October 22, 2014
By Ned Kehde
Riot Baits' Streaker is a newcomer to the world of swimbaits.
It is a slender bait, and its length measures four and a half inches.
It is endowed with a solid body, which enhances its durability and the distances that anglers can cast it.
A hook slot graces its belly, and there is also a slight slot along the spine of its back. On each side of the spine of its back, it is adorned with 14 ribs. Twelve rings encircle its tail. The tip of the tail sports a large paddle, which some anglers call a boot, and when an angler retrieves the Streaker, the circular movement of the paddle causes the entire tail to wobble and the torso to twitch. The ribs and rings also enrich the way its torso subtly gyrates.
Matt Stark of Riot Baits says the Streaker is not a finesse bait. Therefore, he doesn't think it will be an effective bait if it is used the way Midwest finesse anglers normally rig their baits. From his perspective, the hooks on our jigs are too small, and they will only reach the back of the head on the Streaker. Therefore, he recommends rigging it a on a 1/8- to a 3/16-ounce 5/0 Gamagatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock Hook to dissect aquatic vegetation. To probe deep-water lairs, he affixes it to a 1/2-, 3/4- or one-ounce Revenge Swimbait Hedz. But for more than five decades, Midwest finesse anglers have been using baits that most anglers say are not finesse baits, and in our eyes, we think that the Streaker will work well on the finesse jigs that we normally employ with four-inch grubs and slender swimbaits, and these jigs are Gopher Tackle's 3/32-ounce Mushroom Head Jig or Z-Man Fishing Product's 1/6-ounce Finesse ShroomZ. (Gopher Tackle makes its 3 /32-ounce Mushroom Head Jig with No. 2, No. 1, 1/0 and 2/0 hooks; the ShroomZ has a No. 1 hook.)
It is available in six colors: Alewife, Bad Shad, Blue Steel, Sultry Shiner, Sunny Bug, and White Knight. And the folks at Riot Baits say these colors are highlighted by a feature that they call unidirectional scaling.
A package of seven can be purchase from one online retailer for $5.49.
