
Hardbaits at ICAST, from Swimbaits to BFS

Date: |
7/31/23 |
Tackle type: |
Lures - Hard
Bodied |
Manufacturer: |
Various |
Reviewer: |
Team
TackleTour |
Introduction: This year at ICAST hardbait manufacturers seemed to
focus on extremes, with a number of notable introductions in full sized
swimbaits and on the opposite end of the spectrum a number of tiny lures
designed for BFS. There were a few other interesting conventional baits where
manufacturers added patterns or additional features. Let's take a look at some
of the most interesting baits at the show, both big and small.

Designed for topwater fans is the
Spro Walking Haint 125 a walking oversized pencil style bait that features a
loud knocking rattle and is designed to be easy to walk with simple rod pops

Stephen Young from Spro shows us
the size of the new Walking Haint

The Spro Sashimmy Swimmer is a
four jointed swimbait designed by Pro Angler Brian New

The Sashimmy Swimmer will be
available in 105mm and 125mm sizes

The Spro Chad Shad 180 is an
injected version of the popular KGB custom resin swimbait

Spro worked with KGB to create a
plastic version that would be more accessible to anglers. These versions offer
different patterns and can be more translucent

The Ghost Trout pattern looks
great and is extremely detailed

Spro is also ramping up their
hardbait storage game with new wraps...

...and waterproof storage
no-divider boxes designed specifically for wraps

Spro is also launching new rigging
boxes that are great for preparing leaders and rigs. This is a useful box for
both swimbait and walleye anglers

DRT has once again partnered with
Fish Arrow to introduce new swimbaits

The VT-Jack 210 and VT-Jack 23-
are one piece swimbaits that can be tied on top or under the chin for different
presentations

Like many other DRT baits the
VT-Jack is designed to look downwards with the tail out of the water

The baits feature some great
patterns and the familiar DRT V-Tails

The Fish Arrow x DRT Dart Jack is
a giant pencil style bait that emits a loud rattle and moves a lot of water when
fished on the surface

The Dart Jack can be walked or
darted and features the V-Tail from the Klash 9

Daiwa's Proex Bessie is a 6.5"
oversized spy-bait that was designed in collaboration with Nishine Lure Works

The Bessie is designed to target
both Muskie and Largemouth bass and features 3X 4/0 black nickel hooks. The bait
is available in floating, slow sink, and fast sink models weighing from 4.5oz.
to 5.5oz.

The Adusta Barbatos is a bait
produced by Japanese Big Bait hunter and maker Satan Shimada

The Barbatos is designed to be a
shallow-range big bait for fast retrieves

The bait can be customized with
various tails and features various line tie positions to alter action. This bait
will retail for $85 dollars each

Italian baitmaker Molix is
introducing an affordable glide called the Glide Bait 130. It features soft fins
and rotating hooks and will be available in a variety of patterns for only
$24.90 each

Molix is also introducing a lipped
glide called the Glide Bait 178 LIP. The lip design gives the lure a more
erratic movement that is designed to mimic nervous baitfish. This new lure also
features soft fins and will retail for only $26.99

One of the most interesting
swimbaits at the show comes from Gomexus, a company best known for their
affordable handle upgrades

Gomexus is looking to demonstrate
their ability to design unique products of their own and is looking to bring a
metal-bodied swimbait to market

The bait is still in prototype
phase and it will be interesting to see how the metal bodied bait will hold up,
and what they will be able to do with the sound and movement

One feature that really caught our
attention was a button on the underbelly that allowed the hinges to extend so
that the tail would swing much further out. This has the potential to change the
action and shape of the bait's retrieve instantly

A look at the top of the new yet
to be named Gomexus metal glidebait

The front of the bait currently
features a lip but this is also not final. The use of metal is interesting in
itself, and the adjustable hinge design is very intriguing. It is good to see
Gomexus designing this bait from the ground up

Moving over to the conventional
baits Z-Man took the Chatterbait to the next level with the Elite EVO

The Chatterbait Elite EVO features
the same proven head-to-blade connection and adds a new barb placement on the
hook shank and more detailed paint and skirt color schemes

The EVO comes armed with a custom
5/0 heavy duty Needlepoint Black Nickel Hook

Paired with the new Z-Man 4.5"
Chatterspikes for a complete baitfish profile. The new EVO is looking like the
most refined Chatterbait yet

Mark Copley, Trade & Media Manager
at Rather Outdoors shows us Strike King's new hardbait, the Gravel Dawg

The Strike King Gravel Dawg was
designed by Pro Anglers Todd Castledine and KVD to have a wide wobble and strong
hunting action

The Gravel Dawg features 1.5"
profile and is designed as a go-to crankbait for a wide variety of conditions
weighing 1/2oz. and capable of diving to 10 feet in depth

Pro Angler Greg Hackney shows us
some of his favorite Gravel Dawg patterns. The new bait will come in some
exclusive craw colors

Lunkerhunt's Boshi Blade is a
crankbait with an underspin that is profiled like a smaller fish

The Boshi Blade weighs 1/2oz. and
dives down 4-6 feet and will retail for $10.99

Rapala is no stranger to jerkbaits
and has designed the PXR (Precision, Xtreme, and Redline) Mavrik 110 with an
updated long cast system

The PXR Mavrik features a hard
cutting and semi-erratic action that was fine tuned by Rapala's Prostaff
including Angler Jacob Wheeler

Vexan Fishing is introducing their
own BFS hardbaits with the Micro Strike, a micro-crank with a single hook
positioned at the rear of the lure. This bait is designed for targeting
largemouth, smallmouth, crappie and trout and will retail for only $5.99

The Nishine Lure Works Baby Albino
70F is a tiny propbait with all the bells and whistles

The Baby Albino looks like a
miniature version of the Daiwa Bessie which Nishine helped design

A surprise feature is a popper
mouth that can be used in place of the front blade. The Baby Albino measures
2.75" in length and weighs only 1/4 ounces. This lure will retail for $18.99
each, a very reasonable price for such a well built and versatile hardbait

If you haven't fished a Nishine
Chippawa crankbait you are missing out. These are some of the most refined
hardbaits out there and the new RB Blade version adds a removable willow blade
that slaps against the rear treble as the bait hunts

The Chippawa XDD is the longest
lip version and capable of diving down to 16 feet. The lure is designed to cast
great distances weighing 3/4oz. and utilizing a fixed internal weight system

Hiroshi Nishine (right) and Yuichi
Sakudo (Left) are the team from Nishine in Canada. Hiroshi still hand carves
each master by hand before it goes to prototype phase
Our Quick take: Swimbait and BFS anglers
have a lot to look forward to this season. When it came to conventional baits
and techniques most bait manufacturers strengthened their portfolio of offerings
with new sizes and patterns, as well as adding some additional variations. This
season there wasn't one particular new type of hardbait that dominated the show,
like the swimbait or A-Rig crazes of past years. This season's new baits are all
about refinement on both end of the spectrum.
Looking for some these new hardbaits? Many are
starting to become available at
Tackle Warehouse

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