Product Review: Bait Junkie Kikker Curly

By Brenton Moster

It's no secret that Australian native fish species love eating frogs. From Murray cod and Australian bass in the south to mangrove jack, barramundi, saratoga, sooty grunter and my personal favorite the jungle perch up in the far north of the country.

As a keen jungle perch angler in my opinion there is no better way of targeting these fish than topwater. With our crystal-clear mountain streams that wind and elevate up through the rainforests of the Great Dividing Range the top water strikes can be visually spectacular. This is why the Daiwa Australia Bait Junkie Kikker Curly has become one of my all-time favourite baits.

The Kikker Curly is a 3.2-inch soft plastic frog imitation lure that comes in a pack of three and a range of four different colours. Not only do look great they are extremely durable, flexible and stretchy and the castability and swimming action are second to none.

Let's Kik Things off with Rigging

In my opinion the best way to rig these baits is with a size #1/0 unweighted weedless hook pushed through and out the nose and up and out of the back with the hook sitting flush in the small groove in the top of the frog. The hook up rate is not always perfect with weedless hooks so it can be a good idea to add some Daiwa Retro Fit Assist Hooks. The retro fit hooks come attached to a small spilt ring. I like to unpick the assist cord from the ring and tie it to the hook at the point where the weedless hook comes through the top of the frog letting the small hooks hang out the back disguised by the legs. Rigging these assist hooks doesn't alter the action of the lure in any way and I have found it to be an extremely effective method and my hook up rate is close to perfect. These lures work best with a light rod and reel set up eg 1-4 kg rod, 2500 size spin reel, 10 to 4 lb jbraid and 4 to 20 lb leader. Depending on the target species.

Casting

The kikker curly is a very well weighted bait and the castability is fantastic. The flat and round shape of the under belly makes them a great bait for skip casting under mangrove roots and low-lying structure.

Lure Retrieval and Action

The Kikker Curly would have to be one of the easiest baits to work and it is literally as simple as casting it out and winding it back in at your own pace letting those little legs do all the work. I like to keep my rod tip in most situations pointed towards the lure on retrieval so I can keep the most amount of line tension between myself and the fish and be able to strike in any direction I choose. Rigging weedless can give you a massive advantage casting into weed beds, grassy edges, and over lilly pads. These lures look very natural in the water and can also be very effective with a small pop or a pause.

Design

Bait junkie has been designed and developed for anglers around the world. By combining the perfect combination of local knowledge and exclusive technology. Daiwa has been able to produce a truly advanced soft plastic material and innovative profiles. During the development, testing was conducted in Australia, where this technique is popular. Crafted through decades of research and design experience from Japan, and top angling experience from some of Australia's elite anglers- bait junkie was born.

Elastomax

Daiwa’s Elastomax material gives bait junkie unbelievable stretch and strength.  Elastomax is non-toxic and does not contain pvc, plastisol or phthalates.

Amino

Added during the construction prosses, Animo X creates a lure with natural flavor and scent. Animo X will attract fish and make them hold on longer.

Floating

Elastomax is also naturally buoyant, meaning that bait junkie baits will rest tail-up when rigged with a traditional jig head.

In conclusion if you're looking for a frog imitation lure that covers a wide range of species, looks great, casts well, has and incredible swimming action is strong, stretchy and durable, and is super simple to work don’t look past the Daiwa Australia Bait Junkie Kikker Curly I personally rate these lures a ten out of ten and they have certainly earned their place in my tackle box. Good luck and tight lines.