Stickworm Innovations Success of Yamamoto’s Senko still reverberates, and this lure category continues to expand. Among the most noteworthy: YUM’s mega-sized Forktail Dinger, a 9-incher that comes packaged with a 9/0 hook, a lunker bait if there ever was one; the 5-inch Food Stick from Foodsource Lures, made of a biodegradable and edible (by humans) substance—in the booth at the fishing industry ICAST show, company reps were gobbling up their own lures like so many peanuts. The 53⁄4-inch Helix Worm from Doc Waters Lure Company has a helix design throughout the body to slow its fall, create underwater vibrations, and provide a natural spongy feel. The Slurpies Dip-Stick Worm from Northland Tackle, a visually spectacular addition, is infused with holographic FishFlakes and an attractor scent called SowSauce.

YUM’s Sweet Cheeks, an internally weighted bait (3-, 4-, and 5-inch), features a scent-dispensing chamber in the gills that can be filled with flavor attractants. Prowler Lures has the Swim Bait, a 41⁄2-inch paddler that matches their new leadhead. Spike-It adds the Shad to their Grand Bay Saltwater Lures line, for inland use on a leadhead, as well. A marvelous cross between a swimbait and stickworm genres is the translucent Spindle Worm, designed by Yuki Ito of Megabass.

Meanwhile Pure Fishing adds the 3- and 4-inch RealistiX Pogy and 6-inch Saltwater Stinger Pogy, internally weighted baits with holographic inserts. Matzuo adds the Tournament Shad Flat Tail, with an internal rattle chamber, and has revised the Sterling Minnow, available in both curlytail and paddletail editions. For sound production, Stanley’s Buck Shad combines their patented Wedge Tail design, with narrow peduncle and large tail, and a loud rattler in the tail that shakes during the retrieve. And Gary Yamamoto has entered the swimbait scene with a 31⁄2-inch boot-tail model that matches leadheads.

Drop-Shot Baits

This technique is on fire from Alabama to New York to Texas, not to mention its heartland in California. Anglers have discovered its tremendous triggering power, as well as recognizing its precise bait placement.

While suitable lures are nearly limitless, several new products designed for dropshotting have come along, including an exquisite line of hand-poured baits from Bass Pro Shops XPS lure collection. Try the Quiver Minnow McCreature, Drop Shot Worm, or Ring Worm, in the 3- to 41⁄4-inch range for finesse work.

Another unique design is the Bailey Magnet Magnum, an oversized version of the bait the late Elden Bailey built for crappie fishing. Its solid body and array of tentacles provide great action when the bait is barely moved. The Flirt from Reaction Innovations is a finesse worm but with an enlarged head to hold a hook, a tapered body, and a narrow paddletail for a quivering action. And from Spike-It comes the Split-Tail Finesse Worm, with a tail like an adder’s tongue. Berkley’s Gulp! Wacky Crawler is ultra-flexible for a deadly wacky drop-shot bait. Megabass continues to produce creative designs, the latest the Bumpee Worm, Baby Bumpee, and E-ba in their V.I.O.S. softbait series.

Gobies

Smallmouth bass eat gobies on Lake Erie, St. Clair, and everywhere these weasley little bottom-huggers have invaded. Poor Boy’s Baits offers The Goby, a hand-poured bait that’s scored numerous big tournament wins on the Great Lakes. Available in 3- and 4-inch sizes, they can be rigged on a drop-shot or jighead. Also joining the category is the Great Lakes Goby from Culprit, a 4-incher available in four colors with a matching jighead.

Softbaits have now gone beyond soft plastics to include novel and biodegradable substances like Gulp! and Foodsource. Meanwhile, there’s never been a greater variety of soft plastics to match classic and novel presentations.