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Lowrance Report
Lowrance, a leader in fishing electronics since 1957, announced the new Lowrance Ghost freshwater trolling motor.
Reliable, rugged and built to last, the new ultra-quiet Lowrance Ghost freshwater trolling motor helps anglers fish longer, run faster and get in closer without making a sound. Ghost has a newly designed brushless motor with the most thrust and the longest run time of any trolling motor on the market, plus other benefits including integrated Lowrance sonar options, waypoint anchoring and a three-year warranty. The combination of reliability, power, efficiency and quiet performance give the Ghost trolling motor a winning combination that ticks all the boxes for what anglers want in a premium trolling motor.
“Because Ghost is Lowrance's first trolling motor, we started completely from scratch, which gave us a unique opportunity to ask anglers what was most important to them in a trolling motor,” said Lucas Steward, Navico’s Trolling Motor Product Group Owner. “To get the quality we needed, we had to design and build it in-house. That resulted in the production of a trolling motor that delivers exactly what our consumers want: the most power, greatest efficiency and quietest performance – the ultimate trolling motor versatile enough to fit any bass boat.”
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Z-Man Report
Effective collaborations aren’t just about merging two cool concepts— e.g. a pair of running shoes with a built-in iPhone, or two killer craft beers in one can. Leading edge brands bring an exceptional talent to the table, and when a terrific twosome becomes one, amazing things can happen.
Already the undeniable trailblazer in bladed bass jigs, Z-Man is set to unveil its newest entrant in the ChatterBait® category, a collaborative effort with Freedom Tackle Inc., innovator of hinged, free-swinging fishing lures. The last time Z-Man teamed with another top tackle brand—Japan’s Ever Green International—the ChatterBait JackHammer™ was born. The sensation created by that influential bladed jig stands alone.
Hailed for its high-performance on deeper structure, the ChatterBait Freedom CFL melds Freedom Tackle’s patented free-swinging football shaped head and hook with Z-Man’s own patented hex-shaped ChatterBait blade.
Freedom Tackle owner and designer Michael Tamburro says the new bladed swing jig exhibits a unique set of perfectly melded component parts. “We used a lead-free zinc football head and exclusive hook attachment that allows the back end of the lure to pivot and swing freely as you retrieve the lure,” says Tamburro. “The patented Freedom hook-release even allows the angler to make quick hook changes, if needed.
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VMC Report
Try a new spin on swimbait fishing with VMC’s new Heavy Duty Weighted Willow Swimbait Hook. A new take on the “under spin” concept, this new Ike Approved innovation features a willow-leaf blade attached via an extended spinner arm, ensuring maximum rotation and flash and optimal blade position.
Trailing the willow blade on a spinner arm gives it additional range of motion. “Every twitch of your rod tip or pause on your retrieve can kick out that willow leaf in any direction, catching light in the water column and flashing,” says Rapala Pro Michael “Ike” Iaconelli, namesake of VMC’s Ike Approved line-up of hooks and jigs. “That flash triggers bites. Pretty much any forage bass feed on, it flashes as it swims around, changes directions, tries to escape.”
What’s more, the spinner arm positions that fish-triggering flash closer to the hook, minimizing short strikes, increasing your hook-up ratio.
With the release of the Heavy Duty Weighted Willow Swimbait Hook, VMC is introducing a newly designed self-centering spring to securely hold soft-plastic swimbaits in place.
“That new spring is absolutely crucial, because when you rig a swimbait, it has to go right down the center,” Iaconelli says. “If it’s off by just a little bit, it won’t run right. So having that right in the center is key.”
Heavy Duty Weighted Willow Swimbait Hooks are forged from hi-carbon steel and feature a needle point. They come two per pack in seven sizes: 3/16th oz, 3/0 hook; 3/16th oz, 4/0; 1/4th oz, 5/0; 3/8th oz, 6/0; 3/8th oz, 7/0; 3/8th oz, 9/0; ½ oz,11/0.