Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, October 10, 2025
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Blocker Outdoors Report
Nothing beats the feel of fleece on your skin. It’s why fleece shirts and jackets have a home in almost every closet. Factor in fleece’s thermal capacities, and it’s no wonder hunters choose fleece garments for layering and as a standalone in moderate conditions.
Known for its exceptional quality and right-priced gear, Blocker Outdoors introduces the new ¼ Zip Performance Fleece Shirt and Performance Fleece Hoodie.
“The new Performance Fleece shirt and hoodie are great midweight options, whether worn on the outside with a base layer, or as the centerpiece of a warmer layering system,” said Blocker Outdoors’ Marketing Director, Steve Allie. “And you really can’t beat it for the price.”
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Rapala Report
In search of gold (as in trophy walleye!) in them thar deep waters?
If you love to plumb the depths of the Great Lakes and other big deep freshwater lakes, Rapala has the answer to getting down deep and waking up them up.
The Gold Miner quickly dives to depths of 30 feet. Made from durable plastic construction, the Gold Miner features a distinct rattle and a wide tail action to entice fish to bite in a variety of conditions.
The Gold Miner runs true whether being trolled slow of fast. It features a wide swinging action that will attract a range of freshwater fish, including lake trout, walleye, salmon, brown trout, muskie and northern pike.
The Gold Miner is available in 20 colors, including: Antifreeze, Antrifreeze Hot Steel, Blue Eyes, Chrome Blue Hot Tail, Clear, Firetiger, Gold, Headspin, Ice Breaker, Moldy Fruit, Pure Chrome, Purpledescent, Purple Meat Market, Rave, Silver, Silver Blue, Spendy Shades, Voodoo Haze, Whiskey Sour, and Wonder Tiger (Glow).
The Gold Miner is being introduced with a body length of 4-3/4 inches and a weight of ¾ oz.
The Gold Miner has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of US $12.99.
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Z-Man Report
While we’re not ready to unmask the enigmas of Z-Man’s proprietary ElaZtech material, suffice to say the new TRD FattyZ possesses some legit softbait superpowers.
Watch as the tail rises, ripples and breathes in the underwater currents. It’s an impressive action to behold, and as anglers are discovering, it’s especially enticing to selective bass.
The same naturally buoyant formula that elevated the original Finesse TRD™ to epic status now breathes life into Z-Man’s freshest new fish catcher.
Perhaps finesse fishing pioneer and Z-Man insider Drew Reese said it best: “ElaZtech baits like the TRD FattyZ exhibit the underwater angle all lure companies have been trying to achieve since the early 1900s . . . to create a bait that doesn’t lie flat on bottom, but that rises up on its own and moves like something truly alive.”
The 3.25-inch TRD FattyZ’ features a slinky silhouette. Anglers have aptly described the TRD FattyZ’ action as squirrelly, nervous, twitchy—all great descriptors for such a versatile finesse bait, equally energetic no matter how you rig it: Ned, Neko, dropshot, wacky, you name it.
Z-Man pro Luke Clausen believes it’s one of the more coveted, yet least talked-about tournament softbaits today—and a perennial winner on national kayak-bass circuits. Clausen, who has won the Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood (FLW) Cup, recalls the thinking that propelled the FattyZ profile into bass fishing stardom.
“For years, while everyone was throwing skinny worms, I knew anglers would benefit from a fatter profile bait with more tail action,” notes Clausen. “ElaZtech was the perfect vehicle to bring the bait to life.”
Amplifying both the original FattyZ and the new finesse sized TRD FattyZ, Clausen calls out the bait’s meatier head and torso section, which accommodate a traditional Finesse ShroomZ™, a slightly larger NedlockZ™ EWG (Clausen’s favorite) or 2/0 Pro ShroomZ™ jighead.
“The TRD FattyZ differentiates itself with a slender waist (midsection), which then transitions back to a bulbous, always-active tail,” continues Clausen. “That slim midsection acts like a door hinge, freeing the TRD FattyZ material to swing and undulate freely. Try it as a finesse wacky rig or shaky head.”
Laying the TRD FattyZ flush in his palm, Clausen nods at its smooth, flat underside, sculpted and shaped to “spiral and glide” on the fall.
“I’m a big believer in baits that spiral on the fall. The TRD FattyZ’ flat underside produces a cool circular spiraling and gliding motion that becomes even more effective around pressured bass. Give the bait a twitch or two to make it hunt randomly before its spiraling action kicks in. And, for dropshot fishing, this same flat underbelly stabilizes the bait when you nose hook it but still gives it that mesmerizing gliding action between rod shakes.”
Available now at outdoor retailers nationwide or at zmanfishing.com, the new 3.25” TRD FattyZ features ten potent finesse patterns, including laminate colors like PB&J and Goby Bryant.
Suggested retail is $4.99 per 8-pack.
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Rapala Report
On the heels of its successful launch of the PXR Mavrik jerkbait, Rapala is introducing the PXR Deep Mavrik 110, a new deep-diving suspending jerkbait.
Developed with some of the most meticulous bass pros in the industry, the PXR Deep Mavrik features a long, premium bill that lets the bait dive to a depth of 10 feet – perfect for bass hanging on the edges of weedlines.
PXR stands for Precision, Xtreme®, Redline. The first in a series of elite, professional-grade lures to be introduced by Rapala, the PXR Mavrik is a suspending jerkbait made with the finest construction and unrivaled technical qualities demanded by Rapala’s pro staff.
“Deep diving jerkbaits have become a staple of what we do as bass anglers,” said Rapala pro Ott Defoe “It has all of the features we love in the PXR Mavrik 110, but with a deeper bill. We need a bait like this to get down quick to the desired depth (9 to 11 feet), but stay suspending, right there in their faces to tempt them.”