The Jackall Chunk Craw is a bait I’ve been familiar with for a little over a year. It has spent most of its time in Japan but has started to gain popularity here in America. I ordered a couple of packs from Tackle Warehouse (who also have tons of JDM stuff) and when they came in I hit the water.
The Jackall Chunk Craw Info
The Jackall Chunk Craw comes in several different colors that all will produce depending on water clarity and time of year. Jackall isn’t trying to seduce you with rainbow swirl, glitter sprayed baits. These colors produce in every style of bait. Green Pumpkin Pepper, Watermelon Pepper, SG Craw, Southern Delight, Green Pumpkin Chartreuse, SI Orange, Black and Blue, and JL Craw are how they are listed. I tested the JL Craw and the Watermelon Pepper versions in the four inch bait.
A five pack of these baits runs around five dollars. It’s a little more than some other soft plastics but we will address that shortly. The Jackall Chunk Craw is obviously a crawfish imitating bait that can be pitched, flipped, Carolina rigged, or used as a jig trailer. I would recommend the three and a half inch version for the trailer.
The Good
The first thing that is really noticeable with the Jackall Chunk Craw is the profile of the bait. While it is four inches long it measures in at right around a two inch width. This is perfect for additional water displacement in muddy water conditions.
The durability of the baits is really good as well. I caught several fish off the first bait I hooked up and didn’t change it through the duration. It’s got a good firm, rubbery feel with some elasticity added in.
The multiple appendages are all made to put off flutter and vibration and do so upon an active retrieve and non-vertical descent. The horizontal action of the bait over the tops of grass or coming through the grass is really good. Most of my bites came as I was pulling the bait away from the fish. That leads me to think it is succeeding in the crawfish mimicking style it’s built in.
Points to Consider
You may have noticed the part about the Jackall Chunk Craw I listed below in The Good. It does well fluttering, “ upon an active retrieve and non-vertical descent.” Here’s the reason. I was fishing in clear water so I could really study the bait. Thrown by itself on a straight vertical drop, the rounded edges of the appendages seemed to collapse in, making the bait really aerodynamic and reducing flutter. This improved under more weight added to the nose but the bait by itself is an aerodynamic design. It reminded me of a lawn dart. If you are punching, this will not be an issue. It has a big profile and will get a reaction strike. If you’re looking for a bass to eat it on the fall in open water, you’ll get better results twitching it slightly once or twice on the fall. The arms will open up, catch water and then it will do its thing.
Final Thoughts
I really dig this bait. It is really durable (and should be for the price). A lot of design time went into this bait and its profile is different from a lot of other craw imitations on the market. For five bucks, the Jackall Chunk Craw is worth the cash to turn around and cash a check in your next tourney.