While a lot of our tips and reviews here at Kayak365.com will be kayak-specific or, at least kayak centric, at the end of the day, fishing is fishing regardless of your chosen watercraft. What follows is a review of the new Macbeth 50 crankbait from Shimano which will be a great choice when fishing from your kayak, or from shore, or from a $60,000 bass boat.
The Shimano Macbeth 50 crankbait is a downsized model that pulls duty as an all-around bite-getter when bass of all sizes are positioned shallow in and near cover of any type.
I got one and took it to the nearest lake to see what it can do.
With the snag-free build typical of squarebill cranks, the Macbeth will bounce off of hard objects and buzz over shallow grass, but this lure tends to hunt – kick off center and immediately right itself – similar to the action of the best old balsa baits even when it doesn’t contact cover. This happens most noticeably at high speeds.
At any speed the bait has a wide wobbling action and produces a vibration that can be felt through the rod. The lure oscillates, forming a letter ‘X’ pattern when viewed from above as tail and head wag back and forth. It’s a lot of thump from a small package.
Very buoyant, the MB-50F backs out of cover quickly. With a high rod tip and slow retrieve, it can be used to tickle the surface and send out a subtle wake that bass are sure to notice and track during calm conditions.
On 14lb fluorocarbon line I had no problem getting the MB-50F down to the advertised running depth of 3-to-5 feet.
At a weight of 3/8oz this 2-inch bait casts well, even into a breeze, with an 8-foot cranking stick and a standard baitcasting reel.
Shimano describes the lure thusly:
“The combination of an oversized Hybrid Edge square bill design, high buoyancy and fixed one-piece weight construction make the Macbeth 50F the optimal lure choice for heavy cover cranking when anglers need to downsize their presentation or size-match forage fish. More compact than the Macbeth (63mm), the MB-50F (50mm) features a Hybrid Edge square bill that creates an aggressive side-to-side wobble and incorporates a molded internal weight to keep it running true while recovering quicker. With a diving depth of 3 to 5 feet — ideal for making strike-inducing ground contact — the Macbeth 50 features a thick-diameter rear hook for added durability and increased hook-up ratios when fighting the toughest trophy bass.”
On the first cast, I burned the MB-50F back and paused it just before pulling it out of water at the end of the retrieve. As I stopped the bait, a small bass came from seemingly nowhere and got both sets of trebles!
If you like to power fish and want to catch big numbers, along with the occasional big bass, the Shimano Macbeth 50 crankbait is for you.
The lure is offered in 10 colors and the MSRP is $10.99.
