It’s a killer! You heard me right.  A killer and its targets are bass.  To be specific, post-spawn bass looking for an easy meal after exhausting themselves from courting; however, this wake bait is not made of molded plastic.  No, the Killer V by Basshunter Baits in Knoxville, Tennessee, is made from handpicked balsa wood.  It only makes sense that the Killer V would come from the heart of hand crafted balsa wood lures.  The owner of Basshunter Baits, Brian K. Moore, spent over two years researching, designing, building, and testing the Killer V before it finally made it to any store shelves.  It was well worth the time Moore put into it to ensure that his wake bait would have the correct buoyancy and running depth. 

Moore’s Killer V started out as a desire to make a hand crafted balsa wood wake bait to match the action of an original Bomber 15A.  The original Bomber 15A was made from a specific molded plastic that made the lure float high in the water and make a V wake in the water when retrieved slowly.  This V wake proved to be deadly when retrieved slowly for suspending bass after the spawn.  Unfortunately, only a certain number of these original Bombers are still around.  This is what intrigued Moore to build one out of balsa wood.  Of course, Moore has years of experience building balsa wood lures making Basshunter Custom Crankbaits (http://www.basshunterbaits.com/) for anglers.  “The biggest obstacle to making a hand built balsa wood wake bait was keeping it from diving too deep; the lip angle and weight have to be just right,” explained Moore.  During his testing stage to see how the lure tracked Moore found bass were striking the Killer V in super clear, cold water drawing them up from deep water.  

Each one of these wake baits are made from the same balsa wood used to build a crankbait.  The lip comes from computer chipboard material.  Moore carves, sands, hand paints, and clear coats each one.  The secrets of building hand crafted balsa wood baits are not given out freely.  Each builder has their own style, formulas for clear coats, and painting patterns and designs.  “I have found from working with balsa wood over the years that it is not very forgiving; you can go too far, too quick very easy,” Moore continued, “although it seems simple, you need to have a feel when working with balsa to end up with the right results.”  Moore did tell me that every Killer V wake bait is covered with the same clear coat he uses on his hand crafted balsa wood crankbaits and the hook hangers are epoxy in place.  Another consideration is strength when buying balsa wood baits.  Moore kept that in mind when building the Killer V and said, “Fishermen may be able to tear it up but not a fish.”  Just like other lures, hand crafted balsa wood baits needed to be tuned every once in a while to keep it tracking correctly.  To tune, use a pair of needle nose pliers and bend the eye of the lure in the opposite direction.  If the lure is running right, bend the eye left; if the lure is running left, bend the eye right. Be careful not twist the eye.

Springtime will be here soon.  The bass will be spawning shortly and then headed out to secondary points to suspend recuperating after the spawn. That is primetime for hand crafted balsa wood wake bait reeled in slowly making a killer V.