Fishing Lures 2007

September 28, 2010

As lure makers continue to experiment and refine their products, anglers are finding more and more choices. Here is a look at the latest offerings. (April 2007)

By Keith Sutton

This should be another banner year for new fishing lure introductions, because for 2007 manufacturers have continued to design all-new creations and revamp old favorites. From buzzbaits, crankbaits, jigs and soft plastics to spinnerbaits, spoons and topwater plugs, there's a new fish-catcher available that's sure to tickle your fancy. Here are a few you'll soon be seeing in tackle stores.

BUZZBAITS

Booyah Counter Strike Buzz -- With its unique triangular head, this buzzbait cuts through thick cover where heavyweight bass hide. A multi-step painting process creates realistic scales and eyes. Additional features include an interchangeable silicone skirt with flash inserts, plated blades and an XCalibur Tx3 hook. The two counter-rotating blades create an exceptionally stable buzzbait and offer a distinctive sound. It is available in 1/4-, 3/8- and 1/2-ounce sizes and eight colors.

Terminator Hybrid Blade -- Terminator calls its latest titanium-framed invention the Hybrid Blade because it functions like a cross between a buzzbait and a spinnerbait. The lure has Terminator's SnapBack nickel-titanium frame and a 3/8-ounce Terminator T-1 Buzzbait-style head. The Hybrid Blade is available in four colors.

Matzuo Kamikazi Buzz'r -- This buzzbait has a lifelike head and a prismatic mylar and silicone skirt. It is equipped with a loud, flashy buzz-blade designed to create a bass-attracting racket and a bubble contrail.

Available in 1/4- and 3/8-ounce sizes, it comes in four color patterns.

CRANKBAITS

Rat-L-Trap Tail Chaser -- The newest addition to the popular Rat-L-Trap series of lipless crankbaits is the Tail Chaser, which has more action than ever thanks to the addition of a feather-and-tinsel trailer on the rear hook. The lure is offered in 1/4-, 1/2- and 3/4-ounce sizes and 18 premium colors.

Bomber Balsa Model B -- These crankbaits are built with Bomber's Tru-Trak system, a one-piece polycarbonate paddle and frame running through the body and connecting to the hook hangers, so each one runs true right out of the package and hook hangers won't fail. Because they are constructed from wood, however, these shallow-running plugs are ultra buoyant and offer the fish-catching action of old-fashioned balsa baits. Use of the XCalibur Tx3 hooks ensures that fish get hooked and stay hooked. Each lure is 2 1/2 inches long, weighs 1/2 ounce and is available in 10 colors.

Cotton Cordell Wally Diver -- Like the original Wally Diver, the jointed version gets down in a hurry and has a tight jiggle. The jointed body, however, adds extra motion and suggests a crippled baitfish, which attracts strikes when other lures fail to get the job done. The lure is 2 3/4 inches long, weighs 1/4 ounce and comes in 24 color patterns.

Creek Chub Wooden Pikie -- These lures offer the classic Pikie's distinctive fish-imitating profile but are super-sized, constructed from wood and built with ultra-heavy-duty hardware. Both models feature heavy wire-through construction connecting all components. The Wooden Jointed Pikie is 11 inches long and creates a huge profile with its wide, erratic swimming motion. The Wooden Pikie measures 8 inches long and swims with a rolling wobble. Each is available in eight colors.

Mann's C-4 Elite Series -- These big, wide-body crankbaits are designed to dive to four feet, and the large square bill deflects off structure, allowing anglers to fish the lure in heavy cover. The bigger size creates lots of vibration and wobble. All C-4 baits are textured and have 3D eyes and premium red hooks. They are available in eight colors.

Lucky Craft S.K.T. Mini MR --Lucky Craft created this 2-inch 3/8-ounce mid-depth crankbait to fit bass pro Skeet Reese's fishing style. It gets into the strike zone quickly and features a tight wobble that is effective for fishing in highly pressured lakes. Anglers can choose from eight color schemes.

Rapala Minnow Rap -- Built of balsa, the Minnow Rap is available in two distinct designs. The Classic Pattern features a clear deep-diving lip and VMC black nickel hooks. The Bleeding Pattern is specially designed with bleeding gills, a red deep-diving lip and VMC red hooks for a wounded-minnow presentation. Each bait runs 5 to 11 feet deep and comes in 12 color patterns.

Storm Kickin' Slab -- This soft-plastic lure resembles a small crappie. Features include a segmented body with a kicking tail, a premium red in-line VMC treble hook, a holographic insert, holographic WildEyes and a polycarbonate lip.

The lure is 4 inches long and weighs 1 1/8 ounces.

