Unlike other plastic baits, designed to resemble a bait fish when looked at from the side, the Black Mambas look and behave like a feeding or wounded bait fish from below and the side. Underneath is where most fish, especially bass, walleye, lake trout, muskies, pike and other big fish including salt water species, commonly are waiting to ambush their prey.  First, check out the wedge-like front end of the bait. When rigged properly, that "wedge" in front will make the bait move up and down during the retrieve as opposed to a side to side action. That wedge shape also acts like the keel of a boat by separating the grass as it is retrieved and is a big factor in helping these baits slide through vegetation and other thick stuff without hanging up or snagging. Too often, anglers presume that these baits are just like other jerkbaits and fish them as such. The four different lures in the Black Mamba kit, the Slick Willy, Ribbed Willie, Wild Willy and the Atomic Wedgie all have unique features and situations when they should be used. While there are a few similarities, the similarity ends when the Black Mamba® baits hit the water! The Black Mamba baits are far more versatile than any other lure we have ever used, period.

The natural, random "Walking the Dog" gliding action of this bait fools predatory fish into thinking they're getting an easy meal. The Slick Willy can be fished weighted or unweighted to cover a very wide variety of situations. This bait is virtually snagless and weedless and can be thrown into almost any cover or vegetation, without fear of being hung up, due to its unique wedge-shaped head and smooth body.

The Slick Willy has a unique ability to imitate shad or other bait fish that are being chased by a predator. By simply twitching the rod tip during your retrieve, the bait can be made to literally jump right out of the water and dive back in; a true thing of beauty. How many plastic baits can also be fished on top water in a "walking the dog" manner or skittered just under the surface before darting out of the water as well as being able to attract fish by bumping off the bottom. The Slick Willy will virtually suspend when it is fished unweighted, making it a very enticing and easy target for predatory fish. In addition, this bait can be skipped 30 to 40 feet easily under docks and overhanging trees (with very little practice), to get at those bigger fish that are virtually untouched by other anglers. The hard-to-get-at areas where you just can't throw a conventional lure.

You can substitute the Slick Willy for:
w Any topwater bait: rats, frogs, topwater spoons, spooks, poppers, slug-type baits etc.
w Any hard or soft-plastic jerkbait: slug-type baits, flukes, shad imitators, etc.
w Search baits: spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, rattlebaits crankbaits etc.
w Finesse Baits on jigs or w/ nose weights- craws, pork, worms, leeches, minnows, lizards etc
w Trailers- Try them as a trailer on a spinnerbait or a buzzbait when you need a bigger profile

Shaped just like the Slick Willy, the Ribbed Willy performs the same except for one difference. This bait has has ribs cut across the bottom portion of the bait. Unlike the Slick Willy which passes through the water with minimal water vibration, the ribs on this bait cause vibrations and noise that mimic baitfish. The vibrations can be felt and heard by other fish as its retrieved through the water making it the perfect bait for water conditions with low visibility, night fishing or when fishing in deeper water and the bait is not easily visible. These vibrations closely resemble the natural sound a fish makes instead of the un-natural sound that rattling baits give off and because they resemble natural sounds fish will not become conditioned to avoid the bait. The Ribbed Willy gives off additional vibrations when its pulled over or through cover of any type.

You can substitute the Ribbed Willy for:
w Any topwater bait: rats, frogs, topwater spoons, spooks, poppers, slug-type baits etc.
w Any hard or soft-plastic jerkbait: slug-type baits, flukes, shad imitators, etc.
w Search baits: spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, rattlebaits crankbaits etc.
w Finesse Baits on jigs or w/ nose weights- craws, pork, worms, leeches, minnows, lizards etc.
w Trailers- Try them as a trailer on a spinnerbait or a buzzbait when you need a bigger profile

The Atomic Wedgie really excels when fish are finnicky and need to be teased into biting. This is more of a finesse bait and would generally be fished much slower than the rest of the Black Mamba line up. You would use an Atomic Wedgie in the same circumstances where you would normally use worms, craws, tubes and other finesse baits, and even in many circumstances where you might use livebait.

By twitching the rod tip on a slack line, the Atomic Wedgie will pop up off the bottom and slowly sink back in the very same spot it started from. This unique action can be made repeatedly and the Atomic Wedgie will stay within a few inches of its starting point. The Atomic Wedgie usually provokes a reaction strike because of it being tantalizingly waved right in the fish's face. The fish just opens its mouth and lets the lure swim in.

You can substitute the Atomic Wedgie for:
w Any topwater bait: rats, frogs, topwater spoons, spooks, poppers, slug-type baits etc.
w Any hard or soft-plastic jerkbait: slug-type baits, flukes, shad imitators, etc.
w Finesse Baits on jigs or nose weights- craws, pork, worms, leeches, minnows, lizards, grubs, tubes etc
w Trailers- Try them as a trailer on a spinnerbait or a buzzbait when you need a bigger profile

The Wild Willy closely mimics a panicking baitfish. Predators must make a split second decision to take this meal or it will be gone. They usually choose to attack! When fished slowly, with or without weight, the Wild Willy looks just like a feeding baitfish and an easy meal to predators. The Wild Willy has a pronounced turn-tail action which can be used to great effect on predators that are

following but not committing to bite. By letting the line go slack, the Wild Willy will just turn right around into the face of the follower and that is usually met with a reaction strike. The predator just opens his mouth and bites the bait without thinking.

Please refer to our Tips and Tricks section for more great advice on how to catch more fish with the Black Mamba baits. Many of these tricks are covered in the Instructional Video which comes as part of the kit.

You can substitute the Atomic Wedgie for:
w Any topwater bait: rats, frogs, topwater spoons, spooks, poppers, slug-type baits etc.
w Any hard or soft-plastic jerkbait: slug-type baits, flukes, shad imitators, etc.
w Search baits: spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, rattlebaits crankbaits etc.