Built for Control: Fishing the Kraken from Livingston Lures
The Kraken from Livingston Lures was built around a simple goal: create a musky jerkbait that gives anglers more control without making the retrieve harder than it needs to be.
That sounds easy on paper. It was not easy in design or production. After the success of the Titan and Titan Jr., I wanted the next lure to keep pushing forward. The Kraken had to be versatile, durable, adjustable, and easy enough for almost any angler to fish with confidence. At the same time, it had to have the kind of action that experienced musky anglers could fine tune and push into different situations.
That is what makes the Kraken different. It is a complex lure that creates a simple fishing experience.
The first thing most anglers notice is how easy it is to work. You do not need to beat yourself up all day to make the Kraken move right. Short bursts with the reel handle will make it dance and advance through the water column. Traditional sweeps, pulls, upward pops, taps, and reel stops all work. The lure transfers rod movement efficiently, so you get action without the constant fatigue that comes from overworking a heavy jerkbait.
That matters. Musky fishing is already physical. A lure that can be thrown all day and still produce the right action has real value.
The Kraken is also one of the most adjustable musky lures I have designed. It comes standard with a 28 gram insert weight. With that stock setup, it can run in the six to ten foot range when worked with a moderate upward popping retrieve. Change the rod angle and use sharper side sweeps, and the lure can be kept higher in the water column, closer to that three to four foot zone.
That ability to change running depth through retrieve angle is a major part of the lure’s design. You are not locked into one presentation. You can make the Kraken fit the water in front of you.
Remove the stock weight, and the lure becomes a very shallow running option. In that setup, the Kraken can be worked in inches of water. That is a big deal around shallow vegetation, tight cover, and places where a normal jerkbait may foul or dig too aggressively. Without the weight, the Kraken has a slower fall and more hang time between sweeps and pops. That slower look can be deadly when muskies are negative, neutral, or following without committing.
The weight system also allows anglers to make small adjustments instead of major changes. The Kraken uses the same style of weighting concept found in the Titan family, with 7, 14, 21, and 28 gram options. Those weights can also be stacked, which opens up a wide range of configurations. A 7 gram weight gives the lure a little more fall rate without taking away the shallow water control. Heavier combinations allow the Kraken to reach deeper zones when fish are holding on lower edges, breaks, or bottom related structure.
That is the point of the lure. One Kraken can be adjusted to cover very different situations.
The Kraken is not limited to one season either. Jerkbait presentations have a place across the musky calendar. Early season, post spawn fish, summer fish, fall fish, and late season fish can all respond to this style of lure. The Kraken gives anglers the ability to match the lure to the season instead of changing the entire bait. Rip it and pop it over shallow flats early in the year. Add weight and work it deeper when muskies are using lower structure. Slow it down when fish need hang time. Speed it up when the window is short.
The retrieve options are nearly endless. Long sweeps work. Short taps work. Upward rips work. Reel stops work. A slow straight retrieve can work. With added weight, the Kraken can even be used as a vertical presentation. That range is why I look at the Kraken less as a one dimensional jerkbait and more as a platform.
The tail system adds another layer of adjustment. Kraken tails are replaceable, which allows anglers to mix body colors and tail colors quickly. A dark body can be changed into a contrasting pattern in under a minute. A natural looking setup can become louder. A bold color can be toned down. Instead of carrying a pile of completely different lures, anglers can make fast changes with the same body.
The tails are also durable. Muskies and pike are hard on soft components, but the Kraken tail system was designed to hold up. When replacing a skirt, a small amount of gel superglue on the top and bottom of the skirt seat helps keep it locked in place. When it is time to remove a skirt, flip the lure over and gently work around the inside to free the glue. In many cases, that lets you save the skirt and use it again later.
There are also profile options. A rear hook with blades can give the Kraken a larger, flashier look. Willow leaf and Colorado blade trailers have both produced excellent results. That added flash and profile can be a strong choice when you want the lure to look bigger or pull more attention.
The opposite is also true. If fish are following but not eating, the Kraken can be downsized by trimming the skirt. Cutting a couple inches off the bottom changes the profile while keeping the same lure action and color family. I have seen that adjustment convert followers into strikes. Sometimes the fish does not need a totally different lure. Sometimes it needs a slightly different version of the one it already showed interest in.
There is one design note every Kraken angler should understand. The lure intentionally takes in water in specific areas, including the rear section and under the weight cavity. That is part of the design. It helps give the Kraken elements of neutral buoyancy and contributes to the way the lure behaves in the water. If water comes out of the bait, that does not mean something is wrong. It is supposed to happen.
The stock hook setup is also strong right out of the package, but anglers who like to adjust hooks can do so. Larger hooks can be used without ruining the action, as long as they are kept short enough to avoid fouling during the cast or retrieve. The Kraken can handle different hook setups, but hook clearance still matters.
During development, the Kraken was tested by a small group of anglers I trusted. I wanted honest feedback, not polite feedback. The early results were exactly what I hoped for. The lure produced big muskies when other presentations were not moving fish, and the feedback was clear: the Kraken had a place.
That is the best test any lure can pass. Not whether it looks good on a table. Not whether the idea sounds good in a meeting. The real test is what happens when it is tied on, cast into musky water, and put in front of fish that have seen plenty of lures before.
The Kraken was built for that moment.
It is easy enough for a new musky angler to work with confidence and adjustable enough for serious anglers to push into specific situations. It can be shallow, deep, fast, slow, subtle, loud, full profile, or trimmed down. It can be swept, popped, ripped, paused, or worked vertically. That combination of range and control is what makes the Kraken one of the most versatile musky lures in the Livingston Lures lineup.
For anglers who want one lure that can adapt throughout the season, the Kraken deserves time on the end of the line.
