New Wiggle Warts

[jsh32]

How are the new wiggle warts? I have been thinking about getting some, but don't know how they preform. I like the color options they have and think I could benefit from them, if they are good baits.

[WRB]

Rapala Wiggle Warts look great, don't catch fish as good as the original Warts.

Major Craft has duplicated the fish catching characteristics of the original Warts with their Zoner Hunter in only 4 crawdad colors.

Tom

[jr231]

@WRB how hard have you fished the new warts tho ? 

[WRB]

I have only had them since Oct when the bass were transitioning into deeper water and feeding on Shad primarily. The Zona Hunter runs about 6' deep for me using 12 lb mono and worked good early and late in the day on clay banks. About 6 weeks the bite should improve in the 4' to 6' depth range and try them again. 

Tom

[fishballer06]

The new "Rapala" wiggle warts fish just fine and are a great crankbait for the $4-5 price tag they carry. 

 

Sure, the old, Pre-Rapala one's were great and highly sought after, but that doesn't mean the new one's still aren't a good bait. 

[Spankey]

Their newer baits fish fine and catch fish. They run pretty well out of the box also. Add a few to your existing CB's. They have plenty of patterns. They will be a decent change up. 

I have a black one with heavy silver flakes on it with a chertreuse tail. Good bait. 

[scaleface]

What do you suppose  would happen if you put a suspend dot off to the side to make it off balance and then tune it ? Do you think they would have that hunting action anglers are after ?

[gripnrip]

The new baits are just fine.  The lead in old baits give the rattle a distinct sound.  I caught fish last year on old.  I know it may come as a shock to some but I caught more fish with the new.  But it may have been I found a color that killed it last year that was not an offered paint scheme on the old.  I could get some painted but why?  

 

They both perform well.  Just upgrade the hooks on whichever bait you go with.  

[rangerjockey]

The new warts are pretty good . Tim Hughes has shared some of his custom paint schemes with BPS and they are great around here.

You might want to try the skirmish a10 or the luck e strike g5. Both run really well , I believe Dwain Batey is painting the a10.

Honestly I throw the Rk crawler more than the wart these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cgolf]

Did see the Luck E Strike came out with a more expensive wart imitation. Since with this style bait it sounds as if inconsistency is good, curious about these. I have stayed away from this brand because I haven't heard great things about them, but these caught my eye. Looking at the new warts though they have some cool colors.

[Bluebasser86]

6 hours ago, scaleface said:

What do you suppose  would happen if you put a suspend dot off to the side to make it off balance and then tune it ? Do you think they would have that hunting action anglers are after ?

A lot of that hunting action is achieved by bumping the bait into the bottom during the retrieve like a wart should always be doing.

Last.time I fished at Table Rock I had 1 good day with a pre rap wart, next day they wanted one of the newer ones. 

[gripnrip]

6 hours ago, cgolf said:

Did see the Luck E Strike came out with a more expensive wart imitation. Since with this style bait it sounds as if inconsistency is good, curious about these. I have stayed away from this brand because I haven't heard great things about them, but these caught my eye. Looking at the new warts though they have some cool colors.

Interesting.  I must have missed the Luck E Strike version.  I have thrown the Spro "Rock Crawler" that McClelland helped design. Which he has been quoted as saying the Crawler hunts like the old warts do.  I haven't had much success due to throwing the warts more. 

[Cgolf]

5 hours ago, gripnrip said:

Interesting.  I must have missed the Luck E Strike version.  I have thrown the Spro "Rock Crawler" that McClelland helped design. Which he has been quoted as saying the Crawler hunts like the old warts do.  I haven't had much success due to throwing the warts more. 

 

Its new on TW called the American originals G5, haven't ordered one yet. 

[Spankey]

I realize a bait has to run true. Run as designed. I'm as anal as anyone when it comes to that. I have my share and than some of crankbaits. Love to fish them. But in my opinion at times there is a lot overthinking about them. For the most part they are clearly quick reaction strikes. Bass don't have the time processing old style vs new style, is there an additional stripe on that lure, is that a Bomber or a Bandit. I'm not saying pattern/colors means nothing. But to me not all that much. Do you have a brand that you caught fish on every color you own? Every Bandit, Rapala and SK I've bought. If there is any I haven't it won't be many. Admittedly I struggle with reds. Not good catch rates. Could be a head game confidence thing. 

[MDBowHunter]

28 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I realize a bait has to run true. Run as designed. I'm as anal as anyone when it comes to that. I have my share and than some of crankbaits. Love to fish them. But in my opinion at times there is a lot overthinking about them. For the most part they are clearly quick reaction strikes. Bass don't have the time processing old style vs new style, is there an additional stripe on that lure, is that a Bomber or a Bandit. I'm not saying pattern/colors means nothing. But to me not all that much. Do you have a brand that you caught fish on every color you own? Every Bandit, Rapala and SK I've bought. If there is any I haven't it won't be many. Admittedly I struggle with reds. Not good catch rates. Could be a head game confidence thing. 

