Core Tackle Scamper Rig Review

One of the newest additions to the innovative Core Tackle lineup is the Scamper Rig. Designed by Pro Angler Matt Becker, the scamper rig offers a new and unique way to fish soft plastic jerkbaits.

Let’s take a deeper look at the scamper rig to figure out if it is worth adding to your arsenal.

What is the Scamper Rig?

The scamper rig from Core Tackle is built to internally wait and exposed hook, primarily to be paired up with a fluke style bait.

The rig consists of a straight shank hook with a lead wait laced on the shank of this hook, as is standard for most Core Tackle products. This lead wait has essentially three purposes.

First, it of course acts to wait the soft jerkbait down and make it sink a bit faster. The bottom heavy design of this lead weight also brings the bait back to a vertical position, keeping the hook point up.

Second, the lead weight also acts as the bait keeper, making sure that your soft plastic stays in place, even when fishing it very erratically.

And last but certainly not least, the internally weighted hook design gives the baits a much more balanced and fluent action in the water.

Matt Stefan and Jonny Shultz describe it as a “vibrating” action. Essentially, as you retrieve the fluke on the scamper rig, it has a rapid, swimming and snaking action much like a jointed swimbait.

But it is much quicker and more erratic, creating a very unique way to fish the soft jerkbait profile.

Advantages of the Scamper Rig

From my analysis and testing of the scamper rig, there are really two big advantages that it has over more traditional soft jerkbait rigging options. These are action and hook up ratio.

1. Action

The action of a bait is critical to catching fish. The action needs to be either be very natural or very unique. Either fool the bass into thinking it is eating the real deal or show it something it’s never seen to take advantage of its curious nature.

I have found that depending on how you retrieve the scamper rig, you can essentially check both of those boxes at the same time. First of all, the “vibrating” action of the scamper rig is incredibly natural and looks just like a fleeing baitfish.

This rig was originally designed by Matt Becker in order to mimic Herring which are a long, thin baitfish with erratic swimming motions. And it certainly accomplishes that to a tea.

But the action and profile is universal enough that it still works great at mimicking all types of baitfish. Personally, all the lakes that I fish are either bluegill or shad based lakes and don’t have any Herring at all.

And I haven’t had any problems catching bass with the scamper rig. The best thing about the action of the scamper rig is that it shows the bass a soft jerkbait in a way they’ve never seen.

Because of how popular soft jerkbaits are, every bass has seen one darting and gliding around time and time again. But they haven’t seen one actually swimming or vibrating past their face.

2. Hook Up Ratio

If you have fished soft jerkbaits for a long time, you know that the normal hook up ratio is not the best.

Simple because of the nature of fishing a weedless style hook on a thick soft plastic, you lose a good amount of bass.

But because of the exposed hook of the scamper rig, the hook up ratio is phenomenal. I have pretty much hooked into every bass that has actually eaten the bait (obviously the bass that just nip or slap the bait will still rarely get hooked).

This exposed hook also allows you to fish with spinning gear if you like. Normally, you would need heavier casting gear to make sure you can put enough power into the hook set.

But with an exposed hook, you really don’t need much power to stick the fish. Of course, the scamper rig is not going to be great for fishing heavy cover or vegetation.

Without the standard weedless design, it will hang up on brush and grass. But when bass bite it, they stay on much better than with a weedless rigged technique.

How to Retrieve the Scamper Rig

There’s really no right or wrong way to fish this rig. I’ve had plenty of success fishing just like you would a standard fluke setup.

But the way it was designed to be fished and the way Matt Stefan demonstrates is a quick crank or rod sweep retrieve.

Either with quick reel turns or a sideways sweep of your rod, you are trying to make the bait quickly swim towards you 5-6 feet.

Then you pause it for a couple of seconds and repeat. The soft jerkbait will vibrate and erratically swim when you pull it and then reset and horizontally sink as it is paused.

Again, there really isn’t any wrong way to fish it, but this is how I have been using it for the best results.

Gear Setup

Because this is still a rather new rig and technique, I haven’t quite dialed my perfect setup.

In fact, I still can’t quite decide whether I prefer spinning or casting gear with the scamper rig. It works great with both, and as of right now, I think that whichever rod you prefer to use is the best option.

I mostly fish the scamper rig on a baitcaster because I simply have more fun fishing a baitcaster.

For line, this is definitely a fluorocarbon technique. I like 10-12 lb fluorocarbon line if I am fishing the scamper rig on a spinning rod and then 12-15 lb fluorocarbon if I am using a casting rod.

Again, I haven’t yet dialed in the perfect setup, but the scamper rig is super versatile and will work well on just about everything.

Is it Worth It?

This is really all that matters. All that talk sounds great, but is the scamper rig really worth buying. In my opinion, it is only worth buying if you are someone who loves fishing soft jerkbaits.

I don’t think it is a game changing rig that will become your new favorite technique if you have never fished much with soft jerkbait, fluke style baits.

But if you love fishing that style of bait and are looking for another way to elevate your game, then yes, I do think that the scamper rig is worth it.

Me personally, I love fishing soft jerkbaits. Ever since I was a little kid, it has been a go-to bait for me and it is definitely in my top 5 of most used baits.

So I am very glad I bought a bunch of scamper rigs because it adds a new element and new versatility to one of my most used techniques.

But if you never really fish soft jerkbaits, I honestly don’t think the scamper rig is worth it. I would guess it will just end up sitting at the bottom of your tackle box and never really get any use.

And lastly, if you are simply a tackle junky like I know a lot of you are, than yeah, it’s definitely worth getting. Because us tackle junkies don’t seem to care much about how much we use our tackle, getting new tackle is half the fun!

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Reeling this In

The Scamper Rig is a refreshing twist on the classic soft jerkbait presentation, offering standout action and a significantly improved hook-up ratio.

While it may not be a must-have for every angler, it’s a solid addition for those who already love throwing fluke-style baits or are always on the hunt for new ways to trigger bites.

Whether you’re looking to show pressured fish something different or simply want to expand your soft plastic arsenal, the Scamper Rig delivers a unique edge.

For die-hard soft jerkbait fans and tackle enthusiasts alike, it’s definitely worth a spot in the rotation.