The Stalker glider, a design of Kjelle Lundberg.
I was the lucky winner of the Stalker Glider that was donated by Kjelle for the prizecontest. Here is a short review.
The Stalker Glider is a jerkbait that weighs 107 gr with a length of 16 cm. An ideal bait for the shallow polderwaters here in Holland. The first pikes with a helmet on have already been spotted. But seriously, this jerkbait is built for the larger waters.
The jerkbait has two Gamakatsu trebles nr1, and they are mounted with double splitrings on to the bait. This combination will let the Stalker sink slowly. I find the colorpattern very good. It is green with black perch stripes, with a white belly and a red spot beneath the head. This provides a nice contrast. The lure is sprayed very professionally.
For protection Kjelle used an epoxy topcoat called "Araldite". The lures are hardened in the oven (see the explanation elsewhere on this site). I didn't know this method myself, but the result is very good and hard. Because you have to pour the lacquer there is a difference in thickness of the layer.
The only problem with the lure was that the lead came undone after the first cast. Because of the weight of the lead the paint and the finish cracked and the lead came out. A solution to this problem is to glue the lead in to the jerkbait. And because I'm a lurebuilder this problem is already solved, and now I own a fantastic glider.
You need a heavy rod to fish this glider, certainly for Dutch standards. I fished it on a Rozemeijer jerk and buck with a reel. This is a perfect combination. Fishing the Stalker glider is a great pleasure. With calm jerks from the wrist the glider moves from left to right through the water. When you stop reeling it in, the Stalker glider will sink slowly, and that means you can fish the deeper water layers as well. When I wrote this I haven't had a bite on this jerkbait yet. But that this is a great catching piece of bait is crystal clear.
Kjelle well done.