Berkley is known as one of the best when it comes to soft plastic baits, line and more recently, their hardbaits. For the upcoming year, they have several items in all of those categories that will appeal to bass anglers everywhere.
Berkley FireLine Ultra 8
FireLine has been around for years and is one of the staples in Berkley’s lineup. This year they revamped it and the result was an ICAST award for Best New Line.
FireLine is now an eight-strand braid called Ultra 8. The new line feels smooth to the touch and they used the FireLine process to fuse Dyneema fiber braid.
Some of the key features of this new line versus the original FireLine is that it is four times more abrasion resistant and much smoother. It comes in both the smoke and crystal colors and 125, 300 and 1500-yard spools. Sizes include 4, 6, 8 10, 12, 14, 17, 20 and 30-pound test.
Berkley PowerBait MaxScent
The PowerBait scent is perhaps what Berkley is best known for and it has been scientifically proven to make fish hold on longer. They have refreshed the scent for a new line of soft plastics with the new MaxScent and it stinks.
It has been tested to be 45 percent more effective than regular PowerBait in their studies. Berkley has one of the best testing facilities and goes to great length in all of their science-based development.
The plastics themselves are solid designs and they come in ten colors for each style of bait. They also have a different look, as they are a more muted, natural matte finish. This was by design and better matches forage compared to the bright and flashy soft plastic colors on the market. The baits also have a tougher feel and are said to be more durable without losing any action.
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There are eight new designs in the MaxScent lineup including a stickbait, beaver style bait, a grub, a ribbon tail, and chunk trailer and three finesse baits.
The MaxScent General looks like your standard 5” stickbait, but includes the effective MaxScent and has the forage bass colors. It feels heavy and like all good stickbaits, it sinks with an attractive wiggle as it falls.
The MaxScent Flatnose Minnow, like the name implies, has a flat nose. This was to get better hookups when the bait is fished on a drop-shot rig. It is four inches in length and will do well rigged that way but can also be fished several other ways as well.
The MaxScent King Tail is an eight-inch ribbon tail worm that feels like a longer worm due to its bulk. It has ribs down the side and a big thick tail.
The MaxScent Lunch Worm is similar to the King Tail, but just 6” long. It may remind you of the classic 7” Berkley PowerWorm with its compact profile but big tail.
The MaxScent Hit Worm is a worm that could be fished many ways. It has a thicker body followed by a thin tail section and rounded tail. It is 4.5” and will work great on a drop-shot, Texas-rig or Neko Rig.
The MaxScent D-Worm is a finesse offering that measures 5.5”. It can easily be fished on a drop-shot as well as a finesse wacky rig. It features a thin profile with thicker head and tail sections.
The MaxScent Creature Hawg is a flipping and pitching Beaver-style bait. It comes in a 4” size and has craw-like appendages at the end of a standard Beaver shaped body.
The MaxScent Meaty Chunk is a 3” jig trailer. It does have a beefed up feel and should work well behind pitching and casting jigs.
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Berkley Snap Jig
This little jighead could work with just about any soft plastic bait and looks like an ice jig that many bass anglers use in open water. When twitched it has a side-to-side and backward darting action. It is best when paired with minnow-style baits like the new Flatnose Minnow or similar profiled baits.
It glides and darts and will get the soft plastic working just like a dying or injured baitfish. The Snap Jig also has a secondary eye for stinger hooks, trebles or blades.
Berkley Juke
The Berkley hardbait line has now been out for a few years and they continue to add new styles, sizes and colors. This year they added a new design that was built to get the action of handmade wooden baits but still have the durability of plastic.
It can be fished many ways and is really long, thin crankbait that can be cranked, twitched and more. It was built to have a flash and roll appearance and to dart side-to-side with little effort.
As always, Berkley continues to produce new designs and improvements on their existing products. Bass anglers should be exited about the newest products from Berkley.
FULL BERKLEY DIGITAL CATALOG AVAILABLE HERE
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