The diving lip and specially-designed tail give the Super Toad a tight wiggle. Add to that the over 70 finishes and high-contrast, protruding eyes, and you have a bass lure of few equals. This bait was designed to be cast; however, the Super Toad will also catch bass when trolled, especially for late-season, deep-water smallmouth.

Like most crankbaits, the Super Toad will catch fish when cast out and simply reeled back to the boat or shore. However, good bass fishermen don't just pitch it out and wind it back in. They approach crankbait fishing with the same finesse and planning as they would fishing plastic worms, flipping jigs and grubs.

Bass, particularly largemouth, are object-oriented fish, and the wise angler casts his crankbait at targets such as stumps, downed timber, rocks and boat docks. Bass of all species use these objects as cover throughout the fishing season. They also use these objects as hiding places from which to attack prey, a situation made for crankbaits.

To fit most casting situations, the Super Toad comes in two versions: the deep-diving Super Toad, which will run 10-12 feet on the cast, and the Super Toad II, a short-billed bait which runs 6-8 feet depending upon variables such as line diameter, speed of retrieve, and length of cast.

The Super Toad II works best in shallow cover when there is debris or weeds on the bottom. The deep-diving Super Toad works in deeper water. However, bass fishermen can borrow a trick from the walleye fisherman's book when fishing shallow cover in lakes and reservoirs with a clean bottom. Use the deep-diving Super Toad and slowly crank it back, letting it bang and bump and work its way back by digging and diving along the bottom.

This bump-and-grind technique is a close imitation of a crawfish scuttling its way along. It's deadly on bass and any other fish that considers crawfish a top-line item on the menu. Work the bait from water as shallow as six inches.

The deep-diving Super Toad is also a good bait in shallow brush. The big lip and nose-down attitude of the crankbait during a slow retrieve keep the bait hopping over limbs and branches. While many fishermen are wary of casting a crankbait with a pair of super-sharp treble hooks into woody areas, that's where bass hang out. It's possible to slowly, methodically work through such cover as submerged beaver huts and downed trees without hanging up.

The secret is accurate casting and a slow, halting retrieve. When fishing a crankbait around timber, the fisherman will feel the crankbait bump as it runs into limbs and branches. The secret to not getting hung up is to pause at the bump and let the bait float up over the obstruction before continuing the retrieve. Often, that's when hits come.

If you're going to use Super Toads exclusively in timber, you might also choose to change the treble hooks to one size smaller and use beaked trebles with turned-in points. Both changes will decrease that chance of hang-ups.

There are over 70 finishes in the Super Toad line. All finishes are made in both the deep-diving version and the shallow diver. Each finish can come with either a clear diving bill or one colored to match the finish. The baits can be purchased with rattles or without. That's over 500 choices! It takes a mighty big tackle box to haul all those crankbaits around. Fortunately, bass fisherman can narrow the field considerably.

First, look at the water you're fishing and consider the forage that bass are likely to be eating. If you're after smallmouths or are fishing rocky waters, then the crawfish and crawdad finishes are naturals. If shad or minnows are a major forage base, then the shad and "bass" finishes are a must. There are also a number of metallic finishes that are required when minnows are a predominant food for bass. Also, in most systems, bass have a color they respond to readily. Chartreuse is a frequent favorite as is bone.

And don't forget wild card colors. Many of the Super Toad finishes were developed for salmon or steelhead, yet they work well for bass. A favorite color in the Northwest where the Super Toad was developed is metallic red. It's especially effective on smallmouth in large rivers.

Unless you're fishing very shallow water most of the time, the deep diving Super Toad is the version you will use most frequently. The long bill keeps the crankbait from snagging and works the bait along the bottom (where you want it to be) from the shallows out to deep water.

In most cases, you will want to buy a Super Toad with rattles. In dark, stained, or muddy water, rattles catch more fish. When fish are neutral or aggressive, rattles will catch more fish. Crankbaits without rattles are most effective when the bass are turned off, such as after a storm front moves through or when fishing pressure is intense.

By thinking through the decision, selecting the right variety of Super Toad becomes easy.

One thing that will put more bass in your livewell is to run your Super Toad into any object you can. Bass use cover to ambush prey. Cast beyond stumps, logs, rocks or docks and then crank the bait so that it bumps into these objects. Any bass lying in ambush will hit it.

Try casting over the corner of docks and flipping your line off the corner so that the Super Toad will swim under the dock itself. You can also tune your lure so that it will run to the right or left under the corner of overhead cover.

While crankbaits work reeled straight back after the cast, they generally work better if you vary the retrieve. Frequently stop reeling and let your bait pause and start to rise. Also, try sporadic twitches of the rod tip during the retrieve.

Another special technique that deserves mention is ripping. Cast your bait out and reel it down to depth. Then, rather than reeling it straight in, pull the rod back toward you while holding it parallel to the water. Reel in the slack as you move the rod back to the starting position. Do this all the way back to the boat. Every pump of the rod tip causes the bait to dart to and along the bottom; every pause while you reel in allows the bait to rise toward the surface.

While the Super Toads are diving crankbaits, they also work as a surface bait. After you cast, let the Super Toad sit on the surface for a second. Twitch your rod tip gently. Do this several times before you start your retrieve; the idea is to create the impression of a small creature struggling on the surface.

Also, when you're trolling, don't troll in a straight line. Troll in and S-pattern or make short, sharp turns. Pop your motor into and out of gear. Be as erratic as you possibly can and still maintain control of your boat while staying at the depth where the fish are located.

And lastly, be inventive in your use of the Super Toad. It's a versatile crankbait that will catch bass if you give it a chance.

All Worden's Lures' crankbaits are hand tuned at the factory to run straight and true. But sometimes a bait needs a little extra tuning to run properly. The process is simple. Bend the lure eye slightly in the direction opposite of the way the lure is running. If the bait is running to the right, bend the eye to the left. If it is running to the left, bend the eye to the right.

Bending the eye is fairly easy. Open a pair of needle-nose pliers and place one jaw on the edge of the plastic lip and the other on the eye that is imbedded in the plastic lip. Apply enough pressure to slightly bend the eye. Check by running the lure next to the boat and make sure the adjustment did what you wanted it to. Adjust as needed.

A properly tuned crankbait will dive deeper and provide just the right action to lure a lethargic largemouth from his lair.