Over the next day the Power Blade prototypes continued to deliver, amounting for both numbers and quality fish. I think part of the reason the baits were so effective was because the water we were fishing in Florida was stained and the size of the different blades that Dan had prepared combined with the white skirting made for a deadly combo in these conditions. The addition of Power Bait scent was an added X-factor.

Dan digs through his remaining prototype PowerBlades

At one point during the trip even jig expert Gary Klein asked what the hot bait we were fishing as he could see, and hear, us putting the hurt on the fish from the other side of the lake. Dan dug out a few more of those prototypes and shared them with the other boat. Over the course of the entire trip my confidence in the Power Blade grew with each fish we caught.

Sharing the PowerBlades with other Pro Anglers including Gary Klein

We were getting a lot of quality bites and I started to wonder just how much of this was a result of the bait design, or using the right blades for the environment, and just how much of this was a benefit of the Power Bait infused skirts. I had to wrap my head around the idea of Power Bait in a spinnerbait. The use of Power Bait in jigs made a lot of sense to me as fish often inhale and spit out jigs and that extra second that they hold onto a jig during this process can make a huge difference in converting strikes into hooked fish.

I don't typically fish large Colorado blades very much personally but they proved very effective in the stained water

Spinnerbaits are different and are moving baits where fish usually commit and hook themselves during the initial strike. The Power Bait skirts are designed to put out a scent trail and I have seen fish test-bump spinnerbaits, so perhaps the added scent can help in these types of situations. I personally am a big fan of Power Bait and Maxscent lures like Flat Worms and Chigger Craws and view the addition of Power Bait into the Power Blade skirts as a bonus factor to an already strong blade design.

A look at the various prototype configurations. After the trip to Florida I started fishing the mass production baits in our home waters in Northern California

Soon after my first experience in Florida I received the mass production baits and was able to experiment with some more colors and blade patterns in my home water. I tried a variety of different trailers and ultimately found the effectiveness of the bait was similar with and without a trailer, except when there was a particular type of hatch. For example, when I observed a lot of baitfish in the water and added a trailer to increase the length of the bait or match a color, I did receive some more strikes, but it wasn’t anywhere close to 2X the number of strikes per hour.

A look at the conical style bait keeper that keeps baits pinned from all angles

The conical style bait keeper molded onto the Fusion 19 hook does a good job keeping trailers pinned on without ripping them. I found myself using a lot of Keitechs and Jackall Rhythm Waves as trailers and found Berkley's new Power Stinger (a bait originally designed for bladed jigs) also worked well, especially after the spawn when there were a lot of juvenile fish in the water. This bait also adds even more PowerBait to the equation which can be a confidence booster in itself.

I use a lot of Keitech and Jackall trailers on spinnerbaits and also tried the new Berkley PowerStinger

Besides changing the profile of the bait another reason that I like to add a trailer is to increase weight. When fishing in shallow or clear water I forgo the trailer to keep the bait higher up in the water column which enables me to burn the bait over grass or navigate clear water quickly. The opposite is often true in stained water or when I want to fish deeper and slower and that added weight of a trailer helps get the Power Blade to run deeper.

A PowerStinger used as a trailer adding a longer baitfish profile to the Power Blade

As with other spinnerbaits proper blade selection can increase effectiveness depending on conditions. In general, the do-it-all combination is the standard Willow and Colorado blade configuration, but I do find myself gravitating more towards double willow setups because of their ability to fish throughout the water column a bit more, and I like the schooling baitfish effect this amalgamation so effectively replicates. The large Colorado single or dual blade configuration is the one that I probably fish the least, but I always carry one in my boat for fishing in lower light and in dirty water. These blades are great for slow rolling as they displace a lot of water and thump hard helping fish key onto the bait when visibility isn’t great. There are some anglers that only fish big Colorado blades at night.

Fishing the Power Blade at the California Delta

The good news is that Dan and the team at Berkley didn’t just test the water releasing a single bait configuration in just a few colors. They went all-in releasing multiple blade configurations with both plated and painted blades, four different sizes that feature different head and blade sizes, and a dizzying array of color patterns to select from. Whether you are fishing clear or stained water, or want to burn or slow roll your blades, there is likely a configuration in the Power Blade lineup that will meet your application and preferred spinnerbait fishing style.  They even launched both standard and compact sizes so that these spinnerbaits can be used for multiple species beyond bass.

The Power Blade skirts flare very nicely in the water and the bait tracks true at all speeds

Next Section: A Quality Blade even without PowerBait...