Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 H3 Three-Hook Topwater — 3.75 in, 3/8 oz

Same bait, one more treble. The Gunfish 95 H3 is the standard 95 body carrying three hooks instead of two — built for the specific problem of fish that blow up on a walking bait and don't get stuck.

Short version: 3-3/4" walking topwater, 3/8 oz, three treble hooks, tungsten resin tail weight for casting into wind. The high-percentage version of the size most people should own.

Why a Third Hook Matters

Topwater fish are the least committed fish you'll deal with. They come from below at a bait they can only half see, at speed, and a lot of them slash rather than eat. Two trebles leaves a gap in the middle of a 3-3/4" body — the third fills it.

That's the entire proposition. It doesn't cast further, walk better, or call fish harder than a standard 95. It converts more of the strikes you were already getting.

The trade-off is honest: more hardware means more to foul on the cast, more to tangle in landing nets, and more to bury in cover. Around timber and grass, a two-hook 95 is the cleaner tool. In open water on schooling fish, take the three.

What It Does in the Water

Thin tapered body that walks tight side to side on rhythmic rod twitches. The cupped face spits and sprays water on each turn, which reads to a predator like bait busting the surface. Inside, a sound chamber knocks loudly enough to pull fish up out of deep water.

The tungsten resin tail weight system is what makes it cast — mass concentrated in the tail carries the bait a long way, including straight into wind, which is when topwater fishing usually falls apart.

How to Work It

Twitch into slack line, not into tension. The bait needs slack to turn; a tight line drives it straight and you lose the walk entirely.

Fish it quickly. The spit, the knock and the bubble trail all come alive at speed.

Wait to feel weight before setting. This matters more here, not less — three trebles means a fish that has any of the bait usually has a hook, so give it the extra beat and reel down.

Which Gunfish?

The family is really two sizes with a three-hook option on each. The 95 H3 is to the 95 what the 117 is to the 115.

Picking a Color

Fishing It Around Santa Clarita

When stripers are boiling and you're getting blown up on without connecting, this is the bait that fixes the afternoon. We publish Castaic Lake fishing reports with current conditions — worth reading before you commit a morning to the surface.

Recommended Gear

• Rod: medium power, moderate action, 6'8" to 7'2". A fast tip tears trebles out on surface strikes.
• Line: braid to a fluorocarbon or mono leader. Straight mono works and floats, which helps hold the nose up.
• Avoid heavy fluorocarbon straight through — it sinks and fights the float.

Pro Tips from the Tackle Express Crew

• Check the hooks before every few casts. Three trebles on a slim body will foul on each other, and a fouled bait won't walk at all.
• Use a rubber landing net. Three sets of trebles turn a mesh net into a ten-minute problem with a fish in it.
• Twitch into slack. The one thing that separates people who can walk this bait from people who can't.
• Wait for the weight. Setting on the splash is how most topwater fish are lost, extra hooks or not.

Common Mistakes

• Fishing it in heavy cover. Three trebles find everything. Use a two-hook 95 around timber and grass.
• Working it on a tight line. The bait needs slack to turn.
• Fishing it slow. The spit and knock only show up at speed.
• Assuming it fixes bad hooksets. More hooks convert more strikes; they don't fix setting on sight.

Specifications

Lucky Craft does not publish a separate spec chart for the 95 H3. Individual treble sizes aren't listed — call the shop and we'll measure the hooks on the one in the case. Colors offered vary by production run; the selector above is the live list.

What's Included

One Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 H3 in the color selected, factory rigged with three trebles. No spare hooks or split rings included.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does H3 mean?
Three hooks. It's the standard Gunfish 95 body rigged with three trebles instead of two.

How big is it?
3-3/4 inches (95mm) and 3/8 oz — the same size as the standard Gunfish 95.

Is it worth it over the 95NF?
If you're getting blown up on and not connecting, yes. If you fish around timber and grass, the two-hook version is cleaner and you'll spend less time unhooking cover.

Does the third hook change the action?
The body, weighting and sound chamber are the same. Keep the hooks clear of each other and it walks like a 95.

How fast should I fish it?
Quickly. The spitting, the knocking and the bubble trail all come alive at pace.

What rod and line?
Medium power with a moderate action so trebles don't tear out. Braid to a fluorocarbon or mono leader; avoid heavy fluorocarbon straight through.

95 H3 or 117?
Both are three-hook baits. The 95 H3 is the smaller, subtler one; the 117 is 4-1/2", 3/5 oz, and has a pencil popper face that throws more water.

Do I need a special net?
A rubber net is worth it. Three sets of trebles and mesh netting do not get along.

Related Gear

• Lucky Craft Gunfish 95NF — same size, two hooks, no feather.
• Lucky Craft Gunfish 117 — 4-1/2" pencil popper, three trebles.
• Lucky Craft Gunfish 115NF — 4-1/2", two hooks.
• Topwater Fishing Lures — poppers, walking baits, and stickbaits.

Buy It From People Who Fish It

We're on Soledad Canyon Road in Santa Clarita, twenty minutes from Castaic, and we fish these lakes ourselves. If you've been getting blown up on all summer without landing them, come talk to us — sometimes the answer is this bait and sometimes it's your rod.