Citrus Splash for Mexican Bass

The Citrus Shad Fat Free Shad is a long term staple for Mexican largemouths, still producing long after it was introduced to the world by Bassmaster Classic winner Mark Davis in 1995. There’s just something about that color – white side, a pale blue back, bright greenish accents (forgive me if I mischaracterized it, I’m colorblind) – that makes ‘em mad.

Not surprisingly, just about every company that makes a deep-diving crankbait makes something similar, not necessarily for the small Mexican market, but rather because it’s a proven winner, so if the offerings from Strike King, 6th Sense, Berkley, Lucky Craft, SPRO or Rapala are more to your liking, you can still match this particular hatch. It might be called “Aurora Citrus” or “Candy Citrus” or might not even have the C-Word in its name, but the point is the same. Variations of this pattern get bass to strike.

I’m not sure, then, why I’ve largely restricted its use to crankbaits that dive over 10 feet deep. Is there some science behind it, or is it just that I’m hidebound to tradition? When it comes to squarebills, for example, I’m more likely to throw something in chartreuse with a black back, or Tennessee shad than I am something citrusy. That’s despite the fact that several of my favorite shallow deflection-dependent crankbaits, like the Lucky Craft RC Series, come in this pattern. The one comparatively shallow-diving crank where I use the citrus pattern more often is SPRO’s Little John, which has flat sides and a tighter wiggle.

Of all of the manufacturers out there, Lucky Craft seems to have the widest citrus footprint. In addition to the squarebills and deep divers referenced above, you can get a Pointer Minnow in their comparatively muted Citrus Shad pattern.

Lucky Craft is also one of the few companies that makes citrus-patterned and similarly-named topwaters. For example, if you hunt around a little you might be able to find a Sammy in Citrus Shad.

Sometimes if you want citrus-themed topwaters you have to search by the names of the specific fruits. For example, Evergreen offers their topwater walking bait in Lime Skeleton Ayu.

And Lobina offers my favorite Rico and Rio Rico poppers in Lime Ice. [We’ll leave orange and tangerine alone for now, since they might have enough entrants for an article of their own – although I did once write about the “cantaloupe-colored” spinnerbait Mark Menendez used to catch the former B.A.S.S. record tournament bass].

While the die-hard big swimbait crowd seemingly tends to focus on both lifelike and oddball paint jobs (e.g., carp patterns, tribal designs), in the soft realm you can find some citrus options. For example, Strike King’s Shadalicious is offered in Citrus Shad. The Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper, which I frequently use on the back of a swim jig or Chatterbait (and Carolina Rig in Mexico, albeit in different colors), comes in Lime Ice. Yamamoto’s Zako trailer comes in a watermelon/lemon laminate.

The love extends to swim jigs and bladed jigs, too. In the latter category, for example, the Z-Man Chatterbait Custom and the Teckel Bladewaker are offered in Citrus Shad. The V&M Pacemaker comes in Citrus. The uber-popular Evergreen Jack Hammer apparently does not. [As a side note: The Pepper Baits Commando Rumbler bladed jig comes in Plum Passion, which represents a fruit, but not a citrus fruit. Just sayin’.]

V&M likewise offers a non-bladed swim jig in Citrus. 6th Sense has the creatively-named “Raw Candy Citrus” as well as “Shad Citrus” in their Divine Swim Jigs. Dirty Jigs has the more subtly named Citrus Shad, as do several others.

The citrus theme isn’t as prevalent isn’t as prevalent in wire baits as it is in hard baits – “cole slaw” is more common than “citrus,” apparently -- but they can be found if you search a bit. Nichols, for example makes a Citrus Shad version of their Electrum, Gold Rush and Mother Lode series.

Booyah even offers a Citrus Shad pattern in some of their buzzbaits. D&M makes “Citris Shad,” which I assume is the same thing.

So who is going to be the first to head out on El Salto or Picachos with a full quiver of nothing but citrus shad lures – covering everything from the surface down to 25 feet or beyond?