The Incredible Edible Bait

Ed Rogers, president of FoodSource, says their baits aren’t intended to feel as soft as soft plastics. Rather, they’re designed to taste and feel like a live minnow or other natural food. Rogers adds that the firmness of their lures helps them stay on the hook better than soft plastic. “If you want to make a FoodSource bait softer, fish with it awhile, and the bait limbers up. Or add a little water to the bag and let them soak. The longer they’re in water, the softer they become.” Even when out of water for extended periods, FoodSource baits can be resoftened and recharged by placing them in water or a water-based solution for a few minutes. All FoodSource lures completely dissolve in water, leaving behind no synthetic byproducts.

FoodSource has added the Alabama River Series, including the 4-inch Coosa Flick, a drop-shot or shakyhead bait, and Little Warrior, a 3-inch creature bait, touted as a jig trailer and finesse flipping bait in heavy cover. The 5-inch Food Stick, a soft stickbait, remains FoodSource’s signature lure. And for smallmouth, their 3-inch Leech has been hot on clear natural lakes and reservoirs.

Big Bite BioBaits: Big Bite Baits, developed and manufactured in Eufaula, Alabama, have proven a hit in Texas reservoirs like Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Except for a slightly tacky gelatinous exterior, there’s little physical difference between a BioBait and a typical soft plastic. According to company Vice President, Scott Montgomery, “BioBaits are loaded with natural fish attractants that are released into the water at a much higher rate than soft plastics. They have no fish repelling chemicals, so bass strike and don’t reject them. Moreover, BioBait doesn’t dry out when exposed to air, so baits left on the rod are fine.” BioBait also is offered in translucent colors, not an easy accomplishment with biodegradable materials.

Texas tournament ace Russell Cecil relies on BioBaits, and won an FLW Stren Series event on Toledo Bend using a BioBait Trick Stick, a soft stickbait, and a Kriet Kreature. “Trick Sticks excel for working deep trees,” Cecil says. “The lure’s material is both tougher and heavier than plastic, so it sinks quickly into the tree tops where I can keep good contact with it. I don’t have to add extra weight to BioBait. Even in strong wind, when detecting bites can be difficult, bass hang onto it, so you convert almost every strike.

“Their density also makes them ideal for flipping into thick grass mats that hold so many bass on Rayburn and Toledo Bend,” Cecil adds. Anglers also have favored the new Kriet Kreature for Carolina-rigging, and Cecil used it to notch a 2nd place finish at an FLW Stren Series event on Rayburn last year.

Designed with input from Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff Kriet, BioBait’s Kriet Series also includes the Kriet Tail, a 6- and 10-inch curlytail worm and the Thumpin Worm, a ­double-ended paddletail bait available in 4- and 6-inch sizes and 6 colors. Rounding out the series are a 6-inch Pro Lizard, YoMama creature bait, Finesse Worm, Ring Worm, Tube, and Craw Tube. “Right now,” Cecil concludes, “I’d say that BioBaits may be the dominant softbait on the Texas tournament scene.”

Berkley Gulp!—One of the first on the tastebait scene, Berkley Gulp! was developed by lure researchers Dr. Keith Jones and John Prochnow of Pure Fishing. Several years after its ­introduction, Gulp! is a household name among avid anglers. While technically still a plastic, Gulp! is reported to biodegrade in water within 18 months, depending on bacterial breakdown and bottom-dwelling scavengers.

New packaging has addressed some initial drawbacks, such as rigidity, dehydrating when kept out of water, and warping in Ziploc bags. Packed in buckets and submersed in “Magic Gravy,” new Gulp! Alive! baits can be recharged, absorbing more attractant. Baits that begin to dry out are resoftened and rejuvenated by a dip in the bucket. Beyond the marketing brilliance of packaging softbaits as if they were livebait, Gulp! Alive! won’t fold or become deformed while suspended in Magic Gravy, something common even to Ziploc-bagged soft plastics.

“Unlike traditional softbaits, anglers can alter the consistency of Gulp!,” says Pure Fishing Senior Marketing Manager, Eric Naig. “If an angler wants to toughen a Gulp! Craw for flipping heavy cover, let it dry in the sun for a few minutes. For a softer bait with a bit more action, place the bag or an Alive! bucket in the hot sun.

Gulp! was first embraced by smallmouth anglers, and the Leech, Minnow, Goby, and Sinking Minnow have become staples for anglers on the Great Lakes, particularly for drop-shot fishing on deep rock structure. Many new additions are intended as finesse presentations for largemouth bass. Introductions include the 3-inch Nuclear Nelly, a compact creature-shaped jig trailer, 4-inch Crawfish, and 6-inch Lizard, all packed in wide, flat Alive! buckets that resist spilling. Newest is a 7-inch Gulp! Super Worm, a ribbontail worm anglers have requested.

“Anglers are experimenting with new ways to rig these baits,” Naig says. “We’ve developed our own rigging system that works incredibly well and it will be brought to market this year. Another barrier has been translucence. Right now, the materials in Gulp! prevent translucent colors, but we’ll get there.”

Fishbites: Developed through decades of research by marine ­biologist and University of Florida professor Dr. William Carr, Fishbites is a rapidly biodegrading tastebait that consists of laboratory-formulated feeding stimulants. His research defined chemical substances fish use to detect and track prey.