Is Kvd Fooling Us? 2024
Bassn Blvd reply :
This IS NOT a bash thread.
How does he catch fish on the Strike King cranks. I've watched 3 or 4 of his shows and in everyone he was throwing the Sexy Shad crank. I've only bought 3 three Strike King cranks, EVER. 2 different size Sexy Shad and some other colored one. I have yet to catch a fish on them, ZERO confidence.
Neither of my Sexy Shads seem to run as true as my Lucky Crafts.
I was fishing cranks in my tourny the other day and decided to give the SK a shot. I started with a discontinued color LC and boated one on the first cast. Caught a few more over the next 10 minutes. I switched to the SK sexy shad and not even a hit. I went back to the LC crank and Pointer and caught a few more.
I realize the two different colors of cranks I was using could have been the deciding factor or perhaps because the LC crank was a bit smaller thant the SK.
Who fishes cranks as one of their primary baits (like every outing)? Do you throw the Sk and have good results with them.
I'm beginning to think KVD is using a different brand crank painted like the SK Sexy Shad, Hahaha. I know he's not but how does he do it. And I don't want to hear it's because he's KVD.
clayton86 reply :
well technically your reading not hearing soooooooo...............because hes KVD
NoBassPro reply :
I fish cranks quite a bit and do well with SK baits. I don't believe their QC is quite as good as the other mid range priced baits, but they work. I just end up throwing away a few more of them than the others.
I can't compare them to LC baits as I don't fish them. I went to pick up some this spring and the guy at the tackle store kind of talked me out of it, but its been my observation that if a more subdued action seems to be working they (SK baits) probably aren't going to do well.
MCS reply :
Doesn't he modify the **** out of them so they run all kinds of different from the "out of the box versions"?
Maybe yours are just not "tweaked" properly lol
logan9209 reply :
From what I've seen KVD is one of those guys who isn't satisfied with "outta the box". Even the lures that he's helped design he will still find a different way to fish them or modify them. Sometimes I swear it's almost as if there's a diver in the water that just puts the bass on the hook for him.
I haven't had any success on the SK cranks either. I have the sexy shad and the gizzard shad color. Keep in mind that until very recently I have been big on soft plastics. So I'm not really qualified to answer your question. I will say that I have this Bomber Model A Square Bill foxy shad 0'-3' that really stays at 0' more times than not. I hung a bass with it. Can't tell you why? It was acting more like a wake bait rather than a crankbait.
The thing to remember about KVD is that most of his video's are done over a few days or a couple of weeks. Still fun to watch him trying to give a lesson and he'll catch bass in mid sentence and sometimes every other mid sentence.
KevO reply :
LC run right straight out of the box, SK usually don't at least the ones I've bought don't anyway. They are also 1/3 of the price of LC. I tune the cranks so they run straight, and change the hooks. They are good to go after that and catch a bunch of fish.
South FLA reply :
Not much of a lipped crank-bait fisherman other than in the summer time and I can tell you the KVD cranks catch them, but my favorites are the old Rick Clunn series LC lures, they produce. I think it really depends on what the fish want at the time, for example I fish lip-less cranks pretty much year around, and sometimes a certain brand produces more than others used from the same boat. For lip-less cranks I bounce between SK Red Eye Shad, Spro Aruku Shad, Xcaliber, and Yo Zuri. Depending on fish mood sometimes one brand outmatches the other and vice-verse, although the lure I have most confidence in is the One Knocker.
KVD does modify the lures and uses different trebles and most likely does things he hasn't shared with the public, but KVD is on the active fish more often than the competitors and that is why he successful. He just happens to use Strike King, fish from a NItro, etc. So to an large extent it is the fisherman, but without some objective way to measure one lures success ratio over the other in a variety of situations we can only speculate and have fun doing so.
Avalonjohn44 reply :
I only have a few SK cranks other than the KVD1.5 and 2.5 of which I own many. The normal SK cranks are generally sub par, craftmanship is poor and inconsistant, the hooks stink, the paint jobs are sometimes brittle and flake off. I am not a fan.
However, the KVD 1.5s, for me, catch fish almost as well as my Lucky Craft RC1.5s. They are fairly durable and all of mine have run true so far. The hooks aren't great, and a lot of people change them out. I haven't yet because I am lazy. So far it hasn't come back to bite me... They are fairly inexpensive and are becoming my go to crank.
MrSwimJig reply :
I have a friend who loves to fish cranks and he loves the KVD crank baits but he does not fish them the way they come out of the box. He changes the treble hooks and makes other changes to them, no clue what they are. I just give him mine and he tweaks them and they work.
