Angler's Choice's Kill Shot

Dave McCready describes the Angler’s Choice’s Kill Shot as “the ultimate drop shot bait.” But in the hands of Midwest finesse anglers, it looks to be a dandy soft-plastic bait to affix to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook.

McCready resides in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada, and he is the proprietor of Angler’s Choice, which is a family tackle business that began 12 years ago.

His Kill Shot is manufactured in two sizes: a four-incher and three-incher. McCready sent us samples of both sizes to examine and precisely describe. And since Midwest finesse anglers have a hankering, which some observers describe as a prejudice, for small soft-plastic baits, we opted to work with and write about the three-inch Kill Shot rather than its four-inch sibling.

In essence, it is a diminutive and austere beaver-style bait, which means that it has a beaver-style tail and devoid of appendages. In the eyes of veteran Midwest finesse anglers, it is somewhat reminiscent of YUM’s two- and three-inch Wooly Beavertail, which used to be a staple in these anglers' repertoire for several years during the first decade of the 21st century. And since YUM stopped manufacturing the Wooly Beavertail slightly more than a decade ago, there has been a hole in these anglers’ repertoire. And it looks as if the three-inch Kill Shot might fill that gap.

McCready told us that he began creating the Kill Shot in 2012 and began manufacturing it in 2013.

Its anatomy is comprised of a head, torso, and tail. According to our measurements, it is exactly three-inches long.

The head is seven-sixteenths of an inch long. At its widest spot, the head is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of 1 1/8 inches, and this spot lies adjacent to the junction of the head and torso. Anglers debate about the shape of its head; some describe the head as possessing the shape of a truncated leaf; some contend it has the shape of a mucronate leaf; some say that it has the shape of an obovate-shaped leaf; some note that it has the shape of an ovate-shaped leaf. And all of them agree that the point or tip of the head does not possess a sharp point. The head’s dorsal area is convexed. The ventral area is virtually flat. Its entire epidermis is smooth.

The torso is 1 9/16 inches long. The dorsal area is convexed, which is similar to the shape of the head’s dorsal. The dorsal area is endowed with 10 significant ribs.

At rib number one, it is about a half of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 3/16 inches. It is about nine-sixteenth of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 7/16 of an inch at ribs number four and five. It is slightly less than seven-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 1/16 inches at rib number 10.

The ribs encroach slightly into the torso’s ventral area, which makes it somewhat convexed. But the middle of the ventral is flat. This flat area is a quarter of an inch wide and 1 1/4 inches long, and it is embossed with the words Angler’s Choice.

At the junction of the torso and tail, the width of the Kill Shot diminishes to three-sixteenths of an inch.

The tail exhibits a marquise shape. It is thin and flat with a length of 1 1/16 inches and a thickness of one-sixteenth of an inch. The epidermis of the ventral section is smooth. The dorsal area is adorned with eight minor ribs. Between ribs number four and five, it is three-eighths of an inch wide. The width of the tail diminishes as it approaches its tip and its junction with the torso.

The Kill Shot is manufactured in the following colors: Arkansas Shiner, Ayu, Baby Bass, Casper, Chartreuse Glimmer, Double OG, Emerald Shiner, Gilbert, Great White, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin/Purple, Houdini, MG Purple Neon, MG Special, Misty Craw, Morning Bomb, Morning Dawn, Purple/Smoke/Pearl, RK Perch, River Rat, St. Lawrence Goby, Smallie Magic, Smoke/Blue/Silver, Smoke/Blue/Silver/Pearl, Smoke Holo, Smoke Holo/Irid Blue, Smoke/Purple/Silver Holo, Smoke/Purple/Silver Holo/Irid Blue, Watermelon Gold, Watermelon Grape, Watermelon Purple Neon, Wickies Melon, Willy, and Work of Art. According to McCready, these hues have proven to be very effective on the Great Lakes.

They are impregnated with salt and Angler’s Choice’s blend of JB's Fish Sauce.

The Kill Shots that we worked with are very buoyant. But when McCready rigs a Kill Shot on a drop-shot rig, it becomes neutrally buoyant, and he notes that neutral buoyancy is an alluring feature for drop-shot anglers. The combination of buoyancy and a flat ventral section is an attribute that Midwest finesse anglers relish. And when Midwest finesse angler affix a Kill Shot to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, its flat belly and buoyancy will felicitate the gliding features of the Midwest finesse presentations.

In addition to its flatness and buoyancy, the 10 ribs that adorn its torso help to heighten the Kill Shot’s gyrations and undulations. The ribs are also said to radiate air bubbles as the torso gyrates and undulates when anglers present it to their quarries. The thin and flat tail quivers almost incessantly.

A package of 10 costs $5.99.

Endnotes

(1) Here is the link to Angler’s Choice’s website: http://www.anglerschoice.ca/3-Kill-Shot_p_63.html.

(2) Anglers can contact Dave McCready at 127 Earl St.,Wallaceburg Ont, N8A 1C6 ordave@anglerschoice.ca or (519) 365-7944.

(3) Here is a link to the Midwest Finesse column that describes how Midwest finesse anglers can retrieve the Ned Hawg affixed to a small mushroom-style jig: http://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946. 

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