2008 Bass Fishing Products

[CoreyatCastaway]

Just thought I would share some of my thoughts on what might be "hot" in 08 as far as bass related products go. Every year we see literally hundreds of new fishing products hit the market, especially in the bass fishing segment. Some are truely unique productive products that will catch fish or make life easier for an angler, some are shiny and new looking to mainly catch peoples attention and some are just down right foolish and fade away after a few years. Here is my take on what will be here to stay from class of 2008. These are based on testing by myself and the Castaway Pro Staff as well as customer feedback.

1) SPRO Little John- The new Little Crank Bait from SPRO. These little guys are pretty bad! They run 3-5 feet deep, have a good wobble (could feel the vibration right away) and feature some unique color schemes (like cell mate and PB&J). One of the features that cause these baits to fetch a price in the $12 range is the computer board chip lip which is more durable than the standard plastics. Another is that they come with some good Gamakatsu hooks right out of the box. All feedback has been great, this one is a keeper!

2) Bandit 700 Deep Diving Cranks- Bandit redesigned their deep diving crankbaits and I think have come out with a pretty good product. Have not fished it myself, but have had nothing but good feedback so far. They dive to the 15-18 foot range. Try the Chartruese Shad color pattern. $4.99

3) Vertical Lures Football Head Jig- This one came out in 07 but will start to get noticed in 08. Vertical launched what I feel is the only innovation in bass jigs in years, the Jig-X a couple years ago. Jig-X features an eye behind the head. This allows you to fish a jig virtually anywhere without getting hung up and greatly reduces the amount of "crap" that gets picked up when fishing grass/weeds. Football-X employs these same feature in the football style which is suited better for rocks.

4) Strike King Rage Tail- Strike King has a lineup of new soft baits called Rage Tail. Four styles right now, shad, frog, craw and chunk. The new tail (claw) designs create a whole heck of alot of action in the water. The thick tappered tails are extremely active. I particular like running the shad across the top of the water creating a buzzbait like action. approx $5 per pack.

5) Xtreme Lube- This stuff can breath new life into your reels. I've seen it transform $25 eagle claw baitcasters into well oiled machines, no pun intended. It is a dry lube which was originally developed for table saws, so particles of dust and dirt will now stick to it. Runs about $10 a bottle.

There are many many more new products out and I will try to highlight some here in the future. Come check out our booth at the Raleigh Bass & Saltwater Expo this weekend!

Thanks,
Corey