Black Dog Bait Co.
Lunker Punker
07/08/08
Black Dog Bait Company lure designer Jeremy Andersen worked diligently to create a topwater lure that would mimic the panicked gliding of a planter trout. After numerous iterations, he produced the Lunker Punker, a balsa trout replica with an action so novel that the United States Patent Office granted it a design patent only a few months after Black Dog applied for it.
The lure currently comes in both trout and shiner patterns, and Black Dog is planning to introduce new finishes like tilapia in the near future. But while the painstakingly airbrushed finishes are more realistic than anything else on the market, it’s the action that makes the Punker special. The perfect weighting, combined with the ramped chin design, makes the bait glide just like a disoriented hatchery trout. It has no rattles or other noisemakers to provide negative cues, but it does have quality hooks and hyperwire split rings to ensure that the bass of a lifetime stays buttoned.
The largest confirmed largemouth caught on the Lunker Punker was a 14-09 brute, and while Andersen and partner Grant Olquin are happy to hear about any successes you might have with their lures, to be quite honest ten pounders don’t really raise many eyebrows in their offices any more.
For a long time the Punker was exclusively an underground phenomenon, available only to a select few anglers who were in the know, but now Black Dog is cranking them out as fast as they can, in both the original 9” version and a junior version, three inches smaller. They’re available to the general public through outlets like www.TackleWarehouse.com. You can also order them direct from the manufacturer at www.BlackDogBaits.com. If you’re not already sold, the site has videos which demonstrate how all of their lures work – but don’t look unless you want to catch more big fish.