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Scum Frog Report
New Realistic Scum Frog Painted Trophy Series Meets Angler Demands
Discriminating anglers demand specific features in their quest for the best hollow-bodied frog.
They want their frogs to be soft, so they collapse the moment a bass strikes, yet durable to last through numerous fish catches. They seek a higher hook-up ratio due to accurate positioning of quality hooks and they want them to convey a lifelike appearance and move realistically across the water.
Scum Frog, which has been manufacturing hollow-bodied frogs seemingly forever, offers the highest quality components at a reasonable price in its upgraded Painted Trophy Series. Like the recently introduced Launch Series, the ALL NEW Trophy Series now features 10 new hand-designed colors in addition to the 11 original colors.
The Painted Trophy Series’ realistic color schemes mimic several different types of bass forage. Each color has been meticulously designed by award-winning, internationally renowned lure artist Andrew Gardner, a Scum Frog staffer.
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Daiwa Report
Daiwa Introduces Premium Spinning Reel
Daiwa has announced yet another significant breakthrough in spinning-reel technology with the Luvias LT. Whether you chase trout and salmon, inshore species or bass, the Luvias LT family is designed to offer the utmost in performance, longevity and versatility.
Daiwa's skilled product development team designed the new Luvias LT with top-of-the-line components, compounds and features. For starters, the Luvias LT features a lightweight one-piece body made from ZaionÆ, which collectively offers abundant rigidity, even under the pressure of massive fish.
It has a structural system used widely in military and boat building applications, whereby internal loads are supported through the external skin - think of symmetrical design of an egg. Daiwa embraces this design inventiveness in the new Luvias LT series, and moreover, incorporates advanced Zaion material to bolster overall performance of the structural system.
Zaion, a Daiwa exclusive, is a high-density carbon with anti-corrosion properties that is both lighter and as strong as most metals. Zaion's engineers set out to build a material that was as strong as metal but light as carbon. Conventional wisdom holds that an aluminum reel offers toughness, while polycarbonate is needed to make a light body and rotor. Zaion is a fusion of these two qualities. While ordinary carbon is made of nylon resin and carbon fibers at 20%, Zaion boasts twice the density of carbon fibers. The result is a unique material that is as strong and corrosive resistant and 50% lighter than aluminum.
Daiwa's proprietary Zaion compound is also used in the Luvias LT's Air Rotor and Air Bail system, too, winding line around the spool with silky precision. The reduced weight in the rotor section makes it infinitely easier to turn the handle, so anglers can focus on the lure and technique, not cranking the handle.
The Luvias LT also features a Magsealed body line and roller, tough Digigear, and Advanced Tournament Drag (ATD). Designed and manufactured in Japan, every part of this reel is truly maximized to offer anglers the best spinning reel performance they're ever experienced.
Magsealed means the Daiwa Luvias LT keeps spinning forever with nearly zero friction and without any special maintenance, while offering unmatched water resistance. It's a technology that benefits anyone who desires the longevity and smooth performance of a new reel. This is not just an improvement, but true innovation. This is what MAGSEALED is all about. By using this technology and space engineering, Daiwa has perfected the reel's water resistance and durability by blocking even micro-level impurities.
Digigear is digitally developed gearing for maximum performance and endurance. It smoothly and efficiently transmits the power of the handle directly to the rotor.
It's available in five sizes and gear ratios of 5.1:1 and 5.2:1. Suggested retail ranges from $349 to $389.
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Rapala Report
New Rap-V Blade Offers Anglers Jigging and Casting Versatility
Cast it. Jig it. Yo-Yo it. Twitch it. Rip it. Crank it. Grind it. Pop it. Snap it. Lift and drop it.
Wherever you fish.
Whenever you fish.
Regardless of what species you’re fishing for, the Rap-V Blade will catch it.
The “V” stands for maximum versatility. And it’s the most versatile fishing lure ever created by Rapala making it the multi-tool of fishing lures.
