As the days become shorter and the summer comes to an end, you can fully expect an excellent shallow crankbait bite on your favorite fishery. The shad are leaving their deep, summer haunts to head to the creeks and guess what? The bass are right behind ’em, chomping at the bit.
For the past month, I’ve found myself using the Lucky Craft LC Spin very frequently. Although I was initially a bit skeptical of its unconventional design, I quickly realized the sheer effectiveness of this very unique crankbait.
It has several characteristics that have really impressed me.
- A very unique look
- Excellent hunting action
- Quality components
- Durability
Emits a lot of flash throughout the retrieve
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Upon first glance, it’s obvious that the Lucky Craft LC Spin isn’t any ordinary crankbait. Between the front and back treble hooks, you’ll find a very small, single willow leaf blade dangling beneath the body of the lure. I wasn’t sure whether it was a gimmick-type add-on or actually served a distinct purpose, but after a few weeks of experimentation I had my answer.
When you reel this crankbait, the blade kicks to the back of the lure and emits a very pronounced flash, regardless of your retrieve speed. It doesn’t necessarily have a “neat”, unobstructed spinning action like you’d find on an underspin, either. The aggressive wobbling of the crankbait itself causes the blade to shake and swing back-and-forth in a very inconsistent, unpredictable manner.
If you’ve ever seen a big ball of shad in its natural environment, you’ll notice they very rarely swim in a straight line—there’s always a few individual shad dashing and darting within the school. The LC Spin’s blade emulates this behavior remarkably and when retrieved erratically, gives the illusion of more than one baitfish.
This extra flash has actually proven to be quite effective for me—especially on sunny days. High skies aren’t always the best conditions for cranking, but the willow leaf blade seems to draw bass from further away to eat the LC Spin. In situations that usually call for banging a squarebill off of isolated cover, I’ve been able to wind this crankbait within a few inches of said cover with excellent results.
The blade makes the crankbait hunt
Like we just discussed, the natural swimming action of shad is erratic. For this reason, I make a concerted effort to use shallow crankbaits that have a very unique “hunting” action. Whether I burn or slow-roll a squarebill, I want it to occasionally kick to the side while returning to its center-point throughout the retrieve.
The blade of the Lucky Craft LC Spin actually throws the crankbait out of balance, regardless of your retrieve method. It doesn’t cause it to helicopter and twirl at high speeds, but it will sporadically roll on its side, dart the opposite direction and find its center without any retrieve modifications. I’ve been super impressed by this quality and to be honest—I’m now considering adding a blade to some of the other crankbaits in my collection.
I was curious as to whether or not the addition of the blade would hinder the fishability of the LC Spin—after all, even some “normal” squarebills require occasional tuning, so I figured a blade might really complicate things. I’m happy to say, however, that I haven’t had to tune this crankbait a single time. The blade stays completely free of the rear treble hook and it doesn’t result in any “lift” that may cause the LC Spin to run shallower than expected.
Ready to fish without modifications
I don’t enjoy tinkering with lures straight from the package just to make them fishable—I want to take ’em out, tie ’em on and go fishing. The Lucky Craft LC Spin has allowed me to do just that and I love the quality components with which it’s adorned. From the split rings to the treble hooks, there’s nothing that needs to be modified.
I really like the oval-shaped line tie on this crankbait. It may seem like a fairly menial detail, but round split rings are aggravating. If you get your knot stuck in the gap, there’s a serious risk for knot failure. This line tie, however, allows you to quickly tie your favorite knot without any worries of fraying, sliding or twisting. Again, it’s a small feature, but these things add up.
The hooks are also extremely sharp and have provided me with an excellent hookup ratio thus far. I haven’t jumped-off a fish yet with the LC Spin, regardless of where they’re hooked.
Durable construction
Of course, the entire point of a squarebill crankbait is to bang it into every piece of cover you can possibly find. If a squarebill isn’t durable, I rarely use it.
The LC Spin is very resilient, even when fished around gnarly cover such as shallow brush and riprap banks. The paint has stayed intact without any chipping and the bill is connected well and has resisted any splitting or cracking.
I also believe you’ll be impressed by its deflection properties. I’ve been on a pretty solid riprap bite lately, so I’ve been banging this crankbait into some of the gnarliest rock on my lake. Whenever I feel it slam into a big rock, I’ll simply pause my retrieve for a half-crank and keep reeling. This has allowed me to cover water very quickly and efficiently as I look for active bass.
If you’re looking for a squarebill crankbait that has an entirely different profile than most, I think you should check out the Lucky Craft LC Spin. Although I was skeptical at first, I’ve really enjoyed catching bass with it.
The Lucky Craft LC Spin is available at TackleWarehouse.com.
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