Strike King 6XD original sexy shad color

It may be hard for younger anglers – or those of us experiencing the memory lapses of old age – but there was a time when “Sexy Shad” was not in the fishing vernacular.

The first time I can recall hearing it was when KVD won an Elite Series event at Grand Lake in 2007. He caught his fish on Strike King Series 5 and Series 6 crankbaits and seemed amused to announce that they’d both been Sexy Shad. "It's a color I developed for Strike King and they're going to be introducing it,” he told BassFan. “It's the same one I won Guntersville with."

Since that time it’s become an industry standard, albeit sometimes referred to in other ways. It’s a great shad or universal baitfish imitator, and the little bit of chartreuse seems to be a bite trigger.

Since those ancient days, KVD has ridden Sexy Shad to millions of dollars in winnings – with his third and fourth Classic wins coming after that time. Meanwhile, Strike King has built out a Sexy Shad empire. Here are some of the variations they’ve developed.