Stacked: The Layer-by-Layer Story of the Berkley Lab Series. Baits so Good They Couldn’t Keep it Secret (continued)

After this we went outside where Kyle Petersen, Product Engineer at Berkley demonstrated the new Berkley Lab Series baits moved in the water. They looked supple and imparting action on the baits looks identical to what anglers would do with the traditional versions of these plastics. The Minnow in particular had a very nice tail action which quivers on both horizontal and vertical line movement.

Outside we observed the action of the new baits, and they look as good as traditional PowerBait and MaxScent lures

The Berkley Labs Minnow features a twin tail design that quivers as it is moved vertically or horizontally

Kyle Petersen explains how the team designed each bait and made sure the actions were right

Nathan Ragsdale, Sr. Product Manager – Freshwater Baits at Berkley explained to me how they worked very closely with their prostaff to dial in the new baits. As an example, the early Minnow baits had tails that were thicker like traditional swimbaits but the pros found that they caught too much wind when casted and it was difficult to make pinpoint casts, without tumbling, which is critical when scoping and roping with precision. Making adjustments to the baits impacts everything from the pour to packaging, and yet no expense was spared to get the baits refined to the point that both the Berkley and their Pros were satisfied.

Nathan Ragsdale talks about designing the new packaging to store and protect these new baits
 

With the action properly dialed in Berkley’s Lab Series now is able to effectively trigger strikes via the four primary feeding stimuli: Color, Action, Scent, and Taste.

How well would the new baits work? Better than even the Berkley team could have imagined. All of us were given an embargo of the summer to unveil what we had learned the week prior to the Classic. Tennessee Native Dylan Nutt changed all of that with his win at the Classic on the “Secret Berkley bait.”

All of the new Berkley Labs baits were supposed to be unveiled in June. Dylan Nutt had some of these baits at the classic and his win changed all those plans

Dylan had already been fishing early run samples of the Berkley Lab Series, and when word got out, it forced Berkley's hand - compelling them to unveil the name of the series ahead of schedule, and move the embargo to today so the full story could finally be told. Ultimately, it was the single best scenario to demonstrate just how effective these new baits can be in the hands of a skilled angler.

Notice the pocket inside the Minnow, this air-chamber helps create the right posture as the bait is worked in the water

“We didn’t intend to put Lab Series on the map at the Bassmaster Classic, but Dylan clearly had other plans,” said Jon Schlosser, Chief Brand & Product Officer. “We are incredibly proud of Dylan and his brother Carter for the hard work they’ve put in over the years to master their craft, and we’re excited to have them both representing our brands on the water. We’re excited to watch him build on this momentum and see what he’s able to do with the Lab Series and the rest of his Berkley arsenal as he competes in 2026 and begins his journey on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2027.”

A wide range of patterns to match the hatch

Berkley is now hard at work trying to pull in the availability of the new Lab Series to make them accessible to anglers. Originally planned for June shipments the baits should now start becoming available to anglers early May.

A panel of Berkley scientists and product managers answer questions during a panel

The First Three: Berkley didn't just design a new bait. They rethought what a bait could be - from the inside out, layer by layer, sense by sense. But what profiles would be the best to launch the series with? Cleverly the team turned to some proven profiles and is launching with the Minnow, Finesse Worm, and my personal favorite, the deadly Flat Worm.

I'm personally extremely excited about the new Berkley Lab Series Flat Worms. The new patterns look incredible

There are a wide range of colors within each of these new baits and they look great, exhibiting much more detail and color variations than previous PowerBait and MaxScent lures. The layered construction is the key, and as the different materials are stacked it gives the company the ability to really get creative in combinations. The only problem? This process is very labor intensive and it takes extra steps, and time, to get each pour right. There are even variations in pour time for the various colors.

The Minnow has already been proven with Nutt's big Classic Win

To control quality all the materials of there secret PowerBait and Maxscent elements are produced in their Spirit Lake facility, while the final pours are done by their validated external facility where employees are parked to maintain quality control. These baits look very premium, and to ensure they stay that way Berkley even engineered a new package to store, protect, and help organize these baits until they are ready to be deployed.

Packaging consists of a card stock outer sleeve which identifies the bait and pattern, and a plastic clamshell inside which protects each individual bait and appendage, so that they are easy to rig and perfect right out of the box. This also eliminates the chance of contamination or the MaxScent slime powder getting wet and activating prematurely.
Originally these baits were going to start shipping on June 1st. Now that the secret is out the pressure is on to bring in that timeline and arm eager anglers looking to duplicate just a little bit of Nutt’s Classic success. Berkley confirmed that each pack will retail for $14.99.

Nathan shows us the high quality packaging for the new baits

It is also very likely that these three Berkley Labs baits are just the first three, and that the new layered approach will be applied to other baits and profiles, possibly even targeting other species. Not only has Berkley created a new series but also designed a platform from which they can build an entire portfolio of new baits from.

A clearly labeled sleeve houses a resalable blister pack that protects each bait and keeps them dry until it is time to rig them

The key is that they will target profiles and bait classes where the embedded trigger factors make sense. So, we are less likely to see a reaction punch craw versus a bait that you present and soak to maximize the effectiveness of all four of the senses.

The new Lab Series Flat worms come 10 to a pack

The Finesse worms are stored horizontally and also come 10 per pack

Our Quick Take: In hi-tech, performance is often improved by stacking layers, from NAND flash memory and CPUs to today's most powerful AI GPUs. It's one of the most effective ways to overcome what were once hard physical limitations in density, making the leap from 2D to 3D architecture to unlock new levels of performance and efficiency. Berkley is doing the same thing, just applying that same principle to the science of tackle, creating the innovative, layered Berkley Labs series of baits.

Yes, I wanted to bring them home. Just imagining the potential of what these baits could do was exciting. The Berkley Team is now pulling in the availability to May 5th
 

The term "gamechanger" gets thrown around a lot, but in the case of the Berkley Lab Series, it might not be far from reality. When I first saw, touched, smelled - and might have tasted (I'll plead the fifth on that one) - the new baits, I could immediately visualize the potential. I could already imagine the applications and salivated at the thought of throwing them at some unsuspecting bass on my home water. I can’t remember another plastic series that I have been more excited about fishing than these baits, which are literally stacked with features.

The Berkley Lab Series baits are stacked with features and a gamechanger for Berkley and anglers that already fish PowerBait and MaxScent lures. The added strike triggers and patterns have a lot of potential, and the initial trio of baits are sure to be just the beginning of what will be a new platform of offerings

Like all good plans though, the best ones have a way of changing - and when Dylan Nutt cemented his win, the "secret bait" wasn't so secret anymore. The Berkley Lab Series has officially arrived. Gamechanger.