Client Catches – A Happy ‘Chappy’
Writing this post has been on my radar for a while now, as it not only does it tell the story of what was a wonderful mid-autumn client capture by a gentleman who who very rarely gets the chance to fish, but it also aims to highlight the virtues of yet another lure that I have the utmost confidence in – the IMA Chappy – both in the 80 and 100 guise.
Disclosure!
Before I continue, I do need to disclose a couple of things in case you weren’t already aware… Firstly, I am a Brand Ambassador for IMA UK and Ireland, and secondly, the transparent/translucent configuration of the IMA Chappy pictured above (and below in the 80 and 100 form) are indeed my concept, that IMA, via Tacklewave Ltd, considered was something worth building. More on my reasons for suggesting it later in this post…
The ‘Happy’ Chappy
Moving swiftly on, and I really do need to pay homage to a great couple of guys, brothers in fact, who have partaken in a number of my guided sessions over the past 12 months, whereby they’ve learnt tons, and have enjoyed many successes.
David (below) is the more regular fisherman of the two who generally fishes from his kayak, and who landed two splendid 55cm bass with me. One was a winter fish with me last December, and the other came out over the recent summer period (the gallery below depicts the contrasting seasons nicely!) Jon (in featured image) on the other hand, could most certainly be described as an ‘occasional angler’ in the sense that he just doesn’t have a great deal of free time due to what is an admirable commitment to his occupation.
Although David gets to cast a lure far more often than Jon, when it comes to working a surface lure I don’t think David will mind me saying that Jon appears to have taken to the ‘walk-the-dog’ (tapping your head and rubbing your belly-type!) technique a little more naturally. And with the IMA Chappy being a comparatively simple surface sliding lure to ‘master’ over some other variants (the Spittin Wire for example) it was with this in mind that I unearthed from my client lure box a rather battered Chappy 100 in the Bora pattern and attached it to Jon’s lure clip during this momentous session.
The venue I’d chosen for this session is somewhere that has produced a lot of bass for my clients and I this year – both small and large I hasten to add. Further, there are two very intriguing elements to this: a) prior to this season, my/our largest bass from this venue was only around 50cm and b) it is one of the few marks that I have in my extensive portfolio in which you can be catching and releasing small bass after small bass, and then a whopper comes along seemingly out of nowhere!
Peering through the branches as I scoffed my Snickers bar, I almost chocked on it as I witnessed a colossal attack on Jon’s brilliantly-worked Chappy, as what I knew instantly was a very good bass did its best ‘Orca maiming a seal pup’ impression! I always joke to my clients when they’re retrieving such lures that “what you want is for a bass to rise, smash that lure, and just keep going in one motion.” Well, that’s precisely what happened! What a hit and run! And one that Jon did superbly well to manage, before brilliantly edging this beast back to my substantial net.
The joy that the 6lb bass above brought to the pair of them is definitely one of the highlights of my guiding season. And it just goes to show that if “you are placed in the right place, at the right time, with the right lure, and you’ve been taught to retrieve it in the right way” anything is possible. Well done Jon, I only wish I’d given you the lure as a memento there and then, as I can reveal that the Chappy 100 you landed her on was inadvertently ‘taken out of active service’ soon after, courtesy of snapping off into the drink during a subsequent guided session…
Attributes
I have written quite a lot in relation to the virtues or attributes of specific lures this season, namely the Patchinko 125 (here) and IMA Hound Sonic 100 and Glide 125 (here). Therefore, I will augment this information by introducing (if you’re not already aware of them) the characteristics applicable to the both the 12g 80 and 18g 100 versions of the IMA Chappy.
I’m probably stating the obvious here, but there are fundamentals components that each model share, and that are indistinguishably ‘Chappy-esque’, such as their action and the angle in which they sit on the surface when resting motionless. Additionally, what I have determined to be the ‘ideal’ way to cast them (which is not to ‘thrash’ them incidentally, and rather to administer a controlled higher, loopier trajectory to the cast) definitely appears to suit both versions of the lure, regardless of the whether you’re casting against the wind or in alliance with it.
As I have alluded too earlier in the post, from what I can ascertained after teaching countless clients how to retrieve all manner of surface lures, both the Chappy 80 and 100 are relatively straight forward lures to get snaking and zigzagging across the water. Moreover (and I love lures that enable this), depending on how quickly, slowly or softly you rhythmically flick your wrist when working the rod and lure, alongside an appealing ‘wake’ on the surface, the meandering angle at which the Chappy ‘swims’ can also be varied – slower, wider and more ‘snakey-wakey’ like an injured fish, or tighter, skipping almost, and more bait fish-like as it were.
