The Nishine Chippawa Crank is Zander's lure pick due to the bait's design, build quality, and versatility

What makes the Chippawa so unique is that it isn't just one lure, but a family of crankbaits that share the same profile which is based off the original hand carved design. Each is then customized with different lips, or even willow blades, to target fish with multiple strike triggers, and at varying depths.

The original Chippawa RB model features a short circuit board lip, measures 2.5", weighs 1/2oz., and will dive to a depth of 5 feet

The series even includes a slow float version that is completely silent and perfectly weighted to create more subtle wobble during retrieve and slowly float upwards when paused. This bait is specifically tuned for fishing in cold water, and designed to perform where many other reaction baits are ineffective.

The RB DD features the familiar profile but comes with a longer plastic lip to enable dives between 8-10 feet, and comes with a removable hammered willow blade for additional vibration and flash

In total there are four different Chippawa crankbait versions and they all feature the attention to detail that Nishine is known for. Nishine is a Canadian company but their design, build quality, finishes, and hardware rivals what we normally find in JDM hardbaits, and yet they retail for only $14.99 for RB models, and $15.99 for the bladed models, and are available now at Tackle Warehouse.

One bait to rule them all? Seriously? Well, I'll take Reaction Innovation's Spicy Beaver

Cal's Fishing Lure Pick - Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver: One bait, seriously? This is even more difficult than choosing one casting rod. There are so many different kinds of baits that we all throw at different times of years in different situations. So back to that idea of versatility, it’s probably going to be a soft plastic. They can be fished in so many different ways. So again with a little recent bias, my current favorite bait is one that can be fished on its own or as a trailer to compliment another bait. It can be hopped, dragged, fished on a dropshot, or on a constant retrieve like a reaction bait. It is none other than Reaction Innovations’s Spicy Beaver. Judging by how difficult it can be to get your hands on this bait, I’m not the only one that likes the spice Reaction Innovations is cooking with this bait. Stock of certain colors is available now at TackleWarehouse.

There are a lot of quality swimbaits out there but most are not nearly as accessible as the Baitsanity Antidote Glide Bait which retails for only $24.99

Zander's Swimbait Pick - Baitsanity Antidote Glide: This is a category that I struggled with as there are a number of quality swimbaits in my 2020 primary rotation. In that lineup I would consider a number of glidebaits my favorites that I confidently throw when I am on the hunt for bigger fish. This season the two swimbaits that saw the most action are the hand crafted Illude Pistol Gill and the always reliable Deps Slide Swimmer 175. These two swimbaits cover both gill and trout profiles to match the hatch of various lakes, but as much as I love these baits I have difficulty picking them because of their higher price of admission, and limited availability.

The Antidote measures 7.5" and weighs only 2.6-2.7oz. depending on sink rate which help make it a lot less intimidating for anglers just starting to throw glides

With all of this in mind my pick is the much more affordable Baitsanity Antidote Glide Bait, a hard-bodied swimbait for all anglers. The Antidote Glide is the second introduction from the team at Baitsanity, and a smaller and lower priced option from the brand's flagship Explorer Series. This bait took home a Best Value Award when it was first introduced, and since that time the company has greatly increased the number of patterns in the lineup, including some very unique finishes like the flashy Sardine pattern, matte Bread pattern, and distinct Craw (crawfish styled) pattern.

What I like best about the Baitsanity Antidote is that it delivers a quality gliding action that doesn't blow out when you fish it at faster speeds. This swimbait delivers a lot of what anglers are used to seeing from much more expensive JDM baits at a fraction of the price, and the compact profile, and light 2.6oz., make this a much less intimidating swimbait to fish for anglers just getting started on their glidebait journey.

The Antidote Glides have held up well for me over the season and have proven effective for targeting both bass and stripers. Some anglers may feel the slow sink doesn't get down fast enough and one tip is to increase the size of the split rings and hooks to alter the sink rate and enable a faster retrieve speed. Doing so also improves hardware durability in process, and the Antidote's ability to stand up to striper attacks.  

Normally, when I think of a swimbait, or big bait, as I prefer to call them, I reach for a hard bodied lure

Cal's Swimbait Pick  - Megabass of America MagDraft Freestyle: Once the tool of trophy hunters only, swimbaits continue to grow in popularity. So much so that we have to include them in our Editor’s Picks article. Normally, when I think of a swimbait, or big bait, as I prefer to call them, I reach for a hard bodied lure. Something like Roman Made’s Negotiator or Megabass’s Vatalion. Not overwhelmingly large, but big enough to cull out most of the dinks. Even a Triple Trout or Bull Shad deserve consideration, but while I prefer fishing those hard baits to the soft swimbait options, one thing that annoys me with hard bodied big baits is trying to fish them in weeds or close to cover. I’m so adept at catching structure, these type of baits just don’t work for me in these situations. So if I’m only going to get one swimbait to fish for the year, it has to hold up in both open water and close to cover.

But I can throw the MagDraft Freestyle in places hard bodied swimbaits would get hung up. If I have to choose one, it's this swimbait

If we have to stick with one type of fishing line, it's going to be a quality fluorocarbon

Zander and Cal's Fishing Line Pick - Seaguar Tatsu FC: When it comes to fishing line, we are both pretty technique specific choosing braid for close quarter soft plastics, nylon monofilament for the majority of my moving baits, and fluorocarbon for finesse tactics. However, if we had to pick a single favorite line, it’s going to be a fluorocarbon for its resistance to abrasion, light refraction capabilities, low stretch, and sensitivity. The drawback with most fluorocarbon lines is handling (usually they’re too stiff) and knot strength.

If we are narrowing it down to just one fluorocarbon line in 2020, it's going to be Seaguar's Tatsu

One fluorocarbon product that addresses those short comings and does so extremely well is our pick for favorite fishing line, Seaguar’s Tatsu Fluorocarbon. It’s supple enough to cast with little difficulty, has just the right amount of stretch for moving bait presentations, but not too much to affect hooksets in close quarters with soft plastics, has excellent resistance to abrasion for those closer quarter situations near structure, excellent knot strength, the list goes on.

The only tough spot with this line is if you try to toss topwater baits with it. Like all fluorocarbon lines, Tatsu sinks, so unless you’re working your topwater bait very quickly, this line may bog down your topwater baits. Otherwise, for one line to rule them all, Seaguar’s Tatsu is our choice, and while it may be expensive as far as lines go it lasts a long time, and is absolutely worth the investment. Seaguar Tatsu is available in a range of line diameters and spool sizes at TackleWarehouse.

We continue to use Seaguar Tatsu as our benchmark fluorocarbon line for all of our tests, including the latest generation reels like the brand new Shimano Vanford

There are a lot of additional great tackle options that have started to become available late season, and while we are really liking what we are seeing from these products we haven't had enough time on the water with them to draw our final conclusions. We can say that some of the products that we are most excited about include the Shimano Vanford, Daiwa Tatula 300, the Deps Slide Swimmer 145 and 250 in the Butch Brown Gizzard Shad pattern, and a brand new baitcaster refresh that is made in Japan which we can't officially describe by name yet. Stay tuned for in depth reviews for all of these products. 

To all our readers, thank you for joining us during this very unique year. We hope that you and your families continue to enjoy fishing, and all the benefits that spending time outdoors offers. Have a very safe and happy holidays, and may your lines be tight!