Hot-Lipped Action in the Cold

 Lure manufacturers have struggled to create hardbaits that can be fished at a creep, yet present exactly the right triggers to provoke pokes from passive bass. Sure, jerkbaits work in many cold-water situations, but not all. Fish can get conditioned to the same jerk-jerk-pause, and sometimes the profile itself doesn’t match what they’re eating.

And lipless crankbaits may have the flash and vibration to get noticed, but when the retrieve is slowed, they tumble and dredge bottom. And floating cranks quickly rise to the slow-retrieve occasion and often turn more wakebait than swimmer.

Enter the FlatSlider 75, an ideal cold-water crankbait from EVOLVEFishing Company’s Soul5 hard bait line. This 1/2-ounce 3-inch flat-sided lure, with unique oyster-shell-shaped lip produces a wide wobble, that gets noticed from afar, yet at a speed that turns the most lethargic bass into biters. It’s strategically-placed forward fixed weights allow longer casts on cold-stiffened line, and its internal rattle system calls out “Eat me, I’m bait in distress!”

 “The FlatSider 75 is unique; not a modification of previously made crankbaits, but one that’s creating a category all its own,” says Evolve pro staffer and tournament bass angler Rich Lindgren. “Although it’s a great lure to cast all year long, it’s truly one of the few finesse baits with a large profile that can be fished slow enough to catch bass when the water’s in the mid 40s and 50s.”

When tied to 10- to 12-pound-test fluorocarbon on a medium-action moderate-power rod, Lindgren says the FlatSlider 75—which dives to 4 feet—doesn’t dig hard like a lot of other popular cold-water cranks. Instead, it rises very slowly to the surface when at a standstill, rather than rip skyward and out of the small cold-water strike zone too quickly.

From the clear-water smallmouth strewn waterways of the north, to the largemouth-laden lakes of the Deep South and all points in between, the FlatSlider 75’s profile emulates most shad and panfish profiles to a tee. Ten color options offer a solution for any water clarity condition. Retail: $6.99.

When casting in the cold is the only way to catch bass, go finesse with a truly one-of-a-kind crankbait.