cept of a lure that looked like a pen was unique , yes . But softplastic worms are FAR from original , and I don ’ t think I need to explain that pens aren ’ t , either .
I ’ m absolutely not trying to insult Ron Davis or Gary Yamamoto here ; their innovations have caught countless bass through the years . But once you get rid of the idea that everything has to be “ original ” for it to be worth praise or purchase , it brings up another question : Why are knockoffs bad ?
I ’ m not talking in a business sense . That ’ s a debate to be settled elsewhere . I ’ m talking in terms of catching fish .
Do we see some “ new ” baits each year that are simply poor versions of an original ? Yes . But I ’ d argue that , more often , newer versions actually improve on the original .
Let ’ s look back at the ChatterBait . Because of Z-Man ’ s patents , it hasn ’ t been copied much by other companies . However , a handful of vibrating jigs have hit the market in the interim , like the Strike King Thunder Cricket and Berkley Slobberknocker . Regardless of whether you view either as better than the original ChatterBait , you have to acknowledge that both offer different sounds / actions . As a result of their differences , each excels in various scenarios — just ask anyone who has thrown the Slobberknocker around wood or hard cover .
The Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver is another bait that has been imitated again and again . A few have been blatant copies . In fact , I remember having a conversation with one of the industry ’ s largest soft-plastic mold producers about how , a few weeks after the Sweet Beaver hit the market , a company came to them about producing a “ new ” soft-plastic design . It didn ’ t take the mold producer much effort to realize the “ new ” lure wasn ’ t new … the company forgot to get rid of the “ Sweet Beaver ” wording on the tails in the design .
But there have been some positive new versions that may even perform better . Take the Missile Baits D Bomb , with its ribbed body and oversized flappers that definitely move more water than a Sweet Beaver . Or the Strike King Rage Bug , which has a similar , Beaver-style body with the addition of multiple kicking appendages . Are either better ? Again , debatable . But they ’ re different enough to warrant use in different situations . And that last point about different situations is key . You see , every lure is a tool , and every tool has a time and place . Some tools are more versatile than others , while others are very specific .
No lure may illustrate this more than crankbaits , as no angler would go out on the water with just one crankbait . They ’ d have a bunch to hit different depths and have different actions . They may have a few go-to crankbaits , sure , but they ’ ll also have ones that may not get used often but excel when the water gets dirty or after a cold front or if they ’ re fishing wood instead of rock .
So , while looking at all the new tackle that was released at ICAST this year , it ’ s okay if you notice a lot of lures that look similar to others already on the market . Try not to just lump them all in as “ knockoffs ,” and instead dig deeper to see if there ’ s something different about them that may have a time and place to help you .
And if not , go ahead and utter the sentence at the beginning of this column and move on .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 23