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Spring 2025
they added a few new options but went big with larger sizes of some of their most popular baits.
The Freeloader was the first bait to take off, thanks to big wins in the professional fishing world by Jacob Wheeler, and now there are two new sizes. The original is 4 1/4” long, and there are now two bigger sizes (5 14/” and 6 1/4”) and two new colors: sexy shad and smelt.
The Mooch Minnow is another very popular minnow bait, and now there are two more sizes, a smaller 2 1/2” and a larger 4 1/2” size. The Mayor swimbait lineup also has expanded with a new 3 1/4” size and six new colors.
Also new is the Salted Ned Roll, a small worm for your Ned Rigs with plenty of salt to help with buoyancy and action. It’s 3 1/4” long and comes in many new colors. New to America is “The Jerk”, which had only been available in Canada. It’s a fluke-style bait made from a TPE plastic for durability, and it can be fished traditionally like similar baits or added to the back of a jighead.
NEW FROM VMC
VMC makes great hooks and other terminal tackle items, and they added even more this year. One that stands out is the VMC Minnow Shaker, which won an award for best new product at ICAST. It’s designed for the jighead minnow craze with all the details anglers look for, like a 45-degree line
tie, solid hook, and plenty of hook and weight options. One additional benefit is the unique keeper system to hold your bait in place, and it has dual keepers that will securely hold traditional and super plastics.
A few other items on the VMC side are another hook option in the RedLine series. The Swivel Fluke hook has a swivel attached to the eye of the hook and will help prevent line twist when twitching a soft-plastic jerkbait. It also features the slick coating like the other hooks in the lineup for better hook penetration.
The RedLine jighead series also added a few options with the Ned Head now coming in a bigger 2/O hook. The Tungsten Swimbait Jig will also come in a 2/O size; previously, it was only a 1/O and 3/O version. The VMC GT Swimbait Head went away for a while, but they are bringing it back. This heavy- duty swimbait head can be used for fresh or saltwater fishing. Finally, there are some new colors and sizes for the popular Hybrid Swimbait Jig and Moon Eye jighead.
The Rapala team has been busy and released many new products for bass anglers at this year’s ICAST show. If you count other species, there were even more new items, but these items listed above should be perfect for any bass angler. •
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