Packard reply :
No, they are good cranks and many will stand behind them. They don't reach the quality of lucky crafts but they work better in a lot of situations. I catch more fish on my SK cranks than my LC cranks.
SoFlaBassAddict reply :
About the only SK cranks I have regular success on are the 1.5's and the Red Eye Shad's. I've had isolated success on most of the others, but I haven't really developed much confidence with them. As far as lipless go, it's usually an Aruku, Xcalibur, Red Eye, or the Yo-Zuri. I've really become a fan of the Aruku Shad lately. Those things just catch fish. Shallow cranks are normally the SK 1.5, RC 1.5, orXcalibur. For 99% of the crankbait fishing I do down here, those cover pretty much everything.
A-Rob reply :
Work ok for me.
I catch lots of smallies on them up north to
smalljaw67 reply :
The SK cranks work well, when you catch fish using a different bait it is because the size or color or perhaps a little different action was the key to getting the fish to bite. I had the same thing happen when I couldn't get bit on a 1.5 but a Rapala DT Flat 3 was working and I had a trip that the 1.5 was killing but I couldn't buy a strike on a Manns 1 minus and that is the reason we all have a few different brands, colors, and sizes of cranks. As for KVD moding his baits, he does the same thing we do, he changes the hooks and it is my only complaint about SK crankbaits, but for the price you really can't complain.
Jim_M reply :
They do work.
But these....
http://www.rapala.co...id=rapala-lures
work better for me. A lot better.
Your mileage will vary
Crankenstein Crony reply :
I primarily use SK cranks. They have produced very well for me! I change hooks on every crank I throw whether its a Strike King crank or a Lucky Craft crank. So crappy hooks really isn't an issue to me. I've won tournaments on 1.5's, 4S, Series 5's, 5xd's and 6xd's. I stand behind Strike King cranks 100%.
Dave P reply :
We caught the hell out of fish today on 6XDs.
ripinthem reply :
Us, fish, it don't matter. Kevin is fooling everyone.
BIG M reply :
I'm sure that KVD weeds thru 1000's of cranks in the off season to find his winning baits. He's not running down to Wal-mart and fishing off shelf baits.
Now every pro has a stash of secret baits for those special situations.
grimlin reply :
I'm convince KVD can throw a hardened dog poop turd and still catch fish. The man is just amazing in the way he fishes and he fishes stuff so fast that's it's nothing but reaction strikes.
My buddy SWEARS by the lipless cranks(red eye shad).... And I have caught a bass or two on them as well.
Traveler2586 reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 1:09 AM, MCS said:Doesn't he modify the **** out of them so they run all kinds of different from the "out of the box versions"?
Maybe yours are just not "tweaked" properly lol
X2 I like KVD and for some reason trust him even though I've never met him. But we've all heard him and other pros talk about "learning to work" their baits, and tweaking them to run this way or that, or changing out hook sizes. There are tricks to everything.
ChiCityBasser reply :
I fish SK cranks and others and always switch out the hooks to triple grips on almost every crank I fish. I have a couple of LC cranks and have had some success but it's been limited and it may be my color selection. I fish the 1XS mainly during the spring in he Gizzard Shad,Tennessee Shad and Sexy Shad with the GS and TS working very well during those times and any time I can swim them over submerged grass I've done very well. The colors all have their time and place but SK cranks work very well and the hookup ratio is better to me once the hooks are changed out and I prefer the mustad triple grips.
BamaBassChaser reply :
The only ones I use are the 1.5 and 2.5 and I have pretty good luck with them.
buzzfrog reply :
dont mean to hijack, but beside change hooks, how else do you fix them.. or could somebody point me to a site or somtihng
Wayne P. reply :
You have to test them to see how they run, and make adjustments to the line tie as needed. Each lure is not individually tank tested like Rapala baits are. Some are not tuneable due to mfg flaws.--those you exhange at the purchase source.
That process goes for any crankbait.
I've exhanged Bandit and Bomber cranks a lot to get rid of deffective ones.
KVD did a tuning demo on the NBCsports channel today with one of the medium divers.
