Gear

Crews’ creature bait tacklebox

The Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Missile Baits founder and president chooses his top creature baits.

Posted on
Photography by
Craig Lamb
Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Crews knows a thing or two about choosing soft plastic baits. The 20-year Bassmaster pro is also the owner of Missile Baits, widely known for its lineup of tournament-winning baits that include the flipping and pitching gold standard Missile D Bomb. 
Clamshell packaging is growing in popularity for manufacturers of premium soft baits with detailed appendages and body parts. The rigid packaging prevents damage to individual baits, compared to exposing them to harm in soft plastic bags. 
Crews discovered a solution in these hard plastic food storage containers, complete with the snap closure that prevents leakage when using fish scents. 
Best of all, packages can be stacked sideways for better organization and quicker identification. Not so when storage bags are piled inside a zip-style food storage bag. 
Even better, the hard boxes can be stacked inside a storage compartment for even more organization. 
Crews stores his baits by category, with boxes reserved for the Missile Baits D Bomb, Mini D Bomb, Chunky D, Mini Chunky D and Baby D Stroyer. “It’s an entire tackle storage system that saves time, keeps you from sorting through bags to find the bait, and most of all, fish longer instead of searching,” he said. Gain optimum lure performance with this lineup of balanced tackle choices. 
Missile Baits D Bomb, California Love
The 4-inch D Bomb is the gold standard for creature baits with its unique ribbed body that displaces water resulting in a straight fall. The tails sail when left connected or flap wildly when separated. By design the body is thinner where the hook comes out for more effective hooksets, and the thicker head secures the bait to the hook. 
Rig it on a Daiwa Zillion SV TW 8.5:1 reel, spooled with 20-pound Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon and a Cashion ICON Flipping Rod. Crews’ preference is the 7-foot, 6-inch medium/heavy action model. 
Missile Baits 3.5-inch Chunky D
The 3.5-inch Chunky D is an action craw bait designed for flipping, pitching or casting as a swim jig trailer. 
The compact package presents strike-tantalizing thumping action. That action comes from a thicker body with ribs on the bottom and flanges near the end of the D Bomb shaped flappers. 
Missile Baits D Bomb, El Diablo
For heavy combat, Crews arms his D Bomb on a Daiwa Tatula Elite 8.8:1 reel, spooled with 25-pound Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon, and a Cashion ICON Flipping Rod. Crews’ preference is the 7-foot, 6-inch medium/heavy action model. Terminal tackle is a 1/2-ounce tungsten weight with a 5/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Worm Hook. 

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