The new Rap-V Blade is the perfect balance of metal, plastic and Rapala expertise. This extremely versatile bait produces instant vibration on the lift or retrieve. It can be worked at any depth, from the shallows to deep water, with a wide range of techniques.
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Daiwa Report
New Daiwa Zillion 10.0
A 10.0: 1 gear ratio. Think about it. In basic terms, that means you get ten rotations of the spool for every full crank. That’s some amazing pick-up, ideal for moving lures at break-wind speeds and pulling uncooperative fish from structure and cover. And that’s precisely what Daiwa’s new low-profile Zillion 10.0 puts in your hands.
The Japanese engineered and manufactured Zillion 10.0 yields technique-specific brilliance, especially in the realm of bass fishing. It’s high speed retrieve lends perfection for fishing topwater baits, like frogs and buzzbaits. Daiwa’s Zillion 10.0 is equally as proficient burning lipless crankbaits and other hardbody lures when retrieval speed is the key.
After the hookup, the Zillion 10.0 also gives you the power and velocity to get fish up and out of precarious environments. Pitch a jig into timber, along pilings or in deep vegetated pockets, and that bass better come boatside quickly, or lose it back to the lake. Daiwa’s Zillion 10.0 gives you the authority to bring that fish home.
Due to popular demand to add a fast reel back to the Zillion line up where we used to have a 9.0:1 in Zillion, we accomplished the wishes of the public and developed the faster more powerful Zillion 10.0:1 reel, said Daiwa Field Marketing Manager Marc Mills. “Frog guys and Lipless guys you are going to love it!”
From a design standpoint, Daiwa incorporated premium componentry, all aimed at delivering speed and power in a lightweight, comfortable and durable reel. For starters, Daiwa’s signature G1 Duraluminum SV Spool is perfectly balanced, light and efficient, and conceived for making controlled casts.
Unlike other reels, where the pinion gear constantly rides the spool shaft, Daiwa’s unique free-floating G1 Duraluminum SV Spool rests independently on precision, stainless steel ball bearings. And because the pinion rides its own separate shaft, the spool spins freely, unhampered by gear train friction when casting.
While on the topic of aluminum, the Zillion 10.0’s exquisite innerworkings are housed in a frame with side plates constructed of the same premium alloy.
More aluminum means gears are kept in precise alignment. Lesser reels that aren’t encased in aluminum get sloppy over time. The Zillion 10.0’s aluminum shell ensures tighter tolerances and a reel that simply lasts longer.
The Zillion 10.0’s performance is further bolstered by Daiwa’s exclusive T-Wing System (TWS). The “T” aperture allows line to flow freely on the cast, reducing the sharp angles and friction that cause line to stall when exiting the reel. With the Zillion 10.0, on the retrieve, the line drops into the narrower, lower channel of the T-Wing for even greater distribution across the spool width.
Daiwa's exclusive and comfortable Swept Handle moves the paddles closer to the rod's centerline. The result is less wobble of the rod and reel in your hand as you crank. That means less wasted energy and a more powerful retrieve.
Masters at delivering premium, technique-specific reels, Daiwa dares you to find a lighter weight, more effective tool for burning baits and bringing trophies back to the boat. We dare say the Zillion 10.0 has no challengers.
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Strike King Report
Strike King KVD 2.5 Wake Bait
The new 2.5 KVD Wake Bait is built off of the very popular KVD 2.5 Squarebill design that anglers love.
The difference is the unique bill design that is angled so the bait wakes the surface of the water instead of diving. The 2.5 Wake is designed where it can be reeled both fast and slow speeds and will not blow out – an issue that is common in other wake bait designs. Being able to reel it fast allows the fish to not get a good look at the bait, enticing more strikes. Additionally, internal rattles create a unique clacking sound that drives fish crazy.
The new KVD 2.5 Wake comes in 12 fish catching colors and with a MSRP of $6.99.