MCS reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 9:00 AM, buzzfrog said:dont mean to hijack, but beside change hooks, how else do you fix them.. or could somebody point me to a site or somtihng
Size of the rings the trebles go on, you can also change how it runs by using or not using rings where you tie a bait on, pinching or changing angle of the tie on point will also change it. Some of the videos on in fisherman or nbc sports channel, it might be that strike king product vid I am thinking of, go into detail on some of the tweaks. I recall seeing on bait would run at angle out of the box the they changed some things and it ran perfect. I don't even attempt the stuff but it is cool to watch them, like an art form or something
buzzfrog reply :
alright thanks guys, i catch em on bandit sk, bomber and xcaliber, but not consistant, more of a just jumpin on, I will check em out
ww2farmer reply :
I catch the heck out of them on SK cranks, rarely do I get a bad one. Are they the best out there....I doubt it, but they work fine for me. If you can't catch them on a SK crank, it's a you problem, not the bait. Not saying that in a way to crap on you ....more like maybe you have more confidence in LC, Spro...etc....I am the same way with some baits too. Things that work great for some guys, just don't cut it for me. Rage craws for example. I can put one on, fish with it for a while, not get bit, take it off put on a Paca craw, and catch a fish. Is it a fish I wouldn't have caught if I didn't switch, probably not. Confidence is key. I will fish that Paca craw for hours with out a bite, but I know sooner or later if I do my part and put it in the right place, at the right time, I'll get bit on it....because I have so many times before. If I would just stick to rage craws they same would happen, but I don't...so it don't. There are no magic baits, it's all about time/place/presentation AND confidence.
Bassn Blvd reply :
Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate them. I kind of figured KVD does some sort of modifications to his cranks. I don't think cranking is all that complicated, once you find the fish. The problem is getting the crank to run correct or find the right wobble.
On 6/4/2012 at 1:25 AM, logan9209 said:Sometimes I swear it's almost as if there's a diver in the water that just puts the bass on the hook for him..
Haha, I was thinking that while watching him on t.v this morning.
Bassn Blvd reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 7:18 AM, BIG M said:I'm sure that KVD weeds thru 1000's of cranks in the off season to find his winning baits. He's not running down to Wal-mart and fishing off shelf baits.
Now every pro has a stash of secret baits for those special situations.
Some very interesting thoughts on KVD's SK. Do you really think the SK cranks KVD uses are different than the ones off the shelf, other than him changing out the hooks? Do you think his cranks are "special made' from the factory?
NoBassPro reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 10:32 AM, Bassn Blvd said:Some very interesting thoughts on KVD's SK. Do you really think the SK cranks KVD uses are different than the ones off the shelf, other than him changing out the hooks? Do you think his cranks are "special made' from the factory?
Well I'll admit to going to the store his brother own a few times hoping to see some cool special KVD lure or something. A prototype he was looking to get rid of or a custom color, just something you couldn't find elsewhere. It was always a flop, he doesn't even have the greatest selection of strike king baits lol.
BIG M reply :
Same factory made baits but he's looking for a certain action from each style of bait. If you buy 100 2.5 SK cranks and run them in a swimming pool there will differences in action between a number of those baits. He is looking for those subtle differences in action. Out of a 100 he may find 5 that are more bouyant and have that unique jumpy action the fish just love. Rick Clunn use to talk about having A, B, and C cranks for fishing tournys. He would swim all his baits in a pool to figure out which baits had the best action. KVD is smart and willing to put the extra time in to find the baits that suit his style of fishing.
Traveler2586 reply :
The pool exercise is a good way the learn the action of a bait if you have a pool; I got after hour access to our community pool once to work on spinners - learned a lot, but got a lot of jokes from the staff - which was OK considering what I got out of it. Tip: make sure to use a concrete pool, you don't want to snag your pool liner.
piscicidal reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 7:18 AM, BIG M said:I'm sure that KVD weeds thru 1000's of cranks in the off season to find his winning baits. He's not running down to Wal-mart and fishing off shelf baits.
Now every pro has a stash of secret baits for those special situations.
KVD talks about this in his book (Secrets of a Champion). He has a stash of lures that just run "different" and are known fish producers. He takes a sharpie and marks those with a dollar sign "$". Those baits only get used in tournaments.
He'll run baits in the pool making sure he gets the action he wants...then he'll test those baits out in practice. If they produce fish he'll mark them and they'll end up in the tournament stash.
The point is...he doesn't just grab baits out of the box and start cranking em. No doubt he goes thru a fair amount of baits to arrive at his stash of known fish producers.
piscicidal reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 9:00 AM, buzzfrog said:dont mean to hijack, but beside change hooks, how else do you fix them.. or could somebody point me to a site or somtihng
Changing hooks...
Shorter 2X hooks will change the wobble of the bait.
Add "suspend dots".
Tuning the bait...adjusting the eye on the front to get it to run true.
File the leading edge to make it sharper.
There are probably more adjustments...but these are the some of the ones he mentions in his book.