XCalibur Wake Bait -- This surface-swelling crankbait has been engineered to wobble widely with part of the lure always at the water line, pushing out a far-ranging wake and rattling loudly to beckon to big fish. Features include detailed etched finishes, 3-D red eyes, raised red gill plates and Tx3 treble hooks. The lure measures 2 3/4 inches, weighs 3/4 of an ounce and comes in eight color patterns.

Strike Pro USA Wild Vibe -- This sinking lipless crankbait can be fished at any depth. Measuring almost 3 inches long and weighing just over 1/2 ounce, it has a loud rattle system and a vibrating motion that draws fish out of cover. The lure is available in eight colors.

Falcon Grass Flipping Jig -- Bass anglers punching heavy cover or fishing deep grass can make good use of this 2-ounce weedless jig. It's made with a 7/0 Mustad Ultra Black Nickel hook and a rattle strap with large rattles. Nine color variations are available.

Picasso Shakedown Heads -- These jigs are designed for use with plastic worms and coated with Duraseal for increased sensitivity. They have a nickel titanium spring that aids in hook penetration and makes straight rigging of the worm possible.

The jigs feature Gamakatsu hooks and come in five colors and five weights ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 ounce.

Stanley Swim Jig -- This new lure is a jig with spinnerbait vibration and crankbait versatility. The Swim Jig can be worked at all depths and comes equipped with a weed guard and rattle. The front shaker blade makes the whole lure wobble, moving a lot of water and creating fish-attracting vibrations. Available in 1/4-, 3/8- and 1/2-ounce sizes, they come in 10 colors.

SOFT-PLASTIC BAITS

CrÃ¨me Lure Shrimp Tease -- This soft-plastic shrimp imitation contains brilliant holographic coloration molded inside the body that camouflages the weight while attracting redfish and speckled trout. Protruding eyes, realistic jointed legs and lifelike antennae add to the realism of this lure, which is available in eight colors.

Gary Yamamoto's Swimbait -- Although designed for saltwater angling, this new swimbait also can be a boon to anglers seeking big black bass. It's one of Yamamoto's largest offerings to date. The section connecting the tail to the body is so thin as to be a hinge, causing tremendous action of the rear section, which has twice the surface area of traditional swimbait tails. These lures come in seven colors.

Larew El Salto Grande -- It is said that catching a big bass calls for a big bait. The El Salto Grande is designed for just that purpose.

These plastic lures are impregnated with salt and have a fish-catching additive called Crave baked in when they are made. At 12 inches in length, the ribbon-tailed worms are lunker killers.

Reusable zip-seal packs of 10 worms come in 12 colors.

Mister Twister G-Grub -- Mister Twister has taken its classic Curly Tail Grub to a new level with this lure, which incorporates the Curly Tail concept in a leech design. Fins from tip to tail produce a leech imitator with a realistic swimming action throughout its entire body. It can be rigged on a jighead, fished as a harness rig or used as a spinnerbait trailer. G-Grubs come in 3- and 4-inch sizes and 16 colors.

Panther Martin Stinky Shrimp -- Panther Martin's newest venture into saltwater angling offers a combination of natural shrimp scent, a weedless hook, a weighted body and a holographic pattern to make this new shrimp bait unique. It comes in four colors.

Southern Lures Bigfoot -- The folks at Southern Lures have put bigger flippers on their Scum Frog so it can be used like a conventional buzzbait. The Bigfoot floats, so you can stop it and spend more time around weeds, brush and stumps. Or you can retrieve in short strokes between pauses. Seven color patterns are offered.

Snag Proof Bleedin' Frog -- The red hook on this newly designed frog bait makes the lure look like wounded prey. The hook design and position allow for better-penetrating hookups, and the redesigned body provides effortless side-to-side movement due to the unique weighting system. The lure is available in five colors.

Spro Bronzeye Frog Jr. -- Spro took its popular Bronzeye Frog 65 lure and made it leaner and meaner. The body has been redesigned to maximize the hookup ratio of the Gamakatsu Superline 3/0 EWG Double hook, and the lure is specially weighted to land on its belly. The Spro Bronzeye Frog Jr. is available in a variety of colors.

SPINNERBAITS

Culprit Spinnerbait -- This new lure features razor-sharp hooks; high-turbulence, super-flash blades; and a "live action" skirt for a fish-attracting action that entices aggressive strikes.

The bait comes in 1/8-, 1/4- and 3/8- ounce sizes and four colors.

Randy's Rollin' Runner -- Bass Pro Randy Howell helped design this new addition to the Road Runner series, which features a willow blade mounted on a ball-bearing swivel and a Bleeding Bait Hook. Howell combines this head design with a Berkley Gulp! Shad and fishes it on deep structure with a slow, steady retrieve. Available patterns are Albino Shad and Citrus Shad in 1/4- and 3/8-ounce sizes.

