Our take

A frog that swims like a crawler did not exist before the Basirisky. Drop it into the lily pads, reel in slowly, and the sound of the legs pulls up fish you thought had left the spot. At 16.50 EUR, it is one of the most original topwater lures you can put in your box.

Key facts

• Two sizes: Basirisky 60 (63 mm, 14 g) and Basirisky 70 (73 mm, 21 g)
• Floating soft crawler bait, hollow body, made in Japan
• Heavy wire wide gap single hook set along the back, weedless rigging
• Centre weight against body slippage, rear weight moulded with the hook, air vent
• Crawler action on a straight retrieve, with surface wake and sound
• Target species: black bass and pike
• Spots: lily pad mats, thick weed beds, laydowns, edges and open water
• 4 colours: 14 Bull Frog, 05 Fire Saramander, 10 Niji Boa, 09 Bell Tuno

The topwater lure that goes where a buzzbait stalls

A crawler action with no lip and no blade

The two forward facing legs churn the water as soon as you start the retrieve and produce a steady wake, very different from the zigzag path of a frog worked walking the dog style. A straight retrieve at low to moderate speed is enough, with no rod work, which makes the lure accessible even if you are new to topwater fishing. Over open areas, alternate steady phases and pauses of two to three seconds beside the holes so a waiting fish has time to come up. That sound signature sets it apart among topwater lures for black bass.

Three situations where it takes over:

• Lily pad mats and floating weed, where a blade would foul
• Reed edges and laydowns, on a retrieve kept tight to cover
• Open water on calm days, when the wake carries a long way

Hollow body, air vent and twin weights: what the build changes at hookset

The soft body collapses under the jaw of the fish and frees the point of the wide gap single hook. An air vent releases the water held inside the body at that exact moment, which limits the spring effect behind many missed hooksets on conventional hollow frogs. Two weights complete the design: a centre weight that stops the body sliding into the mouth on the hookset, and a rear weight moulded with the hook that seals the body and stabilises the lure in flight. The result is a bait that casts far and accurately, which matters when the gap you are aiming at sits twenty metres under overhanging branches.

Plan on a powerful casting setup and heavy braid to pull fish out of heavy cover, the same base you would use for your lures for pike in dense areas. For reference, the LIVETARGET Ultimate Frog keeps a classic frog action while the Basirisky plays the soft crawler card.