Last weekend I was able to get out and field test a new lure called the Lil Shaker. I was very impressed on how the lure performed especially since the bite wasn’t exactly “Hot” at that time. I started with the purple and chartreuse tipped with a 2.5″ Berkeley Gulp Black Shad Minnow. First I used a slip bobber and sinker. I tried a horizontal presentation and hooked the treble hook through the back. I was instantly catching pumpkinseed sunfish one after another. They were larger in size than I had caught using a different presentation earlier. The sunfish would hit the lure as it dropped and the bobber would not fully reach the bobber stopper. I then started catching a few Crappie as well. I switched colors to see if this would affect the bite rate and it did not.
Second, I tried hooking the trebble hook through the mouth of the bait. I did catch a few more fish but not at the same rate when i was using a horrizontal presentation.
I then tried jigging the lure without the slip bobber. I had success with a horrizontal bait presentation. Both Blue Gills and Pumkinseed Sunfish favored this method.
I would recommend using Berkely Gulp minnows or live bait when using the Lil Shaker.
I would say that the Lil Shaker is an outstanding lure for panfish and I would highly recommend using them.
Brian Koshenina”Pro Staff”