The number of exceptional bass fishing lures on the market these days is truly astounding. The 13 Fishing El Diablo Lipless Crankbait is yet another illustration of this; a fantastic lipless crankbait, well designed to be durable as well as attractive to the eye of both the bass and the bass fisherman, and available at an outstanding price point.
It’s another great bait for another great price. It’s important however, to not let the super-low price tag fool you. This isn’t a lure that requires a bunch of upgrades in order to be suitable for serious bass fishing. It comes ready to fish straight from the package and the hooks are super impressive and dangerously sharp. Combine the hook quality with great hardware and impressive action and you have yourself a legit fish-catching bait at a real bargain.
Let’s take a little closer of a look at this lipless crankbait.
Sizes
The El Diablo comes in both 1/2- and 3/4-ounce sizes. This means you’ll have a bait that can be burned through a foot of water, ripped out of submerged vegetation in 5 to 10 feet, fished in 15 to 20 feet or slow-rolled at any depth you desire. It would be really nice to see this bait in a 1/4-ounce version as well at some point but it’s good that 13 Fishing went with the 1/2-ounce and 3/4-ounce first, as these are the more versatile two of the three.
Colors
Available in 11 colors, 13 Fishing offers a great selection of patterns to mimic almost any prey in any season. From their reddish Mudbug Punch meant to mimic bright-colored craws in the spring to Day Old Guac and Old Gregg which are duller craw patterns, all the way over to the Chrome Blue Back and Natty Light shad patterns, 13 Fishing has you covered with colorful baits, as well as colorful names.
In our opinion, these types of detailed and very intelligently designed colors are something you’d likely expect from a much more expensive lipless crankbait but somehow, 13 Fishing is able to offer these high-quality patterns at an incredible price.
Hooks
All of the these lipless crankbaits come outfitted with chemically sharpened VMC treble hooks. The 1/2-ounce bait comes with No. 4 trebles where the 3/4-ounce is paired with larger No. 2 hooks. These hooks have a round bend, which helps you stick any fish that inhales the lure and gives you the best chance of hooking fish that happen to simply swat at it instead.
Because lipless crankbaits are often fished in cold-water conditions, it’s important to understand the laziness of a bass in these situations. They don’t always want some wide-wobbling crankbait in their face which makes the tight shimmy of the El Diablo very attractive. Even with the subdued action, lethargic bass will often swat at these baits which makes it very tough to achieve a high hookup ratio. These super-sharp hooks straight from the box, however, make a huge difference and are very important components of this bait’s overall design.
Components
All of the components that went into making the El Diablo Lipless Crankbait are top notch. From the hook hangers, split rings and round-bend VMC trebles, to the line tie up top paired with an oval split ring. An oval split ring works really well as a line tie for a lipless crank because it ensures the lure doesn’t get in a bind and start to track to one side, the way it would be more prone to do with a round split ring up top.
Rattles
Lipless crankbaits are known for their rattles. This one has a sharp multi-bead rattle that offers up a super-crisp sound. There are two larger beads in the midsection of the lure, as well as two smaller beads in the cheek of the bait. These four beads create all sorts of commotion, but the front two beads also help weight this bait so that it falls nose-first quickly and cleanly, preventing tangles that would occur if the bait were to spiral downward instead.
So not only do these rattles sport a unique and bite-enticing sound but they also play a key role in the attractive swimming action of the bait.
The bottom line of the 13 Fishing El Diablo Lipless Crankbait
The 13 Fishing El Diablo Lipless is a fine bait at a great price. It offers a wide variety of colors to choose from as well as two sizes, giving you an effective and efficient lure that can be fished in any season and at nearly any depth. With strong and sharp round-bend VMC trebles and an oval split ring for the line tie, this lipless crankbait is well outfitted for consistent performance and battles with big ones.
