While scanning the interweb recently for new baits to review, I ran across a nasty looking little nugget that goes by the name Raid Japan Egu Chunk. It’s made by Raid Japan, a company whose products I admittedly had no prior experience with.
But JDM fishing tackle is all the rage with the avid angler crowd these days, and this little soft plastic chunk didn’t look like it fell right out of the mold of another company, which I found refreshing. So, I decided to give it a shot. Here’s what I found.
Buy at Tackle Warehouse
DENSE PLASTIC ON EGU CHUNK
One of the things that I quickly noticed with this bait was it’s density. With all the other heavy salt content baits coming out of Japan, I kind of thought this had a similar feel to it. But in the water, it doesn’t fall particularly fast. The claws are somewhat buoyant, but not extremely so like you’d see from an ElaZtech bait for example. Still, they float up a little off the bottom and wash around a bit.
OILY RESIDUE LETS BAIT SLIP THRU COVER
Another characteristic that was immediately noticeable was the oil content. These baits have a little scent to them, but more oil than scent really. Oil is believed to leave a trail in the water that the bass can follow to track down the bait. And there’s some evidence, especially in salt water fishing, to support that. Not to mention baits that are slick slip through cover a lot easier. If it truly does make a difference, these Egu Chunks are a difference maker.
GREAT PACKAGING ON THE EGU CHUNK
I liked the packaging. It’s a clamshell package, but without the hinge. There are basically two molded pieces of plastic that have the top and bottom imprints of the baits so that they’ll stay locked in place when sandwiched between these trays and slid into the ziplock bag. Even as slick as these baits are, the packaging did a good job of keeping them tidy so they’d hold their shape til I was ready to use them.
PLASTIC IS VERY SOFT
Softer plastic formulations offer a lot more action, however, there is a tradeoff with the durability of the Egu Chunk. It was good for two or three fish and then it started to tear up. The claws are actually a little thicker and more durable than most other craw style baits so you won’t deal with missing pinchers as much. The body of the bait, however, tore pretty easily after a few fish.
I used the Egu Chunk primarily as a jig trailer during testing and could have no doubt gotten it to hold up a little longer had I used super glue to lock it into place to start with. I started off sliding the full bait bait up onto the hook shank each time. I then found I could extend the life of the trailer a little more by biting off a bit of the body and just running the hook through the center of the trailer, like you would with a pork trailer or standard chunk on an old school jig and pig.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE EGU CHUNK
Overall I really liked the Raid Japan Egu Chunk. If nothing else, it was refreshing to see something that looked and felt a little different. The softness gave it a lot of action, but it did tear up on me. The design and detail of the bait was pretty impressive. The thicker claws gave off a little different action and there isn’t a millimeter of this bait that doesn’t have a bump, ridge or tentacle on it.
The Egu Chunk comes in 4-inch and 3-inch versions. I spent my time testing the 3-inch version, which fit a standard jig and a shaky head fairly well and could be trimmed to fit a finesse jig too. The 4-inch version would likely work better as a Texas rigged flipping bait, though it could certainly be used with a Carolina rig, wobble head, Tokyo rig or various other presentation.
These baits are available in 7 colors and come in a 7 pack for the 3-inch baits and a 5 pack for the 4-inchers. At $9.99 a pack, the Egu Chunks are a little pricey. But they do standout from the crowd and give the fish a bit different look. The packaging is a nice touch. And if you like oily baits, you’ll like the Egu Chunk.
You can find the Raid Japan Egu Chunk at TackleWarehouse.com.
Read the full article here
