Jenko Fishing Unveils Swimbaits made of Hemp

Introduction: In my 30-plus years of fishing, I can’t imagine how many lures I’ve broken off. From small trout spinners to large hard baits, the list is definitely a long one. Despite our best efforts, it’s something that is simply unavoidable if you’ve fished for any length of time. It can be pretty infuriating busting off a high-dollar bait, but what about the environmental impact as well? Think of all the different anglers out there and all the lures that get popped off on a daily basis—the clutter adds up quickly. Could an alternative material be available that is more friendly to nature? The folks at Jenko Fishing believe so and we think what they’ve found is an interesting start!

The motivation for Jenko Fishing to create baits made from hemp are all the lost baits that end up in our waterways

At first glance, all of the upcoming Wake-n-Bait and Groovy Glide baits from Jenko Fishing look like typical high-quality plastic hard baits. Actually, this is partially correct because these baits will come in ABS varieties. However, the really interesting story is that Jenko fishing also has plans to sell versions crafted from hemp.

A look at a swimbait made from hemp. It is hard to tell that this is not a plastic bait

After showing us a table full of baits (and some very old ones) collected from snags at Kentucky Lake, Will Robey of Jenko Fishing said he wants to educate the industry about the use of alternative materials. With some of these new baits crafted from hemp pellets, the idea behind this material choice was to allow the baits to decompose if broken off. We think it’s a very creative concept.

The source material for these baits are bio-degradable hemp pellets

A look at the raw hemp swimbait. Without coating this bait will naturally break down in 6-9 months

There was a totally unfinished hemp bait on display (which actually looked/felt pretty awesome), but the production baits will come painted. Besides providing beautiful color schemes, the paint is actually very important because it is what protects the hemp material underneath. If the bait is broken off, environmental factors like current, water, sand, grit, etc will slowly wear away the protective paint to expose the bare hemp underneath.

The same bait with a protective coating

Once this happens, Will tells us the hemp body will fully decompose in 6–9 months. Of course, baits can get beat up from normal usage, so he mentioned how it would be wise to touch-up deep scars with something like a lacquer.

Will Robey shows us multiple Jenko baits that use the hemp-based material

A look at the various patterns and materials. Notice the hemp-based bait has a solid opaque lip made of the same material

Expect the ABS versions of the Wake-n-Bait and Groovy Glide to cost $22 and $26, respectively. The hemp-based options of both will come in around the $40 price point. Expect the ABS models in September with hemp baits around the end of 2021.