By Louie Stout
If you have trouble seeing your lure on forward facing sonar, Bait Pop provides a good fix.
Bait-Pop is a paste that you apply to your lure or jig head that makes the lure more visible on the forward facing screen. You also can apply it to your drop-shot sinker or even the line ahead of the lure to intensify visibility.
Ever Green Report
Ever Green has introduced the ZR-4 crankbait, engineered by Japan’s most advanced lure makers.
Outwardly, you’ll first notice the bait’s profile emulates the shape of baitfish and edible juvenile fish worldwide. To that, Ever Green sculpted the body with detailed eyeballs, scale patterns, and gills.
The ZR-4 features a hybrid square and concave bill. The squaring elicits a tight action that also deflects off structure like timber and rocks. The curvature displaces more water than a traditional bill, causing more disruption in the water and a faster dive to its prescribed 4-to-5-foot range.
The ZR-4’s unique bumped head and tapered tail were also orchestrated for an exclusive and precise action.
ZR-4’s color patterns are equally sophisticated. On the Green Pumpkin Gill, for example, airbrushed colors layer into one another, precisely as they’d appear on the real thing. Ever Green’s ten-color palette includes classic bass-catching hues as well as novel combinations. Patterns include Olive Crawdad, Glow Shad Dazzler, Flash Wakasagi, Magic Gill, Green Pumpkin Gill, Citrus Chart, Cold Shad and Olive Copper Shad.
Ever Green also includes fixed weights inside the ZR-4’s body to lower the center of gravity. The result is a longer-and-straighter-casting crankbait that tracks in perfect position on the retrieve. Finally, the ZR-4 includes an offset hook on the front treble to prevent snags.
Ego Fishing Report
You’ve heard the stories over the years. So-and-so would have won the big-money tournament if it hadn’t been for a dead fish at weigh-in.
A solution to similar sad stories, EGO is proud to offer the affordable and easy-to-carry FISH/WEIGH-IN COOLER, designed from the ground up to provide a safe and friendly way for the tournament angler to transport fish to tournament weigh-ins, as well as ice fish for dinner, even chill beverages.
Large enough to contain a limit of bass—even kickers—EGO’s FISH/WEIGH-IN COOLER spans 21” (L) x 4” (W) x 22” (H) and weighs a mere two pounds.
St. Croix Report
Furthering its mission to provide all anglers with the Best Rods in any situation, St. Croix Rod announces the all-new Legend Tournament Pike Series.
It consists of six technique-specific casting rods purpose-engineered and handcrafted in the USA to give uncompromising performance in the pursuit of pike.
The new Legend Tournament Pike Series rods are built with proprietary materials, technologies and uncompromising workmanship, as well as the company’s significant experience and capabilities in the design and manufacture of powerful, high-performance rods for large, freshwater predators.
They feature next-generation hybrid SCIV+ carbon fiber blanks and incorporate St. Croix’s top technologies and premium components. Retail prices range from $340 to $430 USD with a 15-year warranty.
Daiwa Report
Daiwa’s on-site crew will showcase its soon-to-be-available Ardito Muskie travel rods during the 25th annual Indiana Muskie Classic at Barbee, Tippecanoe and Webster lakes.
“The participants who fish this event are exactly the type of avid anglers who we want to show our commitment and focus on muskie tackle and the muskie fishing market,” said Rick Stagowski, who assists Daiwa’s sales efforts with tackle dealers throughout the Midwest states. “From the success we had with the new Daiwa’s Bessie muskie lures introduced at fishing shows this past winter, along with these new Ardito travel rods in lengths, powers, and action for big muskie and northern pike fishing on lakes throughout the Midwest and Canada, to additional muskie-focused rods and reels being introduced at the 2023 ICAST Show, Daiwa continues its goal of being a major tackle brand for muskie anglers.”