Gear Review: Water Wood Custom Baits Turbo Prop

WHAT IS IT?

Water Wood Custom Baits Turbo Prop 

WHAT SETS IT APART?

Built in the Carolinas, the Turbo Prop is the perfect bait for targeting bream beds but shines anytime the bass are up shallow. The double propped bait has a unique design and it creates plenty of commotion on the surface of the water. The bait also comes with a Satin Matte finish (SMS). With a matte finish, lures have a natural, more discreet appearance in the water. 

HOW DO I USE IT?

Through the use of Marupá Pedra wood from Brazil, the Turbo Prop is heavier than most balsa type baits, which means it’s easier to cast than balsa lures that catch the wind. It also means that the lure works better in a chop, preventing it from flying out of the water or foul hooking on the prop. Whether you utilize short twitches or faster, longer pulls, it stays consistent and makes exactly the amount of commotion that you desire. The construction allows for larger and stouter hooks to be used, which provides more bite and better holding power.

HOW MUCH?

$36.40 – $38.50

MORE INFORMATION:

waterwoodcustombaits.com

ANGLER’S INSIGHT:

A prop bait has been part of my fishing arsenal for several years now, so I was really excited to try something different. Many of the prop baits that I have used in the past are very slender and a bunch of them are very lightweight and difficult to cast. The Turbo Prop has a bulky profile, which matches the profile of a bluegill. You can also sling this bait a mile, and while most of my prop bait fishing is done in closer quarters, in clear water, long casts will be important so you can stay way back and not spook the bass with the boat. 

Talking to some of the top prop bait pros like Bernie Schultz and Brandon Palanuik, they want a bait with counter-rotating props that create a certain sound when you move them. It’s not easily described, but it is a sound you know when you hear it. That is the exact sound the Turbo Prop makes when you twitch it in the water and it is a sound that will trigger big bites. 

Another important aspect to prop bait fishing, particularly in the springtime, is a bait that stays in the strike zone for a long time and doesn’t move very far when twitched. This bait achieves that and you can pretty easily control how much you want to move the bait on a single twitch. I don’t do this very often, but you can also buzz it along the surface very easily with the wood components.

I have been using a color called natural gill, which I really like, and the rest of the color lineup looks phenomenal as well. 

When testing this bait on Lake Hartwell, the bait triggered some impressive blowups in super shallow, clear water and I can’t wait to use it during the prespawn, spawn and post spawn, when I believe the prop shines the best. For me personally, I will definitely be switching out the back treble hook for a feathered treble hook, which adds more attraction to topwater baits like that and makes me feel like I have a better chance of catching a bass that doesn’t fully commit to the bait.