COLUMBIA, S.C. – New for 2019, Berkley continues to roll out tested, proven new baits that deliver high-performance for specific applications. The standouts in this new line are the Berkley Frittside, designed in concert with legendary crankbait designer and angler David Fritts, and the Berkley SPY, a new finesse bait fine-tuned by pro angler Josh Bertrand. A slew of new colors and sizes have also been added to some of Berkley’s most popular baits including the Warpig, the Flicker Shad and Flicker Minnