Reservoir Bass: You’ve Met Your Match!
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Prepare to dominate with the new David Walker Tennessee Craw from LIVETARGET
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (February 21, 2019) – Reservoirs, and the bass that live there, are different animals. Unlike natural lakes, where water levels are stable and bass action is frequently dominated by fishing grass and weededges, reservoirs offer an incredible array of places to find bass and ways to target them.
“When I moved from Michigan to Tennessee in 1990, I settled in an area with seven different reservoirs: Douglas, Cherokee, Fort Loudoun, and more,” noted professional angler David Walker, a seasoned veteran of the FLW Tour and the Bassmaster Elite Series who will be fishing in the inaugural season of the Major League Fishing Pro Tour. “Rocks, mud banks, bluffs, rapidly changing water levels – it was all new to me, and I needed to learn new ways to fish.”
373 Red Craw
“I am largely self-taught, learning by trial and error: what works, and what doesn’t. The most important lesson I learned? Reservoir bass love crankbaits.”
Indeed, with reservoir sizes measured in tens of thousands of acres, defined by hundreds of miles of shoreline, the key to many successful fishing trips is to cast cranks. “Cover water, keep moving, keep going: this is what crankbaits allow me to do. But one major limitation with crankbaits,“ noted Walker, “is redundancy: so many cranks look and act just like the others. They just don’t stand out, and bass don’t react like you had hoped.”
Enter the LIVETARGET David Walker Signature Series Tennessee Craw, designed by David Walker and available exclusively at Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops. Created in the heart of reservoir country, the Tennessee Craw was developed to tackle the specific structural elements found in reservoirs: rocks, ledges, bluffs, points, and shallow creek channels.
Remarkably realistic in appearance and action, this premium crankbait will Match-The-Hatch with LIVETARGET precision. With an effective depth range of 4’-8’, this tungsten weighted lure casts with pinpoint accuracy. Premium Japanese Kishida hooks are strategically aligned to generate a tangle-free cast. The Tennessee Craw dives quickly and stays in the strike zone longer, ricocheting off rocks and timber, proving highly effective on reservoir bass.
“The LIVETARGET Tennessee Craw is the most versatile crankbait I throw, and based on the results we have enjoyed while designing and testing the bait, it has quickly become my total confidence lure,“ asserted Walker. Indeed, the Tennessee Craw is an integral component of a total crankbait system that Walker employs on reservoirs to dominate his competition.
“The Tennessee Craw fishes beautifully, darting and digging just like the real thing. I use a steady retrieve with the Tennessee Craw, letting the lure do the work as it grinds along the bottom. Once I make contact, I reel with a regular, consistent speed, and let the lure’s natural escape action elicit strikes from nearby bass.”
“The hardware on the Tennessee Craw is specifically designed to optimize the lure’s performance,” stated Walker. “The hooks are unique – they are super sharp to pin fish at long distances, and have an Aberdeen-style bend which has great holding power. The hooks’ overall size is a great match for the lure: they are big enough to keep fish hooked, but not so large that they affect the lure’s action, or tangle with each other or the line on the cast.”
“When I fish the Tennessee Craw, I spool up with 10 lb fluorocarbon. The thin diameter of fluoro lets me make long, accurate casts. Because the line sinks, it doesn’t pull the lure up off the bottom, allowing it to dive deeper and really dig the bottom. I use a 7-foot graphite-fiberglass composite rod, with a good backbone to set hooks at the end of a long cast, and just soft enough to manage the fish at boatside.”
372 Moss Craw
374 Sunrise
365 Pearl / Blue Chartreuse
366 Lemon Aid
367 Watermelon Red
370 Green / Chartreuse
371 Ghost Craw
364 Fire Truck Red
363 Coppertruse
359 Root Beer
357 Spring Craw
When describing his preferred presentation, Walker notes that he, “prefers to fish the Tennessee Craw parallel to bluff walls. I make long casts, and the precision weight and balance of the lure means that it lands where I want it to, which is a big factor in helping me outfish the guys around me. If the lure lands too far to the outside, I’m too deep and I never contact the bottom; too far to the inside, and I’m hung up and risk breaking off on the bluff.
LIVETARGET’s Tennessee Craw is available in color patterns that range from subtle to attention-grabbing. Walker lets the calendar and water conditions guide his color choices. In winter and early spring, Walker fishes grays and blues, like Lemon Aid (366), Ghost Craw (371), and Pearl / Blue Chartreuse (365). In the spring, it’s time for reds and chartreuse, found in patterns like Spring Craw (357), Red Craw (373), or Sunrise (374). Once summer has arrived, Walker throws natural patterns like Moss Craw (372) and Watermelon Red (367). Ultimately, Walker wants his lure to stand out when it’s in the water, stating that,” if the lure disappears when I lower it into the water, it’s time to change colors. I want the lure to get noticed by bass, which are very visual predators.”
The LIVETARGET David Walker Signature Series Tennessee Craw is two inches long and dives 4-8 feet on the retrieve. Available in twelve color patterns for season-long success, the Tennessee Craw can be found exclusively at Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops with MSRP $9.99 USD.
