Heron Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 Saw this Matzuo shad crank at Dicks, for only $2.99. Was a good price, and had a fairly nice finish, so I decided to give it a try. What in the world....this thing doesnt even wobble. It comes through the water straight, and dives without any wobble at all. Its the strangest thing Ive seen all week. Now ive seen good cranks, and bad cranks. Ive seen cranks that were out of tune. But I have never seen a crank, that had no wobble to it whatsoever. Can someone please enlighten me on what this is all about? Is Matzuo a junk brand? Quote
Scarborough817 Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 i'm not really sure if i'd say it's a junk brand but I have never caught anything on any of their baits mind you I only have 2. I have some stick worms as well as an ikari shad that came in a mtb I like the look of the ikari shad but I have not had success on it or the.stick worms at all this year. Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted October 13, 2015 Super User Posted October 13, 2015 Sounds like you have a bad one or something... these are supposed to fish exactly like the Berkley Flicker Shad. Quote
Heron Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 Sounds like you have a bad one or something... these are supposed to fish exactly like the Berkley Flicker Shad. Seems that way. Not sure how it can go bad in this sort of way though. If the lip on the crank provides the wobble action, then the lip on this one is somehow failing to do that. Weeiirrd. Quote
Heron Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 i'm not really sure if i'd say it's a junk brand but I have never caught anything on any of their baits mind you I only have 2. I have some stick worms as well as an ikari shad that came in a mtb I like the look of the ikari shad but I have not had success on it or the.stick worms at all this year. Quote
Super User Maxximus Redneckus Posted October 15, 2015 Super User Posted October 15, 2015 What size line if its the one i have seen 6lb line or less is what u need to get a wiggle for what its worth a guy gave me about 20 rebel crickhoppers one day in exchange for a pack of zoom lizards he said they didnt wobble he was using 12lb p line he swore up and down he tried them on a ultra light also and didnt wobble ,they work on my med light with 6 lb yo zuri fine Quote
Super User scaleface Posted October 15, 2015 Super User Posted October 15, 2015 I have a couple of Rebel Deep Wee R's like that. Deep Wee R's are one of my favorites too. Dont know what is wrong with them . Also Have a Mann's Deep razorback Pig that does the same thing . Quote
Super User Paul Roberts Posted October 15, 2015 Super User Posted October 15, 2015 Matzuo... In general, they are a low end brand sold by chain retailers. Their hooks and jig heads have been fine. But I've found the hardbaits to be variable performers. That said, I've had good luck with their suspending jerks, and some cranks. And I had a bit of a love affair going with the "Huntin' Dog" -a small "walk-the-dog" topwater. That first one had a long dart to it that was just great. I bought a bunch before they disappeared altogether. But they were SO inconsistent: Some floated nose up, some level, some lay on their sides! I took to doctoring them up -drilling them out and adding weight to balance them right -a bit nose up. They work great, but not worth most people's time, and they appear to be discontinued. I get a kick out of cheap plugs. Many work great. Others need help, and being so cheap can be fun to tinker with. I get a kick out of fixing them; making cheap, even ridiculous, stuff catch fish. I bought a number of cheap Cabela's store brand cranks a while back -both fats and flats (shads). The fats work great; I still happily throw them. The shads (that look a lot like the one in the pic above) didn't; they barely shimmied on retrieve. Never did tinker with those. Here are some Matzuo's, (except for the bottom left topwater): The popper needed a lot of help, and got it; works fine now. The Huntin' Dogs all needed balancing and work fine now. The jerks worked great out of the box. The lipless work well too and are 1/4oz making them able to be fished high over submerged veges. The fat cranks on the right, I loved the translucent colors -great for clear water- to which I added immature bluegill accents. They were dirt cheap and worth the risk. They fished fine right out of the box, despite the thick lips on them. That's one thing that get's my attention is that Matzuo has some very good colors and finishes. If you have the time and inclination, they can be fun tinkering baits. That bottom left topwater I've had for, gosh, 40yrs?! It was a cheap prop bait with aluminum props that didn't turn. I took em off and found it dove, slipping and darting like a subsurface Zara. Worked VERY well. It's present condition was due to further tinkering -a semi-weedless darting bait. Quote
Comfortably Numb Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 Matzuo are not very good for me. They are owned by Southbend. Thats right, the Sunny Day Bear people. Their hooks are not sharp and break instead of bend. Lures are tough to tune. Quote
Avalonjohn44 Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 I've never had a Matzuo that worked right. Cheap junk. 1 Quote
Ginosocalbass Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 there jerkbaits catch fish for me, out of the box... Quote
Super User Raul Posted October 17, 2015 Super User Posted October 17, 2015 So it was 3 bucks for a junk bait plus another 4 or 5 to replace it ....... Should have purchased a Rapala for starters. 2 Quote
Heron Posted October 17, 2015 Author Posted October 17, 2015 So it was 3 bucks for a junk bait plus another 4 or 5 to replace it ....... Should have purchased a Rapala for starters. Agreed......I was seduced by its good looks and low price tag, 1 Quote
thebillsman Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 Can't believe I'm reading this.. literally just bought the same thing on Sunday. Haven't fished or tested it but for $2.99 it's not sweat off my back. Went looking for a 5xd, came home with this. At least I won't feel bad throwing it into the tall grass. I'll let you know how it runs for me. Quote
Super User bigbill Posted October 18, 2015 Super User Posted October 18, 2015 I bought there inline spinners and added dressed treble hooks. There productive now. Might want to dress the cranks too. I been buying the dressed treble hooks with flash on eBay. I put a chartruese flash treble hook on the green inline spinner. Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 I've made the same mistake with those dirt cheap Rebel and Cotton Cordell jerkbaits out of the WalMart discount bins. I've tried using Smithwicks while my buddy used a Rapala. If I caught any, it was usually 1 to his 3. I finally gave up and bought some rapalas. Good investment. Quote
Mothercanucker Posted October 30, 2015 Posted October 30, 2015 They are cheap but try tuning it with pliers?! Quote
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