Photos: Savage Gear · supplied retailer imagery
Predator lures · Soft paddletails · Our take
Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail
Craft Cannibal Paddletail — Clear Water and Dark Water mix packs
A baitfish-shaped paddletail with useful size choices, a jig-head-friendly mouth and four-lure colour mixes. Straightforward kit for working through your local perch, zander and pike water.
- Four softbait lures in the mix packs.
- Available in Clear Water and Dark Water mixes.
- Large paddle tail joined to the body by a slender tail bridge.
- Listed sizes run from 6.5 cm at 4 g to 12.5 cm at 20 g.
Make sure it’s the right one. This is the Craft Cannibal Paddletail, with a trout-smolt-inspired profile, large soft eye and hand-painted detailing. The mix packs contain four softbaits.
Tackle Index Score
Tackle Index score
A versatile, straightforward softbait with useful rigging details and size options; durability and the need for separate rigging are the main trade-offs.
- Product Quality8.8/10
- Performance9/10
- Impact on Fish Catching8.6/10
- Ease of Use8.9/10
- Value for Money8.5/10
If you buy through our links, we might get a small kickback, but it won’t cost you a penny extra. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The full story
Who it suits
Is it right for you?
Great for
- Roving perch and zander anglers. The smaller sizes offer a manageable baitfish presentation, with jig-head choice letting you explore different depths.
- Predator anglers building a practical lure selection. Several sizes and two colour mixes give you options while keeping the same straightforward paddletail approach.
Maybe skip if
- Anglers wanting a ready-rigged lure. These are softbait bodies, so allow for appropriate hooks, heads and predator-safe terminal tackle.
- Anglers prioritising durability above everything. A soft body and exposed tail won't shrug off tooth damage like a hard lure.
The lowdown
Introducing the Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail
A baitfish-shaped paddletail with useful size choices, a jig-head-friendly mouth and four-lure colour mixes. Straightforward kit for working through your local perch, zander and pike water.
- Four softbait lures in the mix packs.
- Available in Clear Water and Dark Water mixes.
- Large paddle tail joined to the body by a slender tail bridge.
- Listed sizes run from 6.5 cm at 4 g to 12.5 cm at 20 g.
Quick verdict
A handy softbait to build a predator box around
The Craft Cannibal Paddletail makes sense if you want one familiar lure style across several sizes. Its large paddle, slender tail bridge and jig-head-friendly mouth give you a straightforward starting point for exploring different depths and retrieves.
The catch? You still need to choose suitable rigging, and that lively-looking tail is exposed to teeth and damage. Buy the size that matches your water and tackle, rather than expecting one pack to cover everything.
A versatile, straightforward softbait with useful rigging details and size options; durability and the need for separate rigging are the main trade-offs.
- Product Quality
- 8.8/10
- Performance
- 9/10
- Impact on Fish Catching
- 8.6/10
- Ease of Use
- 8.9/10
- Value for Money
- 8.5/10
Hand-painted detailing, a large soft eye and a purposeful body design make a well-considered package, though the tail remains vulnerable to damage.
The large paddle and slender tail bridge offer a useful swimming presentation that you can adapt through head weight and retrieve.
Size and colour choices help you match the situation, but location and presentation still do the heavy lifting.
A steady retrieve is an accessible starting point, while the jig-head-friendly mouth helps with straightforward rigging.
Four-lure mixes offer useful variety, although separate rigging and replacement of damaged bodies add to the overall spend.
Head to head
How it stacks up
Side by side with the closest kit we've reviewed. This updates as we add more reviews.
Savage Gear
Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail (this one)
Top scorer
Scores are our own, out of 10. Best in each row is in green. Prices change, so check the latest before you buy.
The full rundown
Everything you'll want to know about the Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail
The Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail is the sort of lure that makes a predator box easier to organise. Pick a size, choose a suitable jig head and you've got a familiar baitfish presentation to work around the swim. No elaborate routine needed. Its appeal is versatility rather than some magic promise of a fish every chuck. For perch, zander and pike fishing, that's a sensible place to start: a softbait you can present at different depths without having to learn a completely different lure each time.