I have taken a dremel to the leading edge of red eye shads to remove the parting line (created at seam on the injection mold) and then touched up with paint afterwards. I can't swear that it improves the action of the bait, but it give me more confidence, which is half the battle.
tomustang reply :
Apparently KVD does have something on you!
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've done really well with the 1.5 baits and fish them a lot. I've done pretty well with a series 5 too. I change the hooks out on all of them though.
Sherlock 60 reply :
Have had good success with the 1.5 and 2.5 squarebills and the 6XD.
NoBassPro reply :
On 6/5/2012 at 10:30 PM, piscicidal said:KVD talks about this in his book (Secrets of a Champion). He has a stash of lures that just run "different" and are known fish producers. He takes a sharpie and marks those with a dollar sign "$". Those baits only get used in tournaments.
He'll run baits in the pool making sure he gets the action he wants...then he'll test those baits out in practice. If they produce fish he'll mark them and they'll end up in the tournament stash.
The point is...he doesn't just grab baits out of the box and start cranking em. No doubt he goes thru a fair amount of baits to arrive at his stash of known fish producers.
I know some musky guys that swear by wood crankbaits for that very reason. They believe the inherent differences between pieces of wood are far more likely to give them that special bait as compared to the strict quality controls of plastics. Whether its true or not, I don't know, both work. But its worth consideration.
bounds37 reply :
The 1.5 and the 2.5 can not be stopped during spawn. Color choices vary per lake, is what I have found. Would recommend buying some. The man is a genius.
SirSnookalot reply :
I don't know what KVD uses, but I know what tour golfers do. The head covers or golf bag is only an indication of their sponsor, like Cleveland which means they are probably using Cleveland wedges and the irons and woods and putters may be a totally different brand and in many cases are. Next time you see Tiger Woods, look at his putter, it's a Scotty Cameron or Titlelist with a Ping grip, the lettering is worn off, he is sponsored by Nike. I'm sure some professional fishermen do the same thing, not as much consistency in a single brand, reels rods, lines and lures.
Sam reply :
BassinBlvd, I wonder if the Lucky Crafts mimic the local forage better than the Strike Kings?
The colors are similiar; the action similiar; the profile similiar.
I would like to read more posts about the successes and failures of these two manufacturer's lures. It is interesting to read how one can outperform the other on the same body of water.
Throw in Bandit and Norman and you can put your self in a mental hospital trying to figure it out.
As for KVD modifying his baits, yes he does. I spoke to a pro who told me of a few things he does and I promised not to share them with everyone. Do I do them? Have in the past but I fish mostly for fun so I don't modify the lures other than for the hooks.
VanDam and others modify their baits. As I have posted on the forum a number of times, the pros hawk their sponsors' products but they either are using protypes not on the market or they modify the baits.
We fish for fun. They fish to work and earn money. Big difference.
j.bruno reply :
I catch alot of fish on SK series 3, and the KVD Silent 1.5s ... I catch bigger fish on the Rapala DT series but the lips break off.
bassmaster8100 reply :
I catch a lot of fish on SK cranks. Sexy Shad is the primary color I use. Most of them seem to run true right out of the box. I do upgrade to the mustad hooks tho.
TNBassin' reply :
The square bills are designed to run erratically.
Primus reply :
There are a couple of things to add that I don't think have been considered yet. The reason KVD and other pros do well with 6XD's and similiar deep divers is that they are much better at finding that " spot on a spot " and then analyze the proper retrieve angle . They also don't make 1 cast on that spot and move on, they will often hit it repeatedly to fire up the school. They will factor in how current or the wind & weather positions their fish.They do this much more proficiently than the average angle.Anyone can catch a few fish on deep diving cranks but few can do it as consistantly and with their skill level.
Also, if you are not getting bit on these baits you probably are not making long enough cast especially if your target is 15' plus in depth. Having the right rod / reel /line combo is critical for this type of fishing. Rod should be at least a 7'6" cranking rod or else you are wasting your time. Line is typically 10 or 12 lb floro. Some of you catching fish on deep divers are doing these things I suspect others who are not having success are not. It's the little things that make a difference in fishing, the more you do the more success you will have.
Shallow cranks like the 1.5 baits are a different story and in my opinion are easier to fish though there are little details that can make you more successful. That said one reason why a RC 1.5 might outfish a Strike King 1.5 or vice versa on a particular day often has a lot to do with vibration pattern. Under most conditions I like the 1.5 size squarebills . Don't overlook the large 2.5 or 3.5 baits under 1st light or last light conditions on clear water lakes, there is something magical about their drawing power in these situations. When fishing stained water I usually use the 2.5 unless it's sunny day.
