COLUMBIA, S.C. – New for this summer, Berkley announces new PowerBait soft baits from bass pros Mike Iaconelli and Skeet Reese. The five new baits, designed by Iaconelli and Reese, combine decades of tour-level tournament fishing experience with the proven fish-catching ability of Berkley PowerBait in modern new shapes that capitalize on some of the hottest techniques in bass fishing today. Berkley is also rolling out two additional PowerBait shapes and 12 new PowerBait colors.
Berkley has a strong history of working directly with its stable of pro anglers to design baits that deliver against specific needs and trends. This year is no exception with two of bass fishing’s most exciting and successful anglers designing baits that headline the new product selection. All the new designs, including those designed by Iaconelli and Reese, feature the exclusive Berkley PowerBait formula that drives fish to hold on to a bait 18 times longer* than a traditional soft plastic, giving anglers the time and confidence to feel more bites.
“We can’t wait for more anglers to put these new designs to the test,” said Vice President of Marketing for Berkley, Jon Schlosser. “We are bringing the undeniable power of PowerBait to some of the most exciting and on-trend fishing styles and applications on the market today.”
The new pro-designed additions to the PowerBait lineup include the Flute Worm and Water Bug by Mike Iaconelli. The PowerBait Water Bug is a unique, slender flat bottom finesse bait that has an enticing glide on pause and a small tubular arm on each side designed to add subtle quivering action even when dead sticking. The scooped tail catches more water to create a gentle waving action, and when retrieved, the scooped tail flutters ensuring great action throughout the entire cast. The Water Bug also features floating PowerBait material to ensure a head down, tail up posture in the water. It can be rigged on a drop shot, Ned rig or on a micro skirted jig and is available in 3.3-inch and 4-inch lengths and 12 colors.
The PowerBait® Flute Worm is a finesse worm with integrated o-ring locations primarily designed to be fished on a Neko rig. It features a tapered “flute-style” tail that twitches and moves with subtle movements, and a blunt head that is perfect for inserting weights, allowing the bait to be used to stomp the bottom when hopping a Neko rig. The Flute Worm is great on a shaky head or fished wacky rigged and is available in 4.7-inch, 5.7-inch and 6.7-inch lengths and 12 colors.
The new Ca$h Out, The Deal and Straight Money are designed by Skeet Reese. The PowerBait Ca$h Out is a 3-inch, small-profile bait designed to be fished year-round on the popular Ned Rig. The bait features a rudder-style tail which causes more action on the fall. Its ribbed belly kicks up dirt and silt for higher visibility. The Ca$h Out is available in 12 color options.
The Deal is Reese’s idea of the perfect bladed jig trailer. It has a high-sided shad profile, adding bulk and presence to the presentation and is available in 3.5-inch and 4.5-inch options, and 12 colors. Its high action tail mimics fleeing baitfish amping up the action of a bladed jig or is an excellent stand-alone swimbait in open water or around vegetation.
The Straight Money is a straight tail worm showcasing a simple, but important spade tail for generating wide actions, and when combined with the flat belly gives the bait a more seductive gliding action as it is falling. A key feature of the new bait, not found in other straight tail worms, is the hardness of the worm that causes a unique, high quivering action when twitched or hitting cover. The Straight Money is especially suited for Neko rigs and the blunt nose makes it easy to rig on a shaky head. The Straight Money is available in 12 colors, and 5-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch options.
In addition to the new pro-designed shapes, two additional sizes of the PowerBait® Power® Swimmer will be available this summer. The Power Swimmer is a multi-purpose, multi-species smaller swimbait that can be used in countless scenarios. The small profile and paddletail action of the bait makes it perfect for fishing on a jighead as a finesse swimbait and it also makes a great swim jig trailer. Known for its durability over other similar style baits, the PowerBait Power Swimmer is also a perfect choice on A-rigs or heavy cover applications. The Power Swimmer is now available in 16 colors and 2.8-inch, 3.3-inch, 3.8-inch and 4.3-inch lengths.
Now available in a 3-inch option and seven colors, the Crazy Legs Chigger Craw has high action pinchers to create more strikes. The crazy legs swim with fast or slow movement and even flutter during a pause in the retrieve while creating additional action of the fall or retrieve that attracts curious fish. It can also be cut at the third leg to fit perfectly on a skirted jig.
The 2019 PowerBait lineup is now available in retail stores nationwide.