What is a beaver bait supposed to look like? If it's a craw, why not just use a craw bait instead?
I don't know, and I don't care...........bass bite them, so I use them. Other factors go into lure design than just trying to photo copy a living thing. I don't second guess people who design lures, they know more than me, I just fish them.
Wounded fish possibly.
Depends on how a fish sees it and what it is feeding on. If you were to look at a beaver bait from the top looking down, you will notice it has the profile of a small bluegill. This is how I believe a fish views one most of the time, especially while flippin. Otherwise if they are feeding on craws than they probably view it as a craw. A regular craw bait can not represent both at the same time and this is why I no longer throw them. Kill 2 birds with one stone as they say. Get you some beavers!
Didn't reaction innovations come up with the name....be careful explaining it.
I agree with ww2farmer on this. I don't know why they work as well as they do. I think it is a combination of profile, subtle movement, and material that works together somehow. I don't know why a fast moving rattletrap or chatterbait in cold water works either, but they do.
There are times when a smallie works better than a regular one, and vise versa. There are definitely times when one or the other will out produce any other plastic in the boat in my experience.
I dont really think most baits resemle anything real to a bass. To a bass, anything that is in the water and fits in their mouth is just "food". A worms doesnt resemble much that lives in a lake. My lake has no/very few craws but jig and craws work great. Senko looks like a turd. What is a brush hog supposed to mimic?
On 3/17/2013 at 10:03 AM, ww2farmer said:I don't know, and I don't care...........bass bite them, so I use them. Other factors go into lure design than just trying to photo copy a living thing. I don't second guess people who design lures, they know more than me, I just fish them.
X2... all you need to know is they catch fish!
What's a buzzbait supposed to look like? What's a brush hog supposed to look like? Or a Senko? The answer we all hope for is something a fish wants to eat! Maybe it's the lack of defining details that make them so appealing to a fish, they look like so many things but not really like anything. Since fish don't have hands the only way for them to really inspect something beyond just looking at it is to grab it in their mouth, that's where you come in
They are brown, have fur, and real long front teeth for chewing down trees, so they will fall in the water, thereby providing cover for us to fish.
Sorry Rooster, I have no self control. I just couldn't resist.....lol
Hootie
I think the are called beaver type baits because they have a tail like a beaver. They immitate a small blue gill atleast thats what I have always thought thats also why I choose to use black and blue.
As somebody else said, i think Reaction Innovations coined the term "Beaver" when it comes to these baits. Now given RI's risque names and labels, and the fact that the Beavers come in Sweet and Kinky style, take another look at the bait and see if anything comes to mind.
Now in terms of what the fish is computing it as, my guess would be as a craw/hellgramite hybrid.
On 3/17/2013 at 10:58 PM, Cal86 said:As somebody else said, i think Reaction Innovations coined the term "Beaver" when it comes to these baits. Now given RI's risque names and labels, and the fact that the Beavers come in Sweet and Kinky style, take another look at the bait and see if anything comes to mind.
Now in terms of what the fish is computing it as, my guess would be as a craw/hellgramite hybrid.
Lol! I had never looked at them like that but now that i have, you indeed have a point!
Yep, its as you say..It was a marketing strategy to get men's attention. Just so happened to be a great BAIT....in many ways.
Looks to me like any bass would say, "FOOD"!
On 3/17/2013 at 10:58 PM, Cal86 said:As somebody else said, i think Reaction Innovations coined the term "Beaver" when it comes to these baits. Now given RI's risque names and labels, and the fact that the Beavers come in Sweet and Kinky style, take another look at the bait and see if anything comes to mind.
Now in terms of what the fish is computing it as, my guess would be as a craw/hellgramite hybrid.
Your first analogy was exactly what I thought, and I could also see the resemblance. But I did want to know what the bass see as well.
I think it was named after Beaver Lake Arkansas from what I have heard. My best guess as to what it looks like is a crayfish of some sort?
Allen
I would guess this style of bait is called a beaver because of the broad, thin tail which vaguely resembles a . . . beaver? Yes?
In the '70s, I used to throw Mann's little Sting Ray Grub (Remember them?) a lot on an 1/8 oz. ball jig. That too has a beaver shaped tail. When I first saw RI's Smallie Beaver I thought, "Huh! Looks like a tricked out Sting Ray Grub."
