I have found that I prefer reviewing fishing lures more in the summer than I do in the winter. Though I do like reviewing them in the winter as well, since there’s not much else to do at times. But, reviewing products means I have to spend a considerable amount of time fishing with them. And in the winter, it’s hard to get a bite on a topwater lure… which is my favorite bite.
But the summer is when I get to let these things fly and have to review a bunch of topwaters while the getting is good. Poor, poor, pitiful me… right? What a burden.
Today, we’re once again talking about a topwater lure in the Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Pencil in the 125mm size. And it’s pretty sweet.
Sound
The Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Pencil 125 has a pretty sweet sound to it when you walk it. Kind of a “poing”, if that sounded right when you read it. I can’t be sure. But that’s the best I can do when trying to spell out the sound it makes. There’s one big bead in the tail of the bait, trapped in a small chamber about an inch long. So it kind of has a one-knocker type sound but not exactly.
One thing I think makes it a little different is that the chamber has a little rib in the belly of it. So the ball kind of hangs up on that as it rocks back and forth on the walk. It makes for a noticeably different sound as the ball hits the rib and then jumps it before smacking the walls of the chamber. There’s still a rhythm to the sound but a little delay here and there mixed in as well.
Mouth
Upon first glance, I pegged this bait for a simple walking-style topwater. But it wasn’t until I saw it spitting water as I was fishing it that I realized it’s actually a bit of a hybrid with a pencil popper-style bait. Obviously pencil is in the name. But I didn’t even look at the name when I tied it on; I just thought it would be a cool bait to try. But there’s definitely a cup to the mouth and I believe that contributes to the overall “poing” sound the bait makes.
I’d say as sound goes, it’s 85 percent the big rattle in the tail and 15 percent the mouth. There’s definitely an audible chug that comes along as it walks. The bait also spits water 6 or 7 inches which makes for a nice addition to the presentation. Most pencil-style walking baits are a little longer and skinnier towards the mouth, where this bait has more the size and shape of most of the popular walking style topwaters. So it’s kind of unique in that sense.
Hooks and hardware
High-quality, wide-gap treble hooks are essential for a topwater like this and that’s exactly what this bait has. I like the wider gap hooks on a topwater because they offer the most opportunity for a hookup when an exploding bass takes a swing at a bait. I like a longer shank hook sometimes with a topwater because they cover more ground. But that’s only necessary if a bait this size has two hooks. With three, this bait has plenty of pointy coverage.
I also like the hook hanger orientation. There may be other baits that use this same design but I have never seen one myself so I’m going to say this is unique and rest assured someone will correct me on social media if I’m wrong. Regardless, the cool thing about the two hook hangers below the belly is that they are mounted perpendicular to the bait and at angle towards the tail. So when the bait is walking in the water, the hooks are more prone to tuck up and away. I really think that’s a cool idea.
Overall appearance
This bait comes in 13 colors, though I wouldn’t even really refer to them as colors, per se. The reason being, several of the color schemes have a translucent body that reveals what looks like a foil or other type metal plate running down the middle of the bait. The bait also has ribs on the exterior lower third of the bait and a paint scheme along the top half.
When all of these things come together as the bait rocks back and forth and walks through the water, the bait has more than a color to it. More like an overall 3D appearance, which is where the 3D comes from in the name of the bait. Upon looking at their site, I found Yo-Zuri describes what I’m talking about as their “Internal 3D Prism Finish”. Though some of the colors like Bone and Black also offer fully painted bodies.
Casts like a rocket
The bait not only walks well, but you can really launch it. It comes in at an ounce and with the big ball bearing in the tail end, the bait becomes really aerodynamic and sails on the cast. This comes in particularly handy when fishing for schooling bass, especially around herring as those schoolers are notorious for coming up just out of range. So, having a bait that will throw an extra 15 to 20 feet can make all the difference.
With a quality set of hooks, some real ingenuity in the hook hanger orientation, the unique Internal 3D Prism Finish and a sweet sound, this is one of my favorite walking topwaters I’ve thrown in a while. What makes it even better is the $7.99 price tag. That’s a lot of bang for your buck and makes it an easy bait to try out in my opinion.
The Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Pencil 125 is available at the following retailers:
