Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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Rapala Report
With the new Rapala 20 lb. High-Vis Digital Scale, the readings you see in the screen are crystal clear – under any light conditions, day or night, even when the sun is at its brightest.
This scale’s oversized E-Ink display is highly visible and can be seen from all angles and with sunglasses – letting tournament bass anglers to get faster readings and allowing them to get back to fishing faster. In addition, the highly visible readings can be clearly seen for those using mobile phones and video cameras to record their on-the-water performance. The scale offers an optional LED light to illuminate the screen for low-light conditions.
The Rapala 20-pound High-Vis Digital Scale has been engineered to be a tournament-grade scale. Whether you’re competing in a local Tuesday Nighter or at the highest levels of competition, the Rapala High-Vis Digital Scale will clearly document your catch – ensuring your big fish stories are backed by cold, hard evidence.
The scale’s external strain gauge provides +/- 0.2% accuracy to make sure you’re on the mark every time. Featuring three weight display options, anglers can choose between the 5-storage bin, 8-storage bin, or no limit, and all modes can be used in “vs. Mode" to compete with other anglers.
Anglers can view their total bag weight, as well as the minimum and maximum weights stored to remind themselves of the size fish you need to cull. Settings in the top bar display mode setting, tournament validation date, and time stamps.
A large ergonomic grip with a trigger finger power/selection button makes it easy to use. The heavy-duty composite weight clamp quickly and securely holds fish without hurting their mouths. The new digital scale is waterproof. A cloth storage bag is included for storage in your boat or tackle box. The scale requires 4 AAA batteries (not included).
The 20 lb. Rapala High-Vis Digital Scale has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $195.
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Strike King Report
Strike King’s Tour Grade Hair Jig
Strike King’s Tour Grade Hair Jig is said to outperform other Marabou jigs.
Tailored for ultra-finesse presentations, this jig boasts a hand-tied, premium Marabou feather that creates lifelike, pulsating movements in the water, triggering powerful reaction strikes. The sharp hook penetrates with ease, but still has all the power needed for bringing your catch back to the boat.
The Tour Grade Hair Jig excels in scenarios involving smaller forage or when handling those tricky, elusive bites.
- AVAILABLE IN 4 SIZES to match any angling preferences or fishing conditions
- PREMIUM HOOK is ultra-sharp and strong for easy penetration and solid hooksets
- HAND-TIED MARABOU FEATHER is premium to create lifelike pulsating movements in the water
- IDEAL FOR FISHING around smaller forage and highly effective with finicky fish
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Zoom Report
Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw
Zoom Bait Company’s Ultra Vibe Speed Craw has long been a popular soft plastic for bass anglers.
While the company previously answered calls for a “Magnum” version, now Zoom is going in the other direction. The new Micro UV Speed Craw is a downsized replica of the original, with all of that product’s tremendous attributes.
“It’s a bad little dude,” said past Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle. “It’s particularly good as a trailer on all kinds of small jigs. I’ve also had a lot of success with the Micro UV Speed Craw on a finesse Carolina Rig and a drop-shot.”
Last summer at Lake Champlain, Swindle employed the 2.6-inch bait on a Ned Rig to put together a money finish. All of the original’s proportions remain intact, as does the subtle, fish-attracting action.
The Micro UV Speed Craw will initially come in six pro-approved colors guaranteed to complement your jigs as a trailer or as a finesse presentation on a jighead.
For more information and color chart, visit https://zoombait.com/micro-uv-speed-craw/.
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Zoom Bait Report
Zoom 4.25-inch Shimmer Shad
When Zoom Bait Company introduced the 4.25-inch Shimmer Shad earlier this year, serious bass anglers found it to have multiple uses, but commonly used as a bladed jig, spinnerbait and buzzbait trailer.
Zoom has announced two new sizes – 3 inches and 3.6 inches – for times when fish or conditions demand a smaller profile.
All three sizes of the Shimmer Shad have the same classic slim baitfish design, ribbed skeleton rear section and forked tail that quiver at any speed.
Zoom Pro Staffers say the Shiimmer Shad also excels when fished alone and the smallest size is deadly on a drop shot or a small jig head in coordination with forward facing sonar (FFS).
The largest size of the Shimmer Shad is available in eight popular colors, and the two smaller sizes will initially be available in six shades each. The 3.6 inch version will come in a range of universal baitfish imitators, while the 3 inch model’s palette will include smallmouth magic and Goby.
For more information, visit www.zoombait.com.
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CrushCity Report
CrushCity’s new Mooch Minnow
Bass Pro Tour champion Dustin Connell put CrushCity’s new Mooch Minnow to work this spring, before the lure was officially released. He won both the BPT RedCrest on Lay Lake and regular season event on Toledo Bend with this new minnow imitator. Two very different fisheries, one with mostly spotted bass, the other with mostly largemouths, but the defining similarity was the appeal of this one lure – the Mooch Minnow, one of four new softbaits that joins Rapala’s tournament-grade softbait line, CrushCity.
The Mooch Minnow may appear at first glance like many other soft plastic minnow baits, but there are key differences, starting with the lure’s tab tail, which makes it substantially different, and in most cases better.
“You can’t reinvent the wheel, but you can do things a little bit different,” said fellow BPT Champion Jacob Wheeler. “Like actions, you can change the profiles a bit, you can do a lot of little things to separate yourself from other softbaits.”
In addition to its unique paddle tail design, another defining feature of the Mooch Minnow, is its use of TPE Material. Not only does it float, enhancing the action of presentation, but it’s ultra-durable. That meant that Connell could catch 20 bass on tournament day on a single softbait. That alone saved him valuable time, and saves other tournament anglers valuable cash. It’s scented, too, so fish grab it and won’t let go.
Because of the way the tail is designed, it doesn’t have a hard kick, but rather a tight wobble, one that’s almost invisible to the naked eye.
“I didn’t want a lot of resistance where there was a lot of lift,” Wheeler said. Connell agreed – one of the key attributes of this lure when he’s using forward facing sonar is that he can get it down in front of fish while they’re still present and active.
It can be fished on a dropshot, on a jig head vertically, or with Wheeler’s signature horizontal shake, and it’ll still maintain the absolute correct amount of roll and kick to emulate a living, fleeing baitfish.
The Mooch Minnow’s 3-½ inch profile resembles the size of many common baitfish throughout bass fishing country, from threadfin shad to perch to ciscoes to smelt.
The Mooch Minnow is available in 20 pro-designed colors, including: Albino Shad, Black, Black N Blue, Chartreuse Pearl, Electric Shad, Ghost Morning Dawn, Goby, Green Pumpkin Chartreuse Pepper, Green Pumpkin Disco, Green Pumpkin Goby, Green Pumpkin Magic, Green Pumpkin, Green Shad, Gizzard Shad, Perch, Pearl White, Shad, Sungill, Sexy Shad, and Tennessee Shad.
The Mooch Minnow is sold six per pack and has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $5.99.