The second design focus for the Timber Tigers is to build in the best possible action and body vibration. All have great action throughout a full range of speed control. In addition to this, the design, construction, and molding allow virtually identical action, lure after lure, now and in the future. Lures like the DC-8 are world class featuring perfect balance combined with a vicious vibration. By their very nature, the Tigers are made to deflect or glance off bottom cover, but each one will take fish in clear, open water without any bottom or cover contact at all!

A third, very important job for every Tiger model is to provide a specific, identifiable tool function for the angler. Each lure functions best at a depth range clearly outlined on the package. A lot of cranking techniques can be learned with the Timber Tigers but they are a modern departure from the many crankbaits that just seem to have no specific design purpose or niche in today's more sophisticated angling scene.

Today, sensational, consistent tournament wins and big catches have made modern crankbaits the lure of the decade and it is now accepted by most anglers that these lures require a skill level equal to various finesse baits like grubs and plastic worms or topwaters. Anglers have finally discovered that one can just cast and crank or work a crankbait through stumps, brush, rocks and suspended fish with ever increasing levels of skills for some really outstanding catches.

As crankbait design improved from the heavy, slower vibrating, "bowling pin" durability of the past to thinner body walls and computer modeled body shells, plastic crankbaits began to act, sound and vibrate like wood lures with a higher degree of manufacturing consistency, and most importantly, a degree of durability between the early heavy duty lures and true wood lures. Here are some insider tips to enjoy modern, high vibration plastic crankbaits yet extend their service life!

Often such lures are returned as "leakers" but this mistake occurs in the tacklebox or sometimes by stepping on a lure in the boat. Take special care to avoid this on wood and modern plastic lures.

All this means to you as an angler is to avoid glancing or cracking your lures off rocks, rip-rap, bridge abutments and pilings as water temperatures drop. Feather or thumb your casts to avoid constant above surface contact with hard objects. Under the surface, continue to run your lures as you usually do in cover.

Just bend the two side tines out slightly just below the barb with a needle nose pliers, or only sharpen the downturned tine and point. This is the point that actually catches most fish. To find the two side tines, just lay the belly hook split ring so the round portion is flat to the lure belly. You will quickly see the true down-turned tine and the right and left tines that pivot around the side of the lure in motion. Adjust accordingly.

Simply bend the line tie loop on the nose or lip in the direction you want the lure to go. Bend the line tie as if on a hinge and never, ever twist it! If the lure runs to the left of a straight line to your rod tip, cautiously bend the line tie to the right, or vice versa. Tune at or near the actual speed you intend to use the lure. A thin tip long-nose pliers works best on shallow runners, and a small linesman's pliers with a square jaw works great on deep divers.

1. Get at least one Timber Tiger model in a bright fluorescent color like chartreuse-green back, fire tiger or a strong white like Texas shad. These colors are much easier to track visually as you guide the lure through branches and brush-wear polarized glasses!
2. Find a select laydown tree, blowdown tree, stump field, standing brush pile or standing timber section of your lake and guide your lures through at point-blank range. If you get hung up, you can easily poke the lure off these shallow obstructions and find the limits of each model. You will learn what forward speed or technique gives the best resistance to wedging or hanging the hooks.
3. The lures usually come through obstructions best with a continued forward motion and the correct speed. However, you can tap cover and let the lures rise, back up and then come forward or actually flip it over horizontal branches after you ease it up to them. Forward motion of the lure allows the lip to roll the body sideways and the hook points will turn upward as you come over the branches, gaining further protection from the ramp-like action of the side fins. Remember, when a lure stops, the hooks drop straight down.
   1. You can touch the lure on cover (sense of feel) and back it up just enough to come forward again as it floats up and continue your retrieve.
   2. You can touch cover and back up or float up the lure several times without moving forward away from the cover. This is called "sawing" and it is done by lightly sweeping the rod tip and pushing it forward again. This technique allows fish more time to react.
   3. You can touch or tap cover and give a long slow, or sudden backup by the speed you push your rod tip back towards the lure. The DC-8 is especially good at backing up. This is a proven strike trigger. Some deep diving Timber Tigers will back up over one foot from contact with cover.
   4. Remember, smaller lures tend to wedge more in dense cover than wider, more buoyant models. This is a fact even with snag resistant features. Choose the best model for individual applications.
   5. When you contact cover, especially rocks, a high rod tip position helps spring the lure up and over the crevices and reduces wedging. High lure speeds and a rod tip down position in rocks will eventually wedge your lures.

You can practice up close with a bright colored lure so you can see it easier and try coming through by a constant forward retrieve, tapping and rolling the lure through, or a "tap-touch and rise" technique. An hour or less of fishing this way will let you be creative with your technique. Be sure to quickly and firmly guide striking fish away from densest section of wood cover!

Today, with the re-introduction of beaver, their lodges or "houses" are found in public waters in many states. The lodges are always fish magnets and see few crankbaits because of their density of tangled branches. These lodges are prime targets for Timber Tiger deep divers and shallow runners.

When cranking beaver lodges you can come across the protruding branches at a right angle. Remember, the lodge has an entrance deep under the branches and fish will hold there or out under the branches that beavers drop outside the lodge. Note how far away these hidden branches are from the main lodge--feel for them with a deep diving Timber Tiger.

Laydown Logs--Remember the rule about "y" shaped sections of branches-always go from the narrow point of the V-shape to the wider, open end to avoid wedging. The Timber Tiger lets you cast right over most horizontal logs and jiggle or flip your lure right over them and keep going. Try a straight retrieve with a "touch and float up" retrieve here. The Tigers will let you conquer a situation like this without fear.

Cranking Rocks--The Timber Tigers are among the all time best crankbaits on rock bottoms. From the jagged, deep crevices of the volcanic basalt rock in the Northwest; to the tumbled limestone rip-rap of the South, the Tiger lures offer fish-triggering deflection and high snag resistance when conventional lures can't cut it. Always keep speeds low or medium-steady in rocks to avoid wedging your lure. As soon as you touch bottom, back off and just maintain steady, smooth contact. You can back up lures like the DC-8 or deeper divers if you feel a pause or wedging effect. Be quick to point your rod tip forward if you wedge and back out again. A high rod tip position (see inset) is best in the most jagged rock crevices, it helps the buoyancy of your lure to roll or spring it off rocks. Avoid abusing your lure above the surface by glancing off rocks.

Docks with Cables--Be creative with your Tigers as you learn more about them! Early field testers soon learned they could accurately cast over docks cabled to the shore and lure out big fish where conventional crankbaits fear to tread. The fish were fought out at close range and then slid up to the cables. When no fish were present, the lures were brought up to the cable, then flipped over it with a quick, drawing motion. The DC-8 and DC-4 were used for this inventive technique.

Running Super Shallow--The Timber Tiger DC-1 and DC-2 can solve some tough lure presentation problems. Use them over shallow algae slime-coated bottoms, over leaf-cluttered bottoms, point blank along shallow shorelines, or over submerged weed growth.

Use the rod tip variable depth control feature to surface bulge the lure with a high rod tip and slow speed or take it down to one or two feet all on the same retrieve. You can also use the lure as a topwater and the small DC-1 is deadly this way. Many anglers think they need a stick minnow or chugger to topwater but the DC-1 does all this and more by just cracking or popping the lure under the surface and then continuing with a tight wiggle, ankle-deep retrieve. Crank as fast you want or as slow as you want with these versatile lures!