Top New Fishing Lures For 2008

Creme Lures
(www.cremelure.com)
"Our bait called the Lit'l Fishie is the most universal bait we've got because it'll catch any species," according to Wayne Kent of Creme Lures.

What makes this bait unusual are two small slices in the body, one slightly forward of the other.

"Instead of a shake or a vibration, you actually get a swim!" Kent said.

The lure is available in three sizes -- 1 inch, 2 inches and 3 inches, and in about eight colors.

"If you can throw it out and reel it in you can catch fish," Kent said, noting that the lure is effective on anything from crappies to bass and trout as well as saltwater species.

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Yakima Bait Company
(www.yakimabait.com)
The Yakima Bait Company has some new colors in its line of Roostertail spinners. Trout, steelhead, walleye, bass and pike anglers will be taking a good look at the new tinsel Roostertails.

"I think that's going to be real popular," according to Rob Phillips.

This flashy new spinner has tinsel mixed with the hackle and decals over paint that has the appearance of eyes, gills or scales on the blades.

Pautzke Bait Company
(www.pautzke.com)
"The hottest product we've had the last year or two is called the Fire Cure and the Borx O' Fire," said Casey Kelly of Pautzke Bait Company.

These are cures for salmon eggs to prepare them for steelhead or standard stream trout fishing.

"The Fire Cure is a sulfite-based cream while the Borx O' Fire is borax-based and milder.

"Our newest claim to fame is our krill attractant. There's a minimal amount that penetrates the eggs," Kelly said.

Pradco
(www.lurenet.com)
PRADCO has a new lipless rattle bait. Rather than standard rattles, the Xcalibur lure has a single tungsten rattle with a specially designed shape. Standard lead rattles eventually lose their shape and sound. The tungsten rattle maintains its shape and sound.

"It can be used a couple of different ways," said Jeff Samsel, a PRADCO spokesman. "One is just cast and retrieve. It's a terrific bait for finding fish because you can fish it very quickly. The other application is going to be a lift-and-drop sort of technique. It's really effective in early spring."

Fishbites
(www.fishbites.com)
New from Fishbites is Fish Bites Xtreme."It's a scent-releasing bait," said Mike Carr, a company spokesman. "You would work them any way you would work a soft bait. You could also dead-stick them and they still would be effective."

While these lures are designed to catch most estuary-based fish, there will be a freshwater version of Xtreme coming out this year as well. These will be a 6-inch finesse worm, a 5-inch trick worm and a 5-inch jerkbait.

Bandit Lures
(www.banditlures.com)
"If we put any effort into anything, it's to get a bait to run true," said Chris Ross of Bandit Lures.

Bandit Lures' line of Walleye Bandits comes in two versions, the Shallow Walleye Bandit and the Deep Walleye Bandit, which runs 8 to 12 feet deep. Walleye Bandits are available in a relatively narrow choice of colors that were chosen for serious walleye fishermen.

Eagle Claw
(www.eagleclaw.com)
New from Eagle Claw is Nitro Grease, a fish-attracting scent that stays on lures longer than sprays or liquids because it is a paste.

"Applied to any lure it makes it better," according to Doug Long.

"It contains a combination of scent with pheromones, so it stimulates not only a feeding instinct but the instinct for the opposite sex to investigate the lure."

Bass Pro Shops
(www.basspro.com)
"The Holographic Bucktail Jig is just a good all-around lure because it crosses over well from salt water to fresh water," according to Brent Lawrence of Bass Pro Shops. "It's a jack-of-all-trades lure even though it was built initially just for stripers. But it's also being used in Florida to catch snappers and grouper."

This jig comes in five sizes from 3/8 ounce to 2 ounces.

"The green and the red and the chartreuse are doing really well," he said.

Acme Lures
(www.acmetackle.com)
Among Acme Lures' popular spoons, perhaps best known is the Little Cleo with its hump-backed shape that is recognized by all serious Great Lakes steelhead and salmon anglers.

Little Cleos are available in several sizes from 1/6 ounce, a favorite along trout streams, to 1 ounce, which is perfect for chinook salmon or p

ike. Blue and silver is a standard along the Great Lakes. Glow colors are catching on for low-light conditions.

Daiwa
(www.daiwa.com)
Daiwa has a new crankbait called the DB Minnow SP that is designed to trigger the predatory instincts of largemouth and smallmouth bass, as well as other game fish.

"It imitates an injured bait minnow," said company spokesman Mark Malkin. "It initially starts at the surface, and then it'll dive down to about 3 feet."

"What's really nice about this is they have a life-like scale finish and 3-D eyes, and they have great swimming action, too," Malkin added.

Food Source Lures
(www.fslures.com)
The 1-inch mealworm from Food Source Lures is making waves in the panfish world.

"We've done very well with them with ice-fishermen for a variety of fish," according to Luke Dallis.

Add a mealworm to a teardrop jig or a jig and minnow. The sugar or crawfish scent this lure sends out draws fish from long distances.

"The key to our product is that it is 100 percent pure food and 100 biodegradable," Dallis said. "They hold onto it longer.

Vicious Fishing
(www.vicious-fishing.com)
"The big Daddy Craw was designed by Russ Lane, who tricked it out for us," said Chris Dutto of Vicious Fishing.

This versatile 4-inch flipping creature lure is designed for the pros and has a slit in the tail. Put it on a jig, or rig it Texas or Carolina style.

"Black and blue is probably the most wanted color. We try to go with just the basics."

Rapala
(www.rapala.com)
"This is definitely a multi-species bait," said Kelly Hedtke about the new X-Rap Shad from Rapala.