As where I agree with most of this,  I dont agree that color doesn't always matter. I primarily fish real clear reservoirs and the ghost or natural looking stuff will get bit before a bright colored bait will. If they see it from a mile away and can process that it isn't what it appears to be well before it's there they won't bite it. Kinda the same reason  I think silent cranks work better where I fish then the ones that rattle.  

 

I just bought a handful of the new warts so hopefully they be fish catchers...

Here's an interesting article about the differences I found:  http://bass365.com/wiggle-warts-old-vs-new/

 

[WRB]

Nearly every diving crankbait runs straight, it may need to be tuned so it doesn't run to one side or rollover. The old warts ran straight as well but also some tended to dart to one side or the other caled hunting, few crankbaits do this on their own with the angler imparting a change of cadence. Hunting is what set a few of the original warts apart from every other crankbaits and not all the older original warts hunted.

Tom

[gripnrip]

5 hours ago, Spankey said:

I realize a bait has to run true. Run as designed. I'm as anal as anyone when it comes to that. I have my share and than some of crankbaits. Love to fish them. But in my opinion at times there is a lot overthinking about them. For the most part they are clearly quick reaction strikes. Bass don't have the time processing old style vs new style, is there an additional stripe on that lure, is that a Bomber or a Bandit. I'm not saying pattern/colors means nothing. But to me not all that much. Do you have a brand that you caught fish on every color you own? Every Bandit, Rapala and SK I've bought. If there is any I haven't it won't be many. Admittedly I struggle with reds. Not good catch rates. Could be a head game confidence thing. 

What makes the old ones IMO sought after is the hunting action and the sound.  The old ones have lead rattles.  The new ones do not.  Anyone knows if you are catching them on a rattling bait and they stop hitting it to switch up to a silent.  Then a lot of times they'll fire back up again due to a change.  There are articles on about bass getting conditioned and or pressured.  Change it up and you'll get more bites.  The old emits a different sound and vibration from the new.  So to me that is what is the allure.  Something you can't get anymore.  And something the bass rarely see.

[fissure_man]

Why can't Rapala/Storm just actually recreate the original wart?  If I was at Rapala I'd be frustrated at seeing 'pre-Rap' versions of my lure selling for a huge premium.  Even unpainted knock-offs that cost as much as an actual (new) wart.  A bit of a kick in the nuts

 

Seems like it would be worth throwing some R&D money at.  Get a pile of the originals, give to a crankbait guru to pick the best hunters, then reverse engineer.  If they don't want to replace their current version, release it as a 'pro' model in some snazzy colors for a couple bucks more.

 

I guess the sales lost to the few die-hard pre-rap fans aren't hurting enough to bother.

[Columbia Craw]

I have been throwing Brad's Wigglers for a long time. The line tie is deigned for steelhead applications so I cut it off and replace it with a quality dual lock snap.  It's my go to bait for rip rap. It's been a staple for coho anglers for years.

[gripnrip]

9 hours ago, fissure_man said:

Why can't Rapala/Storm just actually recreate the original wart?  If I was at Rapala I'd be frustrated at seeing 'pre-Rap' versions of my lure selling for a huge premium.  Even unpainted knock-offs that cost as much as an actual (new) wart.  A bit of a kick in the nuts

 

Seems like it would be worth throwing some R&D money at.  Get a pile of the originals, give to a crankbait guru to pick the best hunters, then reverse engineer.  If they don't want to replace their current version, release it as a 'pro' model in some snazzy colors for a couple bucks more.

 

I guess the sales lost to the few die-hard pre-rap fans aren't hurting enough to bother.

They kind of did.  They use a 2 piece body like the old originals.  The original molds they use back in the day, degraded over time.  The baits started to not match up on centerline.  This was when they started having the erratic action "hunting" 

 

Blank manufacturers made a mold after an original wart.  They are called knock out blanks or KO blanks for short.

[Bluebasser86]

On 1/20/2017 at 5:59 PM, cgolf said:

Did see the Luck E Strike came out with a more expensive wart imitation. Since with this style bait it sounds as if inconsistency is good, curious about these. I have stayed away from this brand because I haven't heard great things about them, but these caught my eye. Looking at the new warts though they have some cool colors.

They came out with a bait they called the Wart Hog a few years ago, which looked exactly like the G5. I have several, they work well for me but others had issues with them filling with water. I must have just gotten lucky. 

[rangerjockey]

The Predator is a really good copy of the old wart. You can buy them as blanks or from custom painters.