Strike King Chick Magnet Breakdown
Creation Story
The Strike King Chick Magnet, originally named “The 24”, was a flat sided balsa bait designed and hand crafted by Marion “Tip” Tipton in the hills of eastern Tennessee on Lake Chickamauga. What is the reasoning for the name “The 24” you might ask? The original bait was named this because of what it did. Throwing “The 24” in tournaments was very common to bring in 24lb+ winning bags. “The 24” was kept a secret for quite a long time by professional angler, Andy Morgan, and Tipton. Now that the word is out, Morgan and Tipton have worked with Strike King to bring this secret weapon to the world, and thus the Chick Magnet was born, while keeping the design and shape of the original “24”. The change comes from swapping out the balsa, resulting in increased durability, castability, and consistency of the Strike King Chick Magnet without having to sacrifice performance.
Features of the Strike King Chick Magnet
Chick Magnet Colors
One of the most interesting features of this bait would be the thirteen different color selections available. Out of these thirteen colors, six are Strike King’s most popular colors including, Sexy Shad 2.0, Fire Craw, Natural Shad and more. The seven special colors offered for the Chick Magnet are a throwback to the original “24” itself. These seven colors were hand-picked by Tipton out of the best colors that were originally on “The 24”. These colors have big fish catching history and that tradition looks to continue strong as they are brought back for the Strike King Chick Magnet. No matter what the fish are eating, there is a color in the Chick Magnet that can match the forage.
Circuit Board Lip
Utilizing the circuit board lip adds multiple different benefits over the use of a traditional crankbait lip. These added benefits are durability, dive rate, and vibration. The increased durability from the chick magnet’s lip is very important to this style of fishing, where the bait is made to be banged off shallow water structures on the retrieve. The Chick Magnet can stand the test of a beating against any structure you throw it at thanks to the circuit board lip. As the durability increases with this material the thickness of the lip gets thinner, allowing the Chick Magnet to dive almost instantly to its designed depth of 3-6 feet. This faster diving allows the Chick Magnet to stay in the strike zone longer than other shallow diving crankbaits. A thinner bill also helps the bait to give off more vibration in the water with a tight wobble produced by the lip and shape of the crankbait.
Body Design
The original “24” was a hand-carved balsa bait with a distinct shape for a crankbait. The problem is that hand carved balsa baits took a long time to make, were very light, and lacked durability. Strike King looked to solve this by bringing “The 24” to an exact copy but in a plastic plug. This new plastic body for the Chick Magnet solves all these issues in a single package. The new body composition adds a little more weight and includes a rattle which allows anglers to make longer casts, allowing the bait to stay in the strike zone longer.
Hooks
The Chick Magnet comes equipped and ready to be fished straight from the package with two ultra-sharp, short shank #4 treble hooks.
“It is an amazing spring and winter time crankbait, but it excels year-round in any situation where you would find yourself reaching for a shallow crankbait. Based on my experience I would say it excels in water temps that fall between 47ish degrees to 55 degrees. The Chick Magnet gets a break, as most crankbaits due, while the bass are spawning. But once they finish, the Chick Magnet bite is back on.”-Lucas Murphy from Strike King. The Chick Magnet excels in cooler water conditions, on days when fishing pressure is high, or when bite is simply off. If you find yourself and the fish in shallow water around cover and structure, this is the bait to pick up then never put down. The Chick Magnet excels at deflecting off of rocks, wood, and ticking the tops of grass to elicit strikes. The Strike King Chick Magnet is more versatile than just a largemouth slayer, as smallmouth and spotted bass also cannot resist biting when one comes bumping along.
Recommended Gear
Rod: 7’ M or MH Glass Casting (Ex: Daiwa Tatula Elite Takahiro Omori 70” MH Glass Casting Rod)
Reel: 6.3:1 Gear Ratio Casting Reel (Ex: Daiwa Tatula SV Casting Reel 6.3:1)
Line: 10-15lb Fluorocarbon (Ex: 12lb Seaguar Invizx)
Daiwa Tatula Elite Series Casting Rods - 2018 Release - EOL
6'9" / Medium-Light / Medium-Fast
Seaguar InvizX 100% Fluorocarbon
4lb / 200 Yards
