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Published: 10 June 2025

CrushCity Report

Tournament champion Jacob Wheeler stakes his career on versatility and efficiency, so when it comes time to clean up a mess, real or imagined, he calls on the CrushCity Janitor.

The Janitor is one of four new softbaits to join Rapala’s wildly popular new line of tournament-grade softbaits called CrushCity. The Janitor is a fearless worm ready to tackle the toughest tasks.

“Three hundred sixty-five days a year, I have this bait rigged up in some way, shape or form,” he said. “Coast to coast, north to south, no matter what conditions I’m dealing with, I can get bites on the Janitor.”

Wheeler worked closely with Rapala’s designers to take an existing form, and make it not only better, but as close to perfect as possible. The little subtleties that make a difference include a six-inch ribbed body, a quivering, tapered tail, and a pre-designed slot for VMC Crossover Rings. The Janitor comes in 14 pro-selected colors to account for any water clarity or conditions.

Wheeler also likes the fact that it’s made of a precisely formulated PVC, which allows for perfect additions of salt and scent.

“You can use it on a dropshot, a shaky head, weightless, on a weighted Texas Rig or on a Neko Rig,” Wheeler said. “It has the perfect gliding action. The blunt nose and pointed tail cut through the water and when they get into the strike zone it creates the key action to generate bites.”

The Janitor is available in 14 colors, including: Baby Bass, Bama Bug, Black, Black Blue Flake, Candy Bug, Ghost Morning Dawn, Green Pumpkin Magic, Green Pumpkin, Merthiolate, Ox Blood Red Flake, Perch, Plum, Sprayed Grass, and Watermelon Red.

The Janitor is sold eight per pack and has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $6.49.

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Published: 06 June 2025

Daiwa Report

On the heels of last year’s introduction of the Last Ace 128S, EverGreen comes to town with the slightly smaller Last Ace 103S.

The advent of forward-facing sonar (FFS) has hatched numbers of nouveau techniques to tempt fish marked in front of the boat. There’s ‘moping,’ ‘hover strolling,’ and ‘mid-strolling’. And like the Last Ace 103S, Ever Green’s new 4-inch Last Ace 103S is designed for ‘power mid-strolling’ with the aim of enticing the alpha bass in the pack.

The Last Ace 103S’s power mid-strolling effect is accomplished by its noticeably up-curved tail design. “The unique shape and angle of the tail makes it effortless for anglers to achieve that tantalizing rolling action so popular with FFS,” said Martin.

Its action is further enhanced by a specialized salt constitution. “The salt composition is evenly dispersed through only the belly half of the Last Ace 103S,” said Martin. “Rigged weightless and power strolled, it causes the bait to sink horizontally and produce a shimmy akin to an injured baitfish. Its offset weighting is the key.”

Infused with baitfish scent throughout, the Last Ace 103S has an exceptionally flexible belly and tail, while the denser top yields exceptional durability around the hook.

Cosmetically, fish will appreciate the Last Ace 103Ss raised, 3D “real eyes” and dotted lateral line, which accentuate its authenticity. Available in 6 baitfish mimicking color patterns, this lure can represent forage ranging from bluegill to shad.

RIGGING THE LAST ACE 103S

The slow sinking and exceptionally durable Last Ace 103S can be rigged weightless with a swimbait hook. Downward into the nose, back up through the body, and then slide the hookpoint into the molded notch on the bait’s back. The hookpoint stays hidden but is easily activated by a striking fish. Rigging as such also makes the Last Ace 103S virtually weedless for operating through vegetation.

It can also be paired with a jig. Go lighter for working the middle of the water column and heavier if you want to operate near or on the bottom. Long-shanked jigs with quality baitholders work best.

Lastly, and most simply, impale the middle of the Last Ace 103Ss back from side to side with a kahle-style hook. Flip it out, let it sink, and twitch it around.
LAST ACE 103S FEATURES:

• 4-inch minnow-style bait
• Slow sinking
• Ideal for forward-facing sonar (FFS) techniques
• Unique upturned tail produces lifelike rolling action
• Specially balanced with a salt formulation for a horizontal fall
• Infused with baitfish scent
• Raised 3D “real eyes”
• Dotted lateral line for authenticity
• 6 proven colors: Baby Gill, Super Wakasagi, Natural Shad, Neon Moroko, Armando Gold, and White Clear

Suggested retail is $12.99 (4 pack)

Details

Published: 03 June 2025

Seaguar Report

A good portion of bass fishing is fishing heavy cover; it's part of the game and can be the best way to catch the biggest fish in the area.

Fishing around these obstacles requires a specific approach to present your lure in cover and the right tools to wrestle a bass free from its hiding spot and into your grip. As bass fishing has become more technical, rods and reels have helped make this easier and the line you use is just as crucial to landing more of those bass. Seaguar has developed a bass-specific leader material called Pounce, precisely for the needs of bass anglers who prefer braid to fluorocarbon and fish in open water and around heavy cover.

Seaguar Pounce is a new, specialty fluorocarbon leader that's virtually invisible underwater. It was designed for bass anglers everywhere and checks all the right boxes for bass fishing. It's highly abrasion resistant so it can hold up in any cover from rocks, grass, docks, standing timber, and many manmade objects in some fisheries. Plus, it offers excellent knot strength and incredible impact strength to withstand bone-jarring strikes from big bass and strong hooksets from bass anglers.

"Pounce Bass Leader follows the same successful developmental approach we followed with our other Specialty Leaders like Inshore and STS,” said Gerry Benedicto, General Manager of Seaguar. “We look at the fishery, the techniques and angler needs so we can create a product with the right attributes for bass fishing,” he added. “Because cover is the name of the game for bass fishing, we knew toughness and strength were key. We think Pounce Bass Leader will help anglers land more of what bites.”

Made entirely from Seaguar resins, Pounce delivers unmatched abrasion resistance with maximum impact and knot strength. Because Pounce is a 100% fluorocarbon leader, it is nearly invisible to fish beneath the surface, ensuring a stealthy approach for wary, skittish, or heavily pressured fish in clear water. Moreover, Pounce sinks faster through the water column than monofilament, delivering baits into the strike zone more rapidly than other leader material.
And with a MSRP starting at $7.49 for 25 yards, Pounce offers an unbeatable value for anglers that want to experience Seaguar performance – for less.

"We think Pounce can be the real workhorse leader material for bass anglers anywhere,” said Benedicto. "It’s designed to be somewhat “bullet-proof” and it’s in the sizes that bass anglers use the most. Plus it pairs perfectly with our braided lines to give everyone full confidence in their line setup.”

Seaguar Pounce will be available in 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15-lb tests on 25 yard leader spools.

For more information, call 502-883-6097, write Kureha America LLC, 4709 Allmond Ave., Suite 4C, Louisville, KY 40209, or visit us at www.seaguar.com. Find us on Facebook and on Instagram.