Forget shadows and groundhogs, as nothing signals spring’s arrival like warts and craws — Storm® Wiggle Warts® and crawfish, that is. And now that Wiggle Warts come in four new craw colors, fish will be wishin’ they had six more weeks of winter to hide.
“As soon as crawdads start coming out of hibernation in the spring, fish start keying on them,” says two-time Bassmaster Elite Series winner and Storm pro Brandon Palaniuk. “So that’s when I start throwing craw-pattern Wiggle Warts. I’m excited to have four new craw colors in my arsenal.”
Palaniuk’s enthusiasm is easily understood. On the final day of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic — in which he finished runner-up — he caught four of the five fish he weighed on a craw-pattern Wiggle Wart.
Storm’s legendary Original Wiggle Wart and Original Mag Wart both feature an inimitable wide-wobbling action and rattle that mimics the movement and sound of crawdads, which fish instinctively eat more of in the spring. Crawdads make a better meal for fish at that time, because they are bigger than newly hatched minnows and fry baitfish.
Available in both the Original Wiggle Wart and Original Mag Wart lines, the new craw-color patterns — Moss Back Craw, Creek Craw, Red Craw and Orange Brown Craw — will help anglers better match the hatch, as crawdad colors vary widely by species, water body and region.
“I like to cycle through the colors to see which ones they eat a little bit better,” Palaniuk says. “Most of the time, I’m going to start with something with some green in it.”
The new Moss Back Craw pattern features an olive-green back, green/chartreuse sides and belly and a black craw-body pattern. The new Creek Craw pattern features a brown-green back, a white belly and a black, craw-body pattern.
Green and brown craw patterns are best in clearer water, Palaniuk says. Red and orange craw patterns work better in dirtier water. “That red shows out a little bit more, where the fish can track it a little bit better,” he explains.
Storm’s new Red Craw pattern features a red back, a red-orange fade on the sides, an orange belly and a black, craw-body pattern. The new Orange Brown Craw pattern features a brown back, orange-brown belly and a black, craw-body pattern.
Built from Storm’s original molds, both the Original Wiggle Wart and Original Mag Wart come equipped with premium, super-sharp VMC® Treble Hooks — No. 4s and No. 2s, respectively. Designed to run to depths of 7-to-18 feet, the Original Wiggle Wart is 2-inches long and weighs 3/8 of an ounce. Built to swim at depths of 13-to-24 feet, the Original Mag Wart is 2-3/4 inches long and weighs 3/4 of an ounce.