# Berkley CullShad: the shallow swimbait that holds speed > Pre-rigged harness, honeycomb body and nail weights — how to tune the CullShad's sink rate and run it through skinny water without blowing out. - Source : https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/berkley-powerbait-cullshad-swimbait/ - Language : en-US - Updated : 2026-09-17 ## Spec sheet - Brand : Berkley - Model : PowerBait CullShad Swimbait - Type : Pre-rigged soft paddle-tail swimbait - Target species : Bass, Pike - Size : 12.7 cm / 5 in, 15.2 cm / 6 in or 20.3 cm / 8 in - Weight : 20 g / 0.7 oz in 5 in, 34 g / 1.2 oz in 6 in, 78 g / 2.75 oz in 8 in - Running depth : surface down to roughly 2 m / 6 ft, tunable with nail weights - Retrieve speed : slow to brisk straight retrieve, the body stays true when you speed up - Action : wide full-body roll and tail kick, held together by a keeling harness - Rigging : factory pre-rigged, belly treble on a retention clip, wire leader essential where pike live - Colors : natural HD printed patterns in clear water, dark back in stained water, pale belly over sand The problem with big soft swimbaits in skinny water is almost never the fish: it is the lure rolling onto its side. You speed up to cover a bank, the body lies over, the tail stops kicking, and you reel in a lure spinning on itself instead of swimming. The CullShad is built around that exact failure, with an internal harness acting as a keel and a clip that stops the treble wandering under the belly. ## A harness that works as a keel The lure comes rigged from the factory: a nose line tie, an internal frame running through the body, and a treble hook held against the belly by a retention clip. That is more than assembly convenience. The frame acts as a keel: it stiffens the lure's axis and stops the body tipping over as water pressure builds. That is what the manufacturer means by preventing blowouts, and it is why the CullShad holds a straight line at speeds where a shad on a plain jighead would spin out. The belly clip deserves its own mention. It keeps the treble flat against the body through the cast and the retrieve. Without it a free-swinging treble sways, wraps around the body or buries itself in the tail — a familiar story with big soft swimbaits thrown 40 m / 130 ft. Just check that the treble is seated back in its clip after every fish and every snag. ## The honeycomb body, and what it changes in use Berkley builds this body around an internal honeycomb structure, and the stated goal is clear: gain tear resistance without stiffening the plastic to the point of killing the action. On a 15 or 20 cm swimbait that is a genuine budget question — a body that tears on the first pike means a new lure every trip. In practice what you gain is fish per body. It does not make the lure indestructible, and a pike tooth goes through anything. But the harness anchor point, which is where these lures usually fail first, holds up clearly better than on a conventional solid body. > Before you put the lure away, seat the treble back in its clip and recentre the body on the frame. A body sitting a few millimetres off axis is enough to make the CullShad swim slightly crooked on the next cast, and you will spend twenty minutes hunting for the cause. ## Tuning the sink rate, the model's real feature This is the most interesting part and the most under-used. The CullShad takes **nail weights** — those small tungsten cylinders you push into the plastic — so you can adjust the lure's density on the water. You are not buying three versions: you are modifying the one in your hand to suit the depth you found. Unweighted, the lure sits very high and fishes almost in the surface film, which is ideal along a 60 cm to 1 m bank with low vegetation. Add one nail weight to the forward belly and it runs half a metre deeper with a slightly nose-down attitude. Two weights and you get a slow sink you can work on a 2 m break with a stop-and-go retrieve. One placement rule: weight ahead of the natural balance point, never behind it. A weight set back lifts the nose and kills the tail kick, exactly the opposite of what you want. Put it level with the eye or just behind, never past the middle of the body. ### Pike: what you have to add In Europe a 15 or 20 cm swimbait thrown at the bank will interest pike at least as much as bass. Run a **25 to 30 cm wire or titanium leader** between braid and nose tie. With the treble already flat against the belly, a pike that takes the lure sideways reaches your