Each year there are hundreds of new baits introduced by dozens of manufacturers both big and small. Hard plastic, soft plastic, metal and hybrid super strong materials are all shaped and painted into the next greatest thing. Sometimes it’s difficult to see trends but we’ve identified a couple.
Worth noting, too is that a couple major soft plastics manufacturers experienced some serious changes. Yamamoto was sold and the founder/owner of ZOOM Baits passed. We’re still waiting to see how that might affect two of the bigger players in the soft plastic bait market. Oh, and Pure Fishing bought Plano and one of the first things they did was introduce fishing backpack systems for young bike-riding, boat-less anglers. Smart!
The influence of Berkley’s wildly popular Frittside crankbaits last season can be see in the profusion of similar baits coming out this year.
Something called the Bait Finesse System may be trending. Bait Finesse System (BFS) was developed in Japan by anglers targeting finicky trout still wanting to use baitcasting reels. The light reel/rod tactics were then adopted successfully to catch intensely pressured largemouth bass that had became harder to catch with traditional lures. Smaller lures and lighter lines were still effective, and could be used in open water, however with very light lures, existing rods and reels lacked the accuracy necessary for pitching around heavy cover. Seeing a potential new market, manufacturers have responded with reels and rods designed specifically to pitch lighter lures. We’ll see if this Japanese trend catches on in the American market this season.
The following is a round up of many of the new products you’ll find in tackle shops in the coming year from national and regional bait providers.
Abu Garcia
Abu Garcia engineering is displayed in the new Abu Garcia Max LP (low profile) baitcasting reels. These reels feature a machined-aluminum spool, power disk drag system and a MagTrax braking system. You can choose up to a 7.1:1 retrieve ratio model. They all feature oversized co-molded soft touch knobs for long casting comfort on marathon days and 4+1 to 7+1 stainless steel for ultimate performance at a low price.
The Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Pro Rocket Round reel series is the 100th anniversary model that calls on the heritage of dependability and durability with a commemorative reel that will give anglers years of service. It features four stainless steel ball bearings + 1 roller bearing, a carbon matrix drag system and 5.3:1 gear ratio with 6-pin centrifugal braking system.
The most sensitive rod that Abu Garcia has ever made, the Abu Garcia Zenon features a premium carbon blank with their exclusive Powerlux 1000 resin system. The Zenon delivers an ultra-light, powerful and sensitive blank with higher break strengths and improved impact and fracture resistance.
Berkley
The wide array of Berkley jigs are now paired with an irresistible PowerBait flavored skirt and Fusion19 hook. Berkley offers seven different styles of jig: football jig, swim jig, skippin’ jig, flippin’ jig, heavy cover jig, and a finesse jig that feature the new Powerbait silicone skirts.
The Berkley Powerbait Agent E is an allnew soft plastic bait designed by Bassmaster Classic and MLF Bass Pro Tour Champion Edwin Evers. It’s a bottom-dwelling, flatbottomed swimbait that has an ultra-low 26 woodsandwatersmagazine.com January 2022
