Kicker Fish Bait Co. of Deer Park, Texas has done it again. After its dynamite, situation-specific Original Weedless Wacky Worm, it recently came out with the Bird Dawg, named after the bait's co-designer, Texas tour pro Cody Bird.

"Designs that work well in specific situations are (Kicker Fish's) goal," Bird said. "We were looking for a flipping bait that was great in heavy matted cover, but also worked well in river systems on blowdowns and wood. Because other creature baits sometimes aren't fluid and will get hung up, we designed a very thin-bodied 4 3/4-inch bait that matches well with a 5/0 hook and extra-heavy weights.

"The craw-legs are very tight to the tentacles, which allows the bait to slide through very small holes and openings. We designed the tentacles to be a bit longer to provide added dying action, and with the addition of pinchers we increased the vibration and lifelike look needed when hopping the bait.

"I love to fish matted hyacinths and this bait is perfect for that application," he noted.

We tried it, and found that the Bird Dawg works as advertised. It performs well in heavy vegetation, and in rivers where blowdowns are the common cover. Flipped or pitched, it easily slid through the tightest areas and it worked well around root-wads and brush too. We liked the solid ribbed worm body – we caught numerous fish on a single bait.

For more on the Bird Dawg and other great Kicker Fish products, click here to go to www.kickerfishbait.com.

> In our tests, we flipped the watermelon color and dyed the very ends of the tentacles leaving the pinchers watermelon.

"With the Weedless Wacky Worm, the Shad Stick and now the Bird Dawg, we feel we have some original products that flat catch bass," said Kicker Fish owner Kelly Jones. "This is only the beginning. We have several prototypes of other situational baits we're testing, and will be out with shortly, that will be just as effective."

"We're not about cloning other baits, but rather taking great fishing designs and making them better to match the situation."

Instead of putting out reams of generalist baits, Kicker Fish is a specialist company. They've once again hit the specialized mark with the Bird Dawg, and we can't wait to see what they come up with next.