Where did the Berkley Digger go?

[The Rooster]

I can’t find any Berkley Digger crankbaits anywhere but on Ebay. Bass Pro/Cabela’s doesn’t have them. Tackle Warehouse and other online stores all seem to have stopped selling them. And even though my local tackle shop has a whole wall of Berkley hardbaits there’s not a single Digger anywhere on the wall. I asked the owner about it and he seemed unaware that he didn’t have any and said he would have to ask his Berkley rep when he came in about another month. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Google "Berkley hard baits", you'll find all of the currently produced crankbaits from Berkley

[VolFan]

TW seems to have them on clearance.

[ike8120]

Discount Tackle has them but only in 2 colors.

[ike8120]

Discount Tackle has them but only in 2 colors.

[MediumMouthBass]

Midway has a bunch to view, but all are out of stock and say discontinued....

 

Sad, i liked fishing the Diggers.

 

Ollies sometimes has these among with other Berkley cranks, so if you have one near you it might be worth a look. But the first place you mentioned you can find them ive gotten a bunch from over the years for cheap.

[FishTank]

I bought a few when there was a big Black Friday sale about two years ago. The bill broke off of each one.  Berkley tried to make it right though. I called them, sent a picture of what I had left of the bait and they sent me some new ones to replace the broken ones but those too did the same thing. 

[The Rooster]

7 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Midway has a bunch to view, but all are out of stock and say discontinued....

 

Sad, i liked fishing the Diggers.

 

Ollies sometimes has these among with other Berkley cranks, so if you have one near you it might be worth a look. But the first place you mentioned you can find them ive gotten a bunch from over the years for cheap.

I do have an Ollie’s near me. I forgot about them. I actually got some Berkley baits in there a few years ago. I’ll check them out. Thanks for the reminder.

5 hours ago, FishTank said:

I bought a few when there was a big Black Friday sale about two years ago. The bill broke off of each one.  Berkley tried to make it right though. I called them, sent a picture of what I had left of the bait and they sent me some new ones to replace the broken ones but those too did the same thing. 

Wow! I haven’t had that experience but I haven’t fished mine that much either. I mainly have used Bandit crankbaits as my main crank for a lot of years. I fished the Berkley Digger a few times last summer and caught a couple of decent bass on it in the 2 pound range so I wanted to get a couple for my kayak tackle. Was surprised I couldn’t find any. Maybe they discontinued them because of them being faulty?

[volzfan59]

Check your local Walmart. Ours had diggers a few months ago.

[FishTank]

18 minutes ago, The Rooster said:

Wow! I haven’t had that experience but I haven’t fished mine that much either. I mainly have used Bandit crankbaits as my main crank for a lot of years. I fished the Berkley Digger a few times last summer and caught a couple of decent bass on it in the 2 pound range so I wanted to get a couple for my kayak tackle. Was surprised I couldn’t find any. Maybe they discontinued them because of them being faulty?

 

I wouldn't say it was the worst I have used but they did not hold up at all. Each broke during tournaments but I did catch a few fish on them at a local pond, zero on big water. In that case, I used a multitude of different cranks that caught fish but not this one. I think I broke 4 to start. Not sure after that. I also had this happen on the Flicker Shad. I only had 2 of these. They did not last but a few outings. Just in case, I haven't had but maybe 1 other bait do this in the past 15 years. 

 

Another bait that has produced zero for me, is the Stunna. I gave them all to my buddy last year and he too has been skunked on them. Not sure why. I really like the colors and the action of the bait.  

 

On a positive note, I have caught fish on the Fritside 5 and 7 and they have held up. It's not my go to crank but I have gotten my money's worth out of them. 

[Munkin]

4 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

I wouldn't say it was the worst I have used but they did not hold up at all. Each broke during tournaments but I did catch a few fish on them at a local pond, zero on big water. In that case, I used a multitude of different cranks that caught fish but not this one. I think I broke 4 to start. Not sure after that. I also had this happen on the Flicker Shad. I only had 2 of these. They did not last but a few outings. Just in case, I haven't had but maybe 1 other bait do this in the past 15 years. 

 

Another bait that has produced zero for me, is the Stunna. I gave them all to my buddy last year and he too has been skunked on them. Not sure why. I really like the colors and the action of the bait.  

 

On a positive note, I have caught fish on the Fritside 5 and 7 and they have held up. It's not my go to crank but I have gotten my money's worth out of them. 

 

I quit using Berkeley crankbaits year ago because the lips broke. Only other crank I have broken the bill on was a Poe's RC1 and that was 25 years ago.

 

Allen

[MediumMouthBass]

 I havent had any issues with Berkley lures and ive got over 100 by now. But i also dont grind bottom since most of my lakes are mud or grass. The few that are rocky are too deep for squarebills.

 

But from checking reviews, across the board Berkleys been hit or miss for the past few years, a lot of talk about bills breaking especially on TW. Particularly the Frittside, which is the biggest reason i didnt stock up on them when i went on a cranking buying spree.

I really cant understand how they want $10-13 for their hardbaits when the competition is around $5 (we all know the street price for Strike King is $5). And the high quality cranks arent too much more than what Berkleys asking either (Lucky Craft, Spro, etc).

 

However, even with their issues theres no crankbaits that work for me like Berkleys, theres just something about their see through or matte colors, and the very different rattle the baits have that drives the bass where i fish absolutely insane. Every PB ive ever caught (except my smallmouth) came one after another on their cranks. Mainly the Warpig, which is pretty much just a crankbait with a broken bill from the factory😂. And i buy them on sale whenever i can, because for me if the $4 investment lands me one new PB and breaks after it will be worth it. Same logic the guys buying Megabass 110's use even knowing the bills break, except thats $20.

On 1/19/2025 at 4:56 PM, FishTank said:

Another bait that has produced zero for me, is the Stunna. I gave them all to my buddy last year and he too has been skunked on them. Not sure why. I really like the colors and the action of the bait.  

 

I too like the Stunnas, really cool colors, design looks great. I just cant cast the thing. Its so light weight and not aerodynamic at all.

Also havent got a bass on any of them.

[primetime]

On 1/19/2025 at 6:20 AM, The Rooster said:

I can’t find any Berkley Digger crankbaits anywhere but on Ebay. Bass Pro/Cabela’s doesn’t have them. Tackle Warehouse and other online stores all seem to have stopped selling them. And even though my local tackle shop has a whole wall of Berkley hardbaits there’s not a single Digger anywhere on the wall. I asked the owner about it and he seemed unaware that he didn’t have any and said he would have to ask his Berkley rep when he came in about another month. 

https://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/digger?_pos=1&_sid=fc842c938&_ss=r       

 

Still have a ton on Berkley's website. You can often find really good sales on there site. I always check it, have found awesome sales on just about everything over the years. 

[The Rooster]

I just got out my tackle and looked at the 8.5 Digger and noticed a great big crack in the lip of it near where it connects to the body. That bait has not been beat up and never caught a fish. Since others had the same experience I guess I’ll forget about looking for more of them. That was the only 8.5 I had. I have several of the 6.5 size. They all seem fine.