This lure has the popular Shad Rap body shape but with the X-Rap attitude. It's more of a slash bait. You can fish it aggressively with a hard-cutting, aggressive motion. Or, you can use a finesse method with a slow retrieve."

The X-Rap Shad comes in two sizes, 2 inches and 3 inches, well suited to smallmouth or largemouth bass, walleyes, big crappies and larger trout.

Pure Fishing
(www.purefishing.com)
From Pure Fishing comes an artificial bait that is about as close to live bait as you can get. The new Gulp! Alive! Minnow is 20 percent stronger than the original Gulp! bait.

"It's a soft bait," company rep Ron Giudice said. "Instead of a soft package, it comes in a re-sealable tub.

"This works well on a jighead. Fish it just like you would a live bait. That's what it's supposed to mimic."

River2Sea
(www.river2seausa.com)
No special retrieve is necessary with the S-Waver; just reel it in and the bait will take care of the rest, according to Dan O'Sullivan of River2Sea.

"S-Waver is classified as a swimbait, and is a 6-inch slow-sinking, jointed hard bait that swims in what is known as S-action. Muskie and pike anglers will find it has a similar action to other glide-style baits, but it performs well on the surface or at any depth."

Cabela's
(www.cabelas.com)
How can you do something different with a jig?

Cabela's has an answer with its new Cabela's Advanced Bucktail Jig.

"It's different because it has two bucktails," David Draper said. "One's on the hook shank and one's suspended behind the hook shank on the bend of the hook. In addition to the bucktail, there's some Flashabou tied on for added attraction. You get double the pulsating action with both bucktails."

Cabela's Advanced Bucktail Jig has a realistic head with molded-in eyes, gills and mouth. It is available in sizes from 1/4 ounce to 2 ounces and in seven colors to make it suitable for most game fish.

Salmo Fishing
(www.salmofishing.com)
The Salmo Hornet is so hot the company cannot keep up with demand.

"It's got excellent action, a lot of vibration," Corey Studer said. "You can actually feel the vibration. If you don't feel that vibration, either you have a weed or some debris, or you have a fish on."

The Salmo Hornet comes in four sizes, 1 3/4 inches, 1 3/8 inches, 2 inchs and 2 1/2 inches, dives 3 feet to 20 feet, with about 20 impressive colors to meet many fishing situations from crappies to bass to walleyes.

TTI-Blakemore
(www.bl

akemorelure.com)
"The Road Runner celebrates its 50th anniversary this year," said T.J. Stallings of TTI-Blakemore. "This year, we're offering a 50th Anniversary Gold Series Road Runner."

The lure is available in three sizes: 1/6 ounce, which is perfect for panfish such as bluegills; 1/8 ounce, which is a crappie killer; and 1/4 ounce, which is favored by bass and walleye anglers.

"The reason Road Runners outfish ordinary jigs is because of the position of the blade. Fishes' eyes are on the top of their heads, so they're constantly looking up. As the Roadrunner descends, the first thing they see is the blade. The position of the blade also simulates gill flash."

Matzuo
(www.matzuo.com)
The Zander Shad from Matzuo is making a big splash in the walleye world.

"Last year in the Great Lakes it won a lot of tournaments," according to Don Hoben. "We make the lure in two configurations, one that goes deep and one that goes shallow."

The shallow model runs 6 feet, the deep model to 18 feet.

"We make it with a holographic tape, which picks up more light."

This lure also has 3-D eyes and a natural-look model is available called the Glass Shad, with a holographic tape inside a clear body.

Northland Tackle
(www.northlandtackle.com)
Northland Tackle has put a new twist on weights for bass anglers.

"New for 2008, we have a line of Sling-Shot Lure Weights," company rep John Crane said. "This is a bass sinker, primarily. One of the features is it's a quick-change unit with a little rubber sling. You put the line through a slot in the sinker, pull and twist. It works fine for Texas or Carolina rigging.

"It doesn't twist your line and there's no abrasion. You're also able to interchange sizes without cutting the line," he added.

Strike Pro
(www.strikeproamerica.com)
Strike Pro has a new lure called the Flex Phantom that combines the action of soft plastic with the durability of hard plastic.

"It has a unique body shape," Steve Bullard said. "It's a hard-plastic bait that has nine joints that give it a more natural swimming motion."

The Flex Phantom comes in three sizes: 3 1/2 inches, 4 3/4 inches and 6 3/4 inches. The smaller sizes are geared toward bass or walleyes, the larger sizes toward pike or muskies, or even saltwater species.

Lucky Craft
(www.luckycraft.com)
To complement its Big Daddy Strike series of fat crankbaits, Lucky Craft has introduced two new versions, the Fat Minnie D-5 and D-7.

"Fish this around structure, bounce it off riprap, swim it between logs, over weeds, anywhere you need to get tight to structure."

The new Fat Minnies are available in eight of Lucky Craft's most popular colors.

Tru-Tungsten
(www.tru-tungsten.com)
Tru-Tungsten's new entry this year is the Tru-Life Swim Bait. It can be fished on the surface, at middepths or deep. Tungsten balls can be added or removed depending on the fall rate desired.

A hard bait with fine details of either a trout or bluegill, "burning" the bait, then stopping causes it to change profile to trigger strikes.

Strike King
(www.strikeking.com)
Texas rig it or slip it on a leadhead jig, the Rage Craw, a new soft plastic from Strike King is bound to catch the attention of bass.

"The Rage Craw baits have a unique tail design. The ends of the claws have a flange that creates a lot more action than a normal soft-plastic bait as it falls through the water. It looks like a crawfish in the defensive position," Chris Brown said. "With just a little water flow it creates a lot of movement."

This lure is about 3 1/2 inches long.