I've done well with both of the above baits and, like others, don't care what the bass think it is as long as they eat it.
On 3/17/2013 at 10:58 PM, Cal86 said:As somebody else said, i think Reaction Innovations coined the term "Beaver" when it comes to these baits. Now given RI's risque names and labels, and the fact that the Beavers come in Sweet and Kinky style, take another look at the bait and see if anything comes to mind.
Now in terms of what the fish is computing it as, my guess would be as a craw/hellgramite hybrid.
LOL ... Agree 100% ... I mean their lures have some of the kinkiest names on the market ...The Flirt, Big Unit, Boom Boom etc.
More than looks of baits I believe bass view profiles more- Without a doubt the beaver is profiled to be a crawfish-
Even the most beautiful painted crankbaits I have seen and used-get bit less often than ones that are beat up and the paint is missing. Remember the Pradco G Finishes--I used to sand them off and they had a bone color underneath-THOSE BAITS GOT BIT MORE OFTEN THAN THE 25 dollar baits I have now--Anyone want to buy them LOL
As for the maketing part-All of his baits had a little sexual innuendo--SEX SELLS
On 3/17/2013 at 9:33 AM, The Rooster said:What is a beaver bait supposed to look like? If it's a craw, why not just use a craw bait instead?
It's a good question. They both have pros and cons.
I've noticed that Beavers make it through emergent cover better than crawfish baits. I often fish them when I'm flipping/pitching shoreline cover, where flappy claws often get hung up. The Beavers are also more streamlined, so they have a faster fall.
I wish they were more durable; they can get expensive where you start tearing them up.
Netbait is making one now I noticed. It's called the B Bug. I don't know how durable it is but the Paca craw always holds up well for me so I'd assume this one will too. I've not tried a beaver bait at all since I thought it was supposed to resemble a craw to some degree and I already had Paca Craws. Netbait is one of my favorite plastics though so I think I'll grab some of the B Bugs and see how they work.
My understanding is that the bait was called the "Sweet Beaver" because Andre Moore won two big FLW tournaments on Beaver Lake 2 years in a row using a prototype of that bait.
Rooster I use a lot of knock-off brands for budgetary reasons, and I am a huge Netbait fan. With that said, if you are only going to buy a bag or two, I would go with Reaction Innovation Beavers. The difference is small, but if money is on the line I will use RI. Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it.
My approach in defining a bait is how do you rig a beaver and how do you fish a beaver? To me it imitates a crawfish, I drag it, flip it and work on it all on the bottom like I would with any crawfish imitation. Its just a large profile, puts off a certain vibration and it appears to be an easy meal.
It's supposed to look like this:
LOL, yet another slow morning.
I think the kinky sweet beaver more resembles a craw than the original sweet beaver
what I do know however is that I have both in my tackle bag in laege quantities. magic craw swirl, green pumpkin, and green with red fleck are my favs
I generally use a weight so heavy with beaver style baits, that I don't think a bass has a chance to determine anything other than, "that's an easy meal I better bite before it hits the floor!"
They have a subtle fall-Very little action Other baits like the Mega Bug have a very aggressive fall because of the design of the appendages.. Ilike the aggressive fall I believe it gets more of a reaction strike. BUT THERE IS A TIME FOR THE SUBTLE FALL> Let the bass tell you what they want and how they want it.. There are anglers/members here that use both-We sell thousands and thousands of bugs-They have replaced my jig fishing by 75%.
Small bream/craw but also keep in mind that almost all animals will try something that is put in front of them at the right time.
It's all about the profile but being a cop I will get sued if I profile.
On 3/19/2013 at 3:02 AM, flippin and pitchin said:It's all about the profile but being a cop I will get sued if I profile.
Come on now, you can profile inanimate objects, just not us humans..
so it's not a beaver? Sweet beaver?
I got to talk to a rep. when these hit the market in Okeechobee. It looks similar to what the name implies. That along with the catchy names of the lures was so the baits stood out when anglers were looking. It also helped that they catch bass. Some angler had just won a big FLW (I think) on Okeechobee using them.