One little bait that at times has outfished the others is the new Ima Bill Lowen squarebill, had a couple of occasions where they wouldn't hit my KVD or RC cranks but were tagging this bait. I only have 1 for the time being but plan on adding a few soon, it has earned a place in my rotation.
Regarding Strike King I personally like the 6XD, 1.5 & 2.5 along with the Red Eye Shad though I have caught fish on the other models as well.
retiredbosn reply :
We have talked about changing the action of cranks before, I remember a post where I put that changing from a spit ring to a direct tie or adding a clip without removing the split ring changes the action of the bait. Would have thought I was nuts, the trouble is that most fishermen do not have the experience with cranks to detect the subtle differrences in the baits. I would bet money that if you did a test where the fisherman did not know what brand was in the water and the design of the lip and body profile that most of them couldn't tell the difference between a crankbait that wiggles and one that wobbles. Add to the the subtle nuances between split rings, hook sizes etc and how they all affect the action, most ppl can not tell how these changes are affecting the bait action. For the most part we as anglers have the minimum knowledge required to become proficient at crankbaiting.
retiredbosn reply :
On 10/2/2012 at 6:47 PM, TNBassin said:The square bills are designed to run erratically.
Yes but do not confuse erratic with running true. They roll and deflect but should still track true, not consistently to the left or right of your line of pull.
merc1997 reply :
i had a great chuckle when i read your comment about having a diver out there. it could be he is related to bill dance. just sayin', hahaha. anything to make the show look good.On 6/4/2012 at 1:25 AM, logan9209 said:From what I've seen KVD is one of those guys who isn't satisfied with "outta the box". Even the lures that he's helped design he will still find a different way to fish them or modify them. Sometimes I swear it's almost as if there's a diver in the water that just puts the bass on the hook for him.
I haven't had any success on the SK cranks either. I have the sexy shad and the gizzard shad color. Keep in mind that until very recently I have been big on soft plastics. So I'm not really qualified to answer your question. I will say that I have this Bomber Model A Square Bill foxy shad 0'-3' that really stays at 0' more times than not. I hung a bass with it. Can't tell you why? It was acting more like a wake bait rather than a crankbait.
The thing to remember about KVD is that most of his video's are done over a few days or a couple of weeks. Still fun to watch him trying to give a lesson and he'll catch bass in mid sentence and sometimes every other mid sentence.
bo
MarkH024 reply :
On 6/4/2012 at 1:25 AM, logan9209 said:Still fun to watch him trying to give a lesson and he'll catch bass in mid sentence and sometimes every other mid sentence.
I sat in on a KVD seminar at the Bass Pro Shop in Gurnee, IL earlier this year in January. He was doing tank demo's with the hooks on his baits completely bent over and was still catching fish out of the tank. It was rather funny as every other sentence was interrupted by him either trying to shake one off or actually unhooking them.
I might add that it was in prime winter season, he drove from Kalamazoo and it took him 6+ hours to get here. He still took the time to meet and greet EVERY single person that attended his seminar. I drove an hour and 45 minutes on a drive that I should have been there in less than an hour. He is such a stand up guy and the perfect role model for this sport and all other sports for that matter. It was an honor to meet him and I hope to be able to do so again. Because of that, I am seriously considering The Bass University in Chicago this January. You don't know who is going to be speaking, but the way I see it, any tips from guys in the pro circuits is worth listening in on.
Regarding the topic, I use a lot of SK cranks and have had great success with them. Price point they are great too. Some of the paint job durability could be better but when you're throwing a crank, a bit of paint chip on the nose end isn't going to be the determining factor of catching fish. I like SK products all around but have a few other brands I like to sneak in as well.
merc1997 reply :
i bet all of us would like to be able to fish in the fish tank, 
.
bo
Goose21 reply :
I always feel bad for those fish. At least in prison they don't throw you fake cheeseburgers on a string even.
Highhawk1948 reply :
I like Bomber and Rapala. Most of mine are from the 70s and 80s. I put triple grip hooks on them, maybe go up one size on the hooks. Some of the same colors catch fish better than others and I keep them seperate. Have thrown a couple of the Stike Kings but keep going back to the ones that work for me.
Crappiebasser reply :
My favorite crankbait is the SK 2.5 silent. I replace the hooks and I file the edge of the lip to make it deflect off wood better. I have had several 50+ bass days throwing them in the spring.
FishinChris reply :
What hooks are you guys using to replace the original SK crank hooks?
TNBassin' reply :
I run all of my SK lures stock. Never had an issue with losing fish with the VMCs.
Aluma-Bass reply :
In the vid he talks about how he use to search for that one diff running bait....
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