he H20 Express Shallow runner is a great crank bait for casting and crashing. The bait comes through practically any type of shallow cover whether it be lay downs, rocks, or flooded bushes. If you’ve ever fished the Lucky Craft 1.5 or 2.5’s this bait is about as close as you can get without the costs. The bait runs about $3 to $4 dollars. The body is very similar to that of a Lucky Craft and it is available in a wide range of fish catching colors including sexy shad. The colors I found most productive where I fish are the white with the green back with gold flakes, the chart with blue back, and the white with black back.
I’ve fished this crank bait on 15lb test line and it will run about 3 and a half feet deep with a nice side to side action. I have caught a lot of keeper fish on this crank bait since I started using it and it has become one of my confidence baits. If your on a crank bait bite and your partner is throwing a 1.5 Lucky Craft or a 2.5 this bait is a great follow up bait because it is a little different. The paint on this bait stands up to a lot of abuse. I’ve got a couple of these baits that I’ve thrown for miles and the bait coat is still in great condition minus the scratches from the hooks.
One of the problems I found with the bait out of the package is that the hooks need to be replaced. The hooks that these baits come with are not of the greatest quality and will flex out under pressure and get bent out of shape after a couple of large fish. Make sure you change the hooks out before you head to the lake. Don’t forget to change out the split rings on the hooks as well. The split ring on the line tie didn’t seem to be of concern. These crank baits are also only available at Academy so not too many people have discovered them. If you don’t live near an Academy there are various sellers online.
