BLAZE Magazine Special Edition 2006-2016 | Page 42

Outdoors &
Education
The
Need for
Better
Crankbaits
Lake Commandos TV host Steve Pennaz says Berkley’s new Digger
is his latest confidence bait. Imagery courtesy of Steve Pennaz.
By Steve Pennaz
N
About 100 yards off the end of my
dock is a weed bed that holds fish
year-round. Local anglers know
it, so I wasn’t surprised yesterday
when three different boats fished it in the
time it took me to eat breakfast (bowl of
Honey Nut Cheerios and a grapefruit),
another five hit it before lunch, and nine
more hit it from dinnertime on.
Lake Commandos TV host Steve Pennaz says
Berkley’s new Digger is his latest confidence
bait. Imagery courtesy of Steve Pennaz
As our waters get more fishing pressure,
bass and other gamefish see a lot of the
same baits over the course of the season, so
showing them something different can stack
the odds in your favor. Lures like crankbaits
are engineered to trigger feeding response
or reaction strikes in bass and other species.
That’s why cranks are kind of like a great
video game. Build a better one and folks will
beat a path to your door. History provides
examples of baits that set the fishing world on
fire. The question is, with literally thousands
of hard baits available at my local bait shops,
what’s left to innovate?
A lot, actually.
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| SPECIAL EDITION 2006-2016
When Berkley committed
to building a new line of
hardbaits, it took the same
approach used to launch Gulp!
and PowerBait, two of fishing’s most
successful product lines: research.
Not many bait manufacturers have the kind of
technology hidden in Berkley’s unassuming
Spirit Lake, Iowa, headquarters. It’s like NASA
meets Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for
all things fish. From fish-filled tanked to high-
tech testing devices, Berkley uses technology
during every step of the bait development
process.
Secondly, they enlisted the help of a veteran
pro and crankbait guru, David Fritts.
Of course, this isn’t Fritts’ first rodeo; he has
designed crankbaits for years and along the
way he learned how to make baits better
than what was possible even 10 years ago.
Yet, greatness didn’t happen overnight.
Fritts and Berkley’s internal hardbait team
spent four years on this project, building
bait prototypes, running down to the test
tank, watching them, putting them in front of
fish, and then returning to the lab to tweak
designs. Each bait went through hundreds of
prototypes before production started.
What emerged is a family of baits that
proves that commitment to detail pays off
in world-class lures. Each bait is made of
polycarbonate or ABS but behaves like
balsa – only tougher and without the hefty
price tag. Bait profile, running depth, and
action are unique within jerkbait, square
bill, lipless, and medium-diving crankbait
categories. Additionally, each features
ultra-sharp Fusion19 hooks for penetrating
hooksets.
The paint schemes and patterns are
incredible, each the brainchild of Fritts and
brought to life by famed custom crankbait
painter Mike Russell. Take a look at the color
and tinting of the later line, the holographic
effect of the scales, even the white/bone
belly that reflects light when the sun hits it.
Thing is, I’ve been fishing these cranks for
more than a year … and they are spot on.
Every bait in the new family has produced
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