To cap it all, they can most definitely be slotted into the ‘hybrid surface lure’ category too. By this, I mean they can be ‘popped’ in the flow very easily without the lure tangling over itself all that often – which is especially useful when you encounter a section of current that is bringing the lure back towards you too quickly to comfortably walk the dog. In fact, I’d say that it is actually more adept at performing this action than my beloved Whiplash Factory Spittin Wire.
Sliding surface lures then… They should only be used in flat calm conditions right? Wrong. I wish I earned an extra tenner for every client who has looked at me oddly when I’ve suggested that they can or should be looking to utilise a surface lures more often within a decent swell, thoroughly choppy, and even moderately rough seas for that matter!
When recovering the Chappy, the whole body will slither horizontally on any pace of retrieve – and wow do they appear tempting in millpond sea conditions. But somewhat surprisingly also, given that the snout of the lure doesn’t sit upright on the retrieve, they do hold their own admirably in some tough sea conditions as suggested above, and will create quite a disturbance even when you think they may become lost in a melee.
So, in summary, the Chappy’s are very, very versatile, and in a variety of sea conditions too. And because of this overall magnificent attribute, they can be effective in both estuarine settings and out on the open coast. Indeed, my clients and I have caught good-sized bass on the them in scenarios ranging from fairly deep water found in the estuary mouths and headlands, where fast moving tidal situations are encountered (in the 18g, 100 size I would suggest) to those inland, quaint and quiet creeks, within brackish water that may be only a few inches deep in relation to the 12g, 80.
The Transparent MC1…
The MC1 then. I’ll keep this simple and will relay the precise ‘description list’ that I wrote and forwarded to Mike at Chesil Bait n Tackle (he’s also the owner of Tacklewave Ltd) so that he could cherry pick the bits that he liked ready for the initial advertising. Within what I thought was a fairly succinct arrangement, detailing just why I believed there was a place for a transparent lure in the bass lure anglers’ armoury, little did I know that he would love the entire ‘write up’ so much that he just posted it up as it was! I did get some ‘stick’ on Facebook for using too many words to describe a lure which did make me smile 🙂
“Hiya Mike,
As promised, please find below a list of quotes in regard to the IMA CHAPPY MC1 – exciting times!
“Bass are capricious as they are rapacious, and when they are in what one can also describe as a ‘finicky mood’ presenting them with something that isn’t too ‘obvious’ can be the way to attain that attack, and turn what might have been a blank into a memorable session.”
“A primarily ‘transparent or translucent’ bodied topwater lure presents a wary, disengaged, or even an otherwise fixated bass with something that they will most certainly be aware of, yet its lack of a discernible profile places an element of doubt in their mind – and where there is uncertainty, a bass’s natural instinct is to strike, and to strike hard!”
“Think bright, sunny, overhead conditions, crystal-clear water clarity and a mirror-like body of water – the quintessential topwater conditions for the inimitable bass. Now, add a subtle ‘disturbance’ on the surface layer, the bait fish scattering or a small predator in its own right harassing them – both are ‘easy meat’ for a marauding, yet inherently circumspect bass. You’re walking the tight rope that is rousing them, without then repelling them, as for every bass we observe ‘following’ our lures, the remaining 99 times when this occurs we are almost certainly unaware of… This is where the crystalline characteristics of the IMA CHAPPY MC1 can give the angler the edge.”
Hope you can pick a few items out of the above mate 
Many thanks and kind regards
Marc”
The Gallery
To conclude, below is a slideshow containing some of the catches that I achieved on the prototype IMA Chappy MC1 80 and 100. These UK Limited Edition versions can be purchased from the following retailers:
My Books (All three are now BACK IN STOCK)
My latest book (released in April 2023) ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2)’ is IN STOCK and available to purchase. Details of the contents within each respective book in the featured image above can be found in the blog post that I wrote upon its release here. Further, various PayPal payment options applicable to each book are also contained within the link above.
Furthermore, my two previous titles: ‘The Lure of The Bass‘ and ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 1‘ are also BACK IN STOCK ready for the Christmas glut of enquires and available via the link(s) above. Therefore, if you would like to reserve and pay for a copy of either of these books, or my latest, and you would prefer to pay by Bank Transfer, you can contact me via the Contact Form below or directly at southdevonbassguide@yahoo.com and I will answer as quickly as I possibly can. Thank you.
Thanks for reading.
Marc Cowling
South Devon Bass Guide Ltd 