The shape takes its cue from a baby trout smolt, with hand-painted detailing and a large soft eye helping the baitfish look along. You don't need trout in your venue for that general profile to make sense, either. Predators aren't reading the label, mate. More important mechanically is the large paddle hanging from a slender tail bridge. That combination gives the tail room to work as water pushes past it, putting movement into an otherwise straightforward swimming presentation. It's a purposeful design, not just a pretty paint job.
There are four listed sizes to think about: 6.5 cm at 4 g, 8.5 cm at 7 g, 10.5 cm at 12 g and 12.5 cm at 20 g. The smaller pair are sensible starting points for perch work and modest baitfish presentations; the bigger pair offer more presence when you're looking at larger predators. Those aren't strict species boundaries, though. Match the local prey and your tackle. Remember that adding a jig head increases the casting weight, which matters particularly with lighter lure rods.
The open mouth is designed for jig-head fit, a dead handy touch on a bait you're likely to rig that way. Take a moment to offer the hook up alongside the body before threading it on. You want a straight finish, with enough hook clearance and the tail section left free to move. A lure bunched up behind the head or threaded on wonky can spoil the presentation before you've even started. Getting that first bit bob on is more useful than immediately reaching for another colour.
On the bank, start with a steady retrieve and use the head weight and your countdown to explore the water. Over clean ground, a lift-and-drop approach gives you another way to cover the lower layers. Around snags, don't blindly let it plummet into every gap; keep an eye on the line and stay in touch. Current, depth and wind all affect the weight you need. There's no single perfect head for every session, and piling on lead isn't automatically the answer when the fishing feels slow.
The four-lure packs come in Clear Water and Dark Water mixes. The Dark Water selection includes Dirty Roach, Olive Hot Orange, Firetiger and Golden Ambulance, giving you several looks to rotate through. That's useful when visibility changes or you want a more noticeable presentation. Just don't turn the pack names into hard rules. A brighter lure can still be worth a chuck in clear water, while a quieter look may suit other conditions. Work through your options with a bit of purpose rather than changing after every empty cast.
There are practical limits, of course. You're buying softbait bodies rather than a complete ready-to-cast setup, so suitable rigging needs to be part of the plan. The soft tail is also sitting right where a short-taking fish can nip it. That's normal paddletail territory, but it's still a reason to carry spares. Where pike are a realistic possibility, use an appropriate bite-resistant trace, even if perch are your main target. A smaller lure doesn't stop a pike having a cheeky go, and safe tackle comes first.
The strongest reason to choose the Craft Cannibal is that it gives you a straightforward platform to learn your water with. Keep the size consistent for a while, alter depth or speed deliberately, and you can build a clearer picture of where the fish want the lure. That won't rescue every blank, but it beats random chopping and changing. If you enjoy roving between swims with a compact selection of softbaits and heads, this fits neatly into that approach. Practical, adaptable and without too much faff.
Specifications
The nuts and bolts
- Lure type
- Soft-plastic paddletail
- 6.5 cm version
- 4 g
- 8.5 cm version
- 7 g
- 10.5 cm version
- 12 g
- 12.5 cm version
- 20 g
- Mix packs
- Four lures; Clear Water or Dark Water
Specs checked with Savage Gear, Oct 2026.
Spot a model or spec change?
Our take
Get the depth right before changing the colour
Those colour mixes are handy, but head weight and retrieve speed do much of the graft. A sensible starting point is the lightest jig head that lets you keep track of the lure at your chosen depth.
Work a few casts through one layer, then adjust. Swapping colours every other chuck won't tell you much if the lure keeps passing well above the fish.
Design and rigging
Closer look: the tail does the talking
The Craft Cannibal combines a trout-smolt-inspired body with a large soft eye and hand-painted detail. The important moving part is its broad paddle, linked to the body by a slender tail bridge. Keep that section free when rigging; a hook extending too far towards the tail can interfere with the movement you're buying it for.
The open mouth is intended to fit a jig head. Choose the hook length for the body and the head weight for the swim, rather than treating those as the same decision. Deeper or faster water may need more weight, but that doesn't necessarily mean you want a much longer hook.
Worth knowing. The listed 4 g, 7 g, 12 g and 20 g weights refer to the lure sizes. Your jig head and other rigging add to the complete casting weight. Check that total against your rod's casting range.
