Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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KS II Elite Series Rod
Halo Fishing has stepped up its efforts to provide tour grade fishing rods at an affordable price with the new KS II Elite Series.
Halo’s new leadership is strongly committed to integrity to their customers and products and driven by a passion for building high quality rods at affordable prices. The KS II Elite exemplifies the attention to detail and quality Halo demands from every product they manufacture. Demonstrated in the KS II Elite rods build quality which is manufactured with premium components on a super light, ultra-sensitive Nano-fiber carbon blank.
The KS II Elite Series consists of six casting and one spinning model all of which were designed with input from Halo’s pro fishing team. Retailing at $169.99, the series is built with premium Fuji guides featuring zirconia inserts that heighten rod sensitivity even more. The KS II Elite’s rock solid, proprietary reel handle is made of AAA cork with green Eva Foam highlights for comfort and sensitivity. An exposed, “two-finger” section in the reel seat provides anglers a direct feel to the blank for those delicate bites.
“Nano-fiber carbon not only is stronger and more sensitive than graphite but it’s more durable as well,” says Halo Brand Manager Walt Roberts.
The spinning reel seat also features a double-nut attachment to keep the reel secured to the rod. Both casting and spinning rods have a hook hanger integrated into the blank.
“Halo is working closely with our pro staff team to get our input on rod lengths, features and actions,” says Scott Canterbury, the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year. “We’ve made huge strides in improving the overall quality of the rods and dialed in the actions to meet the needs of serious anglers.”
In addition to focusing on quality products, the new Halo leadership has doubled down on its commitment to anglers and customer service. The KS II Elite rods are backed by a five-year warranty.
“We know our customers work hard all week so they can fish harder on weekends,” says Roberts. “The new management team is not only passionate about providing customers a quality product for their hard-earned dollars, but we’re equally committed to a vastly improved customer service program for anglers and our dealer network.”
Halo is a subsidiary of the American Baitworks Co. American Baitworks has made significant strides to overhaul the rod company since moving the business from Florida to Mississippi in 2019.
For more product information, visit www.americanbaitworks.com.
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Z-Man Report
Z-Man Now Offers Two Super Soft Frog Models
Z-Man Fishing now offers the Z-Man Leap FrogZ in two models: a Walking Frog and a Popping Frog.
Major League Fishing angler Luke Clausen contributed several valuable assets to the design of the new pro-grade topwater frog.
“One cool attribute frog anglers will appreciate, we molded both versions of the Leap FrogZ with a deep-V belly that acts like a rudder to carve the surface and empower easy walk-the-dog retrieves,” says Clausen.
Clausen also calls attention to the frogs’ hollow, super soft body, which collapses with minimal pressure, activating the custom, heavy-duty double hook. “We forged this special frog hook with the perfect, slightly ‘open’ angle to yield super-high percentage hooksets,” he said.
The bait has a sealed eyelet to prevent water from entering the cavity, while a rear drain hole sheds excess moisture.
Extra-long, multi-colored silicone legs resemble amphibian appendages and webbed feet— slowly trailing down as the frog rests then flaring when the legs kick and stop.
The popping version of the Leap FrogZ is sculpted with a deeply concave mouth to create a popping sound.
Available now at retailers and at www.zmanfishing.com, the Leap FrogZ is built in 2.25- and 2.75-inch sizes in both Popping Frog and Walking Frog body types. Five different naturalistic frog patterns, 3D eyes and premium paint apps max out the lure’s attraction.
Suggested retail is $7.99.
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Strike King Report
Strike King Baby Squadron Jig Head
The Strike King Squadron Jig head lineup has been expanded to include the Baby Squadron Swimbait Head for finesse swimbait tactics.
The Baby Squadron Swimbait Jig Head comes with a wide-gap, chemically sharpened 2/0 black nickel hook and durable finish and is sized to fit the 2.75 & 3.25 Rage Swimmer, along with the 3.5 Shadalicious.
The Baby Squadron Jig Head is available in three sizes ranging from 1/8, 3/16 and 5/16 ounce and comes in 7 colors. Although it was designed for use on swimbaits, the Baby Squadron SwimbaitHead is also the perfect match for grub style baits as well.
Suggested retail is $4.99.
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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.