike from a hard-fighting bass may not be easily replicated with out of water tests and this remains an area I haven't tested yet.

Summary
The HS6 swimbait from wLure is another interesting and unique lure from this fishing company. With multiple patterns and a good swimming action in the water, it looks like a solid contender for an affordable swimbait. While I have not gotten to throw it in the conditions that I would consider the best (yet), I'll be updating this with more info on how it catches fish as my trips progress throughout the year. So far, I am pleased with the HS6 sunfish swimbait and I would recommend it if you are looking for a bargain-priced sunfish imitation swimbait.

wLure's Bargain Chinese Bluegill Swimbait

For the second lure in my series on wLure's Chinese swimbaits, I have the HS145F2, a jointed, chunky swimbait somewhat shaped after a bluegill. It sells for $5.49 online, with three different color options, length of  5 3/4'', and a weight of 1 2/3oz. 

(Continued after the jump)

The HS145F2 swimbait is pretty chunky. It's certainly not a "knock-off" of any specific lure I've encountered, and it seems to be a hybrid swimbait/crankbait style lure.
The entire lure is hard plastic, complete with a nice set of fins sticking out both dorsally and laterally. However, the tail is a soft plastic/rubber piece, attached by two pins. If any part of this lure was to fail after repeated hits, this may be it. Still, it's fairly well attached and shouldn't present too much of an issue.

This swimbait will float, diving around 2-3 ft on retrieve. When using the HS145F2, I found it had excellent action, even at slower retrieval speeds. The added crankbait lip really helps increase the bait's enticing wobble action, for the better. Here is a few YouTube videos of the HS145F2 swimbait that I took while trying it out at Ford Park, in Redlands.You'll notice the excellent side to side action upon retrieve.

Details on this lure are fairly impressive. The paint job isn't amazing, but it certainly looks much nicer than many generic Chinese eBay lures. Of the three color options available for this lure, my favorite is the bluegill-style pattern. The other two, a goldfish (?) and a striped bass pattern really don't appeal to me. The finish on the lure seems quite durable and didn't chip, despite some rough handling on rocks on my part. Will it hold up to the smash of a toad largemouth or striper? I'm not sure, but the joints and attachments certainly feel tough.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the HS145F2 bluegill swimbait. It's cheap, has great action in the water, and looks decent. I'll post updates with how it performs on the toads as the water starts to warm up. Tight lines!