Worden's Rooster Tail -- All 10 Rooster Tail sizes, from 1/32 ounce to 1 ounce, now are available in six new "strobe" colors.

Strobe black, salmon fly, chartreuse, gold, rainbow and white make the Rooster Tail even more versatile in all water conditions.

Strike King Sandblaster -- This multi-species tail-spinner is perfect for fishing tailrace waters and rivers. Features include an oversized eye for increased strikes, a unique cut-hook for less fouling, an in-line French blade for better flash and depth control, and a premium finish.

SPOONS

Mepps Little Wolf -- This solid brass spoon will not rust or tarnish. Its unique reverse-curve design features 10 distinct highly reflective surfaces that disperse light equally in all directions. Sizes available are 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 ounce. The 12 colors offered include three GLO (glow in the dark) hues.

Williams SAL-T C Series -- These spoons are specifically designed for the saltwater angler. They weigh 2 1/4 ounces and are 6 inches long in a plain hook version and almost double that length in the dressed hook. Each can be reversed to offer a different action. They are available in five finishes, including gold and silver with color accents.

TOPWATER HARD BAITS

Ambush Lures Buzz-a-Long -- This unique topwater lure is an in-line buzzbait with a buzz blade between the lure's head and tail sections. The buzz blade and the head slide on a titanium wire shaft to maximize water-throwing action. The bait is offered in 11 colors.

Rebel T10 Jumpin' Minnow -- Rebel's T10 Jumpin' Minnow has resurfaced after having been out of production for several years. This topwater lure glides from side to side, skimming the surface like a baitfish fleeing a predator. Its old-style lead rattle creates a distinctive call that beckons fish. Available in four traditional baitfish-imita

ting colors, the Jumpin' Minnow is 2 1/4 inches long and weighs 3/8 ounce.

Kinami Spit-N-Splash -- This 2 1/2-inch topwater popper spits and pops to entice nearby bass. Features include No. 6 hooks and a feather trailer. Five color patterns are available.

Yo-Zuri Wack "O" -- This topwater has a Tungsten Weight Transfer System. The tungsten ball inside rolls to the tail during the casts for added weight, which increases casting distance. On the retrieve, a magnet pulls the ball back and locks it in place. Unlike other weight systems, this stops the ball from rolling freely and affecting the lure's action. Six color finishes are offered.

Salmo Maas Marauder -- Salmo designed this topwater "walk the dog" lure specifically for big muskies and pike. Two models are available -- the 7 1/2-inch 2 7/8-ounce Marauder and the 5 1/8-inch 1 3/8-ounce Marauder Jr. Seven colors are available.

MISCELLANEOUS LURES

FoodSource Crappie Creature -- FoodSource lures, made with 100 percent real food, now include the Crappie Creature, an insect-shaped lure designed to fill livewells with crappie and other panfish. Twelve colors are available, along with two flavors -- Anise/Licorice and Bait Fish.

Berkley Gulp! Additions -- Berkley has added four new products to its Gulp! line of 100 percent biodegradable soft baits. The 6-inch Floating Nightcrawler is made especially for targeting walleyes. The 6-inch Float Worm is ideal for finesse fishermen working shallow grass lines, docks, ledges or other structure for bass. The 4-inch Shaky Shad swimbait with a unique vibrating tail can be rigged on a jighead and cast for finicky bass, walleyes and other predator species. The 3-inch Wicked Wing Trailer is for use with jigs and has a multi-functional design that can be used in a variety of ways.

Yum Dancin' Eel -- Designed by legendary angler Bill Dance, the Dancin' Eel is like two baits in one, combining the wobble of a crankbait with the free motion only soft-plastic lures can provide. Engineered with a one-piece hard-plastic internal body and paddle, the 6-inch lure comes equipped with a slow-release scent chamber that can be loaded with Yum Attractant. This one is available in four color patterns.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Acme Tackle Company, (401) 331-6437, AcmeTackle.com,

Ambush Lures, (660) 562-3838, AmbushLures.com,

Berkley, 1-800-BERKLEY, Berkley-Fishing.com,

Bill Lewis Lures, 1-800-633-4861, Rat-L-Trap.com,

Blakemore Lure Co., (334) 567-2011, Blakemore-Lure.com,

Bomber, Booyah, Cotton Cordell, Creek Chub, Heddon, Rebel, XCalibur and Yum lures, (479) 782-8971, Lurenet.com,

CrÃ¨me Lure Company, 1-800-527-8652, CrÃ¨me.Zoovy.com,

Falcon Lures, (337) 232-7326,FishingWorld.com/FalconLures,

FoodSource Lure Corporation, 1-866-375-8737,FSLures.com,

Gary Yama

moto Custom Baits, 1-800-645-2248, Yamamoto.baits.com,