FishAholics Lure Review: Striper Squirrel
If I could use one word to describe this lure it would be yummy. Just look at it, it’s like a chewy piece of round extruded pearl white laffy taffy that you can chomp down on and chew n pull…atleast that’s what the fish is thinking.
This week I’ll be reviewing a top water lure by Aiden James of AJLures. That white pearl glow really gives it a tasty look. It’s a lure that’s sure to catch more fish and bigger fish on the surface. Its sleek design allows you to cast it quite far. So if you’re looking for that next hot top water lure look no further. The Striper Squirrel might just fill in that position.
The Striper Squirrel comes in two sizes: 5 inches and 6.25 inches. It weighs about 1.4 ounces and 2.6 ounces for the 6.25 inch version and is about 1 inch in diameter. With the added tail, the total length for the 5 incher becomes 8 inches while the 6.25 incher becomes 10 inches. The lure comes in a variety of colors such as: chartreuse, gray sparkle, gray, natural brown, black and of course white. I’m using the white Striper Squirrel with the pearelescent belly for the purpose of this review.
In this lure review, I’ll be looking at the 5 inch model. The lure is hand crafted out of wood. The most interesting part about this lure is, it rattles! Most wooden lures don’t have this incorporate into their design but this added feature definitely gives the Striper Squirrel an edge over other wooden lures. The added feather on the trailer hook definitely gives it more action when it zigzags on the surface.
The triangulated head design allows you to create a wider walking action. The lure is also coated with a UV epoxy protected layer. What does this mean for you? Well, it means a longer lasting paint finish from the abuse this lure will take. It also allows the fish to see the lure a lot better on a sunny day. The Lure goes for $35 but as of this review, AJLures is having a special of $29.95 for the 5″ models. The 6.25″ models are selling for $39.95 plus there’s free shipping for domestic orders.
***Update: I got you a discount! Use Promo Code: fishaholics for a 15% discount on all the lures***
How The Lure Can Be Used
When fishing this lure, you want to create a walk the dog type of action. The design of this wooden lure will allow you to do just that. A twitch with your rod will get this lure going. Once you get this lure to zig zag, you’ll notice the longer the pause in between twitches, the wider the walk and vise versa with shorter pauses. You can fish this top water lure slow or fast and it will maintain that walking action. You’ll see what I mean in the video below.
Things Worth Pointing Out
If you watch the underwater shots carefully from the video below, you’ll notice that the lure reflects off the waters surface when it zigzags underwater. I think this is where the lures UV coating and pearelescent color really shines, literally. It creates a flash from the lures reflection every time it zigzags under the waters surface. Something you won’t notice viewed from the surface.
You would think that the belly is the most important factor on the lure but as it turns out, on this bright blue sunny day, the lure actually casts a shadow on it’s underbelly. This shadow effect on the lures belly might actually help fish contrast between it and the sky above, so I wouldn’t rule this out as a drawback.
Don’t forget that internal rattle. I gotta say, I’m still trying to figure out how Aiden James was able to incorporate that feature in but it’s an added benefit that’s sure to draw in more fish.
Watch this clip as it will give you a better perspective on how the lure moves above and below water.
Here’s a clip I borrowed from the one of Aiden James outing. Checkout the blowup on that lure and the size of that fish. For more information about this lure or how to purcahse one, you can visit the Striper Squirrel at AJLures.com.
Conclusion
So as you can see, you can fish this lure fast or slow. Hopefully, you saw how it casts a shadow on the belly of the lure. This creates a contrast between the lure and the sky above. Combine this with the flash from the lures reflection off the waters surface and the internal rattle and this lure is sure to draw in fish from all around. Plus that hint of flash from the side of the lure makes the lure look like a beacon for food. If you’re looking for that top water lure that will produce, give the Striper Squirrel a try. This lure is sure to catch more fish than fishermen.
Note: You don’t have to take my word for it. You can try this lure for yourself. Simply sign up below for a chance to win this exact lure. We do this with ALL our lure reviews. We review the lures and give it away afterwards. The lure giveaway will end on May 8, 2015 at 8pm PST. The winner along with all the contestants will be notified within 48 hours after the giveaway has ended here in this post. Good Luck!
***Update: May 11, 2015***
Congratulations to Migow for winning the Striper Squirrel! A separate email has been sent to you. You have until May 13, 2015 at 8pm PST to claim your prize. Thank you everyone for participating. Until the next review, happy fishing.
Great top water lure. Only top water lure I’m throwing at the moment
In honesty, this lure is similar to a Spook. I wouldn’t even say it is near the quality of a KVD b/c the KVD’s are very easy to pivot side to side with the slightest twitch of the rod. Plus, KVD prob. gives you a better paint job both in quality and looks. You have to understand how a topwater works before you can even begin to say it is worth buying. As with some things in life, you have to buy according to quality, performance, reliability, workability, etc. I mean this lure sounds good in every aspect if you read the paper b/c you would think a 5 inch lure is the perfect size and it would zigzag wider but it isn’t so as we can see in the video. If you compare this action to a Dirty Donkey or a ABT it doesn’t cut it. It runs slightly side to side within an imaginary straight line. Not cool if you ask me. My take on a good topwater is bounce, the right sound rattles, being able to displace water loudly, wide gliding action, good color scheme, quality parts, and randomness in its action. Predictability won’t cause instinctive reaction. You’d get all this in a very fair price or around $15-20. If it’s a round topwater you want, you can get a Sammy or a Sexy Dawg or Livingston or whatever….but I don’t endorse those. I prefer other stuff…Just saying.
Tipical of hater response. Bet you never tryed it. Carry on keep hating.
I keep laughing at the similar to a spook comment. Some people
I can name a dozen lure that can top this lure…..Just saying.