For decades Bagley built lures from balsa only. Jim Bagley knew the importance of the properties of balsa and he knew how to make a bait "right". Balsa Bagley's had unique characteristics not mimicked by other plastic baits on the market like a wide wobble, tuned bouyancy. long range castability and precision suspending traits much different from its plastic brothers.
Balsa Bagleys are still a mainstay of their company but it is apparent that price point, color selection and market demand dictates that a plastic model is also necessary. Making this decision like this was tug and pull for the leadership at Bagley we are sure. Bagley designers were challenged by Mike Rogan, owner of Bagley, to see if a plastic bait could meet the stringent guidelines of a Bagley balsa.
Being able to design the aforementioned characteristics into a plastic bait originated out of a project by Rogan. The Bagley designers and engineers had to get an attractive price point, add rattles and create new and different colors that only plastic could offer. They had to make a Bagley a Bagley but not make it out of wood.
They were up to the test!
The Killer B1 and Killer B2 now has the same Bagley agressive wobble, the same 15 degree downward angle at rest, reaches the desired strike zone depth quicker and because of Bagley's squared off retrieve stays there longer too. And they are made from plastic!
At a distance the new plastic Bagley Killer B's look like their balsa brothers but under closer examination the foil patterns, deep attention to detail in scale and gill patterns and paint jobs and a narrow taper to the tail prove it is much different. Large eyes accent the head of each bait and an oversized gill pattern with side fins is also clear. the holographic look provides a ton of flash. All baits in the new line-up come with red round bend number 5 trebles. The ratlle is medium pitched and subtle.
The tapered Bagley bill shape remains the same and the beefed up line tie support system makes this a very durable bait as well.
Our Tests
We really like these new Bagley's. They cast well, provide a large amount of flash and have a very loud rattle perfect for muddy conditions. Deflection properties of Bagley crankbaits have a long standing postiive reputation and the new plastic products did not let us down either. Because balsa is bouyant we were concerned but after testing found the new Killer B's worked just as well in plastic.
We fished points and shallow blowdowns with a stop and go retrieve. Water temps were in the low 50's on a bright bluebird sky caused bass to position adjacent to larger limbs. Driving the Killer B1 down the tree resulting in the most strikes but we also caught several bass at the end of the trees over deeper water with the Killer B2. Shad patterns worked well and most strikes occurred when the bait was stopped.
We used a 6'6 Setyr MH baitcasting rod, 8 pound Berkley prototype fluorocarbon line teamed with a Abu Garcia 4500 C reel for this test.
The Inside Scoop
The new Bagley baits come in 13 colors and retail for under $5.50.