Picking your setup
Who it suits: roving anglers who like to keep things simple
For perch anglers moving between canal features, stillwater margins or sheltered river swims, the smaller versions make a sensible starting point. Carrying a few suitable head weights lets you change depth and fall speed without filling a bag with entirely different lures. Start controlled and work out where the fish are sitting.
The larger versions suit anglers wanting a bigger baitfish presentation for pike or zander, provided the rod and terminal tackle match the job. Size alone doesn't select your catch, though. Local prey, visibility and the fish's mood still matter, so don't assume the biggest bait is always the best shout.
It's less convenient if you simply want to clip on a finished lure and cast. You'll need to sort the rigging, and a fixed mix may include colours that spend longer in the box. If you already know one particular shade does the job on your water, an assortment isn't automatically better value.
The practical bits
FAQs in full: size, rigging and colour choices
Which size should you buy? Start with the baitfish you're trying to represent and the tackle you own. The 6.5 cm and 8.5 cm versions cover smaller presentations; the 10.5 cm and 12.5 cm versions offer a bigger profile. These are useful starting points, not rules about what each species will eat.
Is it ready to fish from the pack? Plan on adding appropriate rigging to these softbait bodies. A suitable jig head is the straightforward option, with the open mouth designed to accommodate it. Thread the lure straight, check the hook point is clear and give it a short swim where you can see it before working the spot.
Should you choose Clear Water or Dark Water? Use the names as a starting guide, not a restriction. The Dark Water mix contains Dirty Roach, Olive Hot Orange, Firetiger and Golden Ambulance. If bites aren't coming, check your depth and pace before deciding colour must be the problem.
On paper
Pros & cons
What we like
- Four size options give you useful scope across predator setups.
- Open mouth is designed to accommodate a jig head.
- Large paddle and slender tail bridge put movement at the heart of the design.
- Four-lure mixes provide colour options without buying each separately.
- Hand-painted detail and a large soft eye give it a convincing baitfish look.
Worth knowing
- Needs suitable hooks or jig heads before you can fish it.
- Soft tails are vulnerable to teeth and short takes.
- A fixed colour mix may leave you with shades you use less often.
Want one?
Add it to your Wanted list or join a Group Buy — shops see anonymous totals only.
Your questions answered
What anglers want to know
The stuff you’d ask your mate on the next peg. Straight answers, no waffle.
01Which size should I choose?
Which size should I choose?
The 6.5 cm and 8.5 cm versions are sensible starting points for perch and smaller baitfish presentations. The 10.5 cm and 12.5 cm versions offer a bigger mouthful for larger predators. Match the complete rig's weight to your rod, not just the softbait's weight.
02Does it come ready to fish?
Does it come ready to fish?
The mix packs contain four softbait lures. Plan on adding suitable jig heads or other appropriate rigging; the open mouth is designed for jig-head fit.
03What's in the Dark Water mix?
What's in the Dark Water mix?
The Dark Water mix contains Dirty Roach, Olive Hot Orange, Firetiger and Golden Ambulance. Treat these as useful visibility options, rather than colours that only work in coloured water.
What anglers say
The word from the bank
Our read: a handy softbait to build a predator box around. The strongest reasons to choose it are four size options give you useful scope across predator setups. and open mouth is designed to accommodate a jig head.; the main trade-off is needs suitable hooks or jig heads before you can fish it..
Our take on the feedback
Why it appeals
Checked Sept '26 — “Four size options give you useful scope across predator setups.”
Best fit
Checked Sept '26 — “Roving perch and zander anglers: The smaller sizes offer a manageable baitfish presentation, with jig-head choice letting you explore different depths.”
Worth knowing
Checked Sept '26 — “Needs suitable hooks or jig heads before you can fish it.”
Tackle Index’s take from the product details and fishing fit we checked. We haven’t found enough independent public feedback to call this an angler consensus yet.
Angler score
What our readers rate Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail
No angler score yet — nobody's reviewed Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail here. Be the first and get the score started.
Owner reports
Own this? Help the next angler.
Quick multiple-choice reports from people who say they own the Savage Gear Craft Cannibal Paddletail. Not verified purchases, and kept separate from our score.
No owner reports yet.
Alternatives & go-withs