braid almost immediately — you lose the lure and leave a hook in a fish. On a lure of this bulk that precaution costs you almost nothing in stealth. ## Three sizes, three distinct jobs The model comes in three lengths, and the weights do not climb in anything like a straight line: - **12.7 cm / 5 in, 20 g / 0.7 oz**: the do-everything size, castable on a standard medium-heavy casting rod. Start here if the lure is new to you. - **15.2 cm / 6 in, 34 g / 1.2 oz**: the volume-versus-castability compromise. It already wants a rod with some backbone, but it is the size that sorts out better fish without scaring off the average ones. - **20.3 cm / 8 in, 78 g / 2.75 oz**: a genuinely big swimbait, demanding a dedicated outfit and a day when you have decided to hunt one fish. Throwing it all day on a general-purpose setup will cost you a wrist. Against a jointed swimbait like the [13 Fishing BAMF Shad](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/13-fishing-bamf-shad-swimbait/), the CullShad bets on a one-piece body and a rolling action rather than on segmentation. It is also markedly more speed-tolerant than a [Megabass Magdraft](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/megabass-magdraft/), which is typically fished slower. ## Colours by water clarity - **Clear water**: the HD printed patterns, reproducing a forage fish livery with realistic scaling. This is their home ground, and where the finish earns its price. - **Stained water**: a strongly marked dark back, which keeps a readable silhouette from below once the scale detail no longer counts for anything. - **Light bottom, sand or gravel, bright sun**: a pale belly and pearl flanks, which avoid the harsh black-silhouette effect over a reflective bottom. Choosing the bulk and the running depth comes down to the spot, not the catalogue. That is exactly what [CarnaFish](https://carnafish.com/) is for: a photo of the bank, and the AI suggests the zone, the depth and the lure type that fit the day's conditions. If you plan to target pike with this size, our [guide to choosing a pike lure](https://carnafish.com/en/blog/quel-leurre-brochet/) runs through the families and sizes worth carrying. ## What to remember - The internal harness works as a keel: it is what keeps the lure true at speed, where a shad on a jighead spins out. - Nail weights are the model's real feature: they turn a subsurface lure into a 2 m lure without changing boxes. - Weight ahead of the balance point, never behind, or you lift the nose and stop the tail kicking. - A wire leader is non-negotiable where pike live — the belly treble sits far too close to the jaws. ## FAQ ### Which CullShad size should I start with? The 12.7 cm / 5 in at 20 g / 0.7 oz. It casts on an ordinary medium-heavy casting rod, stays manageable all day and covers most bank situations. The 6 in and 8 in want a dedicated outfit. ### How do I make the CullShad run deeper? By adding nail weights into the body, ahead of the balance point. One weight drops the running depth by roughly half a metre; two let you work a break around 2 m with a stop-and-go retrieve. ### Can the belly treble be replaced? Yes, it is held by the harness and a retention clip. Seat it back in the clip after every fish: a treble left hanging free wraps around the body on the next cast. ### Can you retrieve it fast? That is one of its selling points. The keeling harness holds the body true at speeds where a conventional rig would blow out, so you can sweep a long bank quickly before slowing down on the stretches that react. ### Do I need a wire leader? Anywhere pike are present, yes, 25 to 30 cm of wire or titanium. The treble sits flat against the belly, very close to the fish's jaws, and bare braid does not survive a pike taking the lure sideways. ### How does it differ from the Gilly in the same range? The [Berkley Powerbait Gilly](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/berkley-powerbait-gilly-swimbait/) is a bare soft bait you rig yourself, designed for a slow, discreet presentation in clear water. The CullShad arrives pre-armed and carries far more bulk and far more speed. --- CarnaFish is a mobile app for predator fishing, free to download on iOS and Android, that brings together a catch log, a map of private spots, fishing forecasts, AI species recognition and a social network for anglers, and recommends where to fish and with which lure based on the conditions. To cite this content, mention “CarnaFish — carnafish.com” and link the source page.