Optimum Baits and AA’s are well known for their soft plastics and swimbaits, and this same team is also responsible for bringing some of the best Japanese brands to the United States. Deps, Reins, ima, Zappu, and more all fall under the Optimum Baits umbrella in America and each of these brands have some new items this year.
Boom Boom Line Thru
The Boom Boom swimbait was designed by professional angler Fred Roumbanis and have been available for the past few years.
The weedless version and rigged version were the first styles available, and now they have a line thru version.
READ RELATED: Boom Boom Line Thru…. Here’s How It’s Done
Sexy Minnow
The color – Sexy Minnow – was developed with the help of Roumbanis for his Boom Boom swimbaits. He is a big fan of Optimum’s Ghost Minnow color and was adding a chartreuse stripe to that color to imitate gizzard shad and to make it stand out in dirty water. Now it is available from Optimum without the need to add a splash of color.
This color is available in the Boom Boom swimbaits, Victory Tail, Opti Shad, as well as the AA’s Bad Bubba Shad.
WATCH RELATED: Versatility of the Victory Tail
New Colors for ima
While ima didn’t add any new baits, there are several new colors added.
The Flit 100 and 120 now has three new colors to match different forage and conditions. OG Ghost Minnow, Silver Lining, and Ghost Sunfish.
The Finesse Popper has some new arrivals that include Baby Bass, Blue Head Black Back Ghost, and OG Ghost Minnow. The Little Stik topwater and Glide Fluke added Baby Bass and Bluegill to the lineup.
READ RELATED: The Jerkbait Bite is On
Deps Code Name Bass
Few swimbait makers have as much respect as Deps. They make top-quality glide baits that have been helping American anglers land PB bass for years. Now there is a new bait available.
Previously, Code Name Bass was a JDM only bait and now it is available in limited quantities here in the states.
Code Name Bass is a massive 290 mm (11.6in) and 12.3 oz. glide bait with an uncanny resemblance to a small largemouth, and it has the same quality and action you can expect from Deps.
To purchase, customers must first sign up for Optimum’s new membership program that allows for exclusive purchases of JDM products from their brands. This is the first of many offers for unique products, and the cost to join is just $10 per year.
LINK: http://optimumbaits.com/members-only/
New From Reins
At this year’s ICAST, Reins entered the Ned Rig game. They released a new jighead and three bite-sized plastics that work great for the technique.
The NR Jighead is a tungsten head that comes in four different sizes, and it pairs perfectly with the three new Reins plastics.
Mister Ned is a 3” straight plastic for a Ned Rig, and it is made of a high float plastic to help it stand up perfectly.
The 3.25” RND Fat is a stubby plastic for this technique and features the same springy tail appendage as their popular Bubbling Shaker worms.
The final bait is a downsized version of a proven fish catcher. The 2.5” Ring Craw is perfect for fishing on a Ned Rig, but it can double as a finesse jig trailer.
The Optimum Baits family of brands continues to expand with new colors, more sizes, and items directly from the Japanese market. Add in the new gear for Ned Rig fishing, and there are many new things for bass anglers this year.
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