®
what’s new from
Spring 2025
OPTIMUM BAITS
page 34
AA’S, DEPS, IMA, KAHARA, MADNESS, SWIMBAIT REPUBLIC, ZAPPU
The Optimum Bait Co. family includes many great brands, including Optimum itself and AAs, but they also distribute some great lures from Japan and Europe. The ultra-popular Deps brand makes excellent soft plastics and hard lures; more are coming as they add new designs and unique creations.
Other brands in the family include Zappu, Ima Japan, Madness, Kahara, and the Spanish swimbait brand Swimbait Republic. They have something for everyone and continue bringing in more baits yearly.
Deps added several new items this year, and Optimum brought several Japanese favorites stateside. Also, Zappu, a brand known for unique terminal tackle products, is now making soft plastics. Here’s a rundown of the newest items that bass anglers will love.
NEW DEPS WIRE BAITS
While Deps may be best known for the Sakamata Shad and big baits like the Slide Swimmer, they also make a host of wire baits. New to America this year are a new buzzbait and spinnerbait.
The new buzzbait is called the Mad Waver, a version with a unique prop that makes it even louder than most buzzbaits. It has a unique buzzbait blade and a Colorado blade attached for flash, noise, and commotion. It can also be fished under the surface, almost like a spinnerbait.
The new spinnerbait is called the Glide Head, which looks like a normal spinnerbait at first glance, but it allows you to rig a trailer weedless. It’s a free-swinging hook, and you can use any hook, including the EWG-style hook that it comes with. This gives the trailer a swaying action and lets you fish through anything without snagging. It’s a 3/8-ounce
double willow-bladed bait that comes in some great colors and opens up the places where you can fish a swimbait effectively.
NEW LOOK SAKAMATA SHADS
The Sakamata Shad has taken the fishing world by storm in the past few seasons, and it’s one of the
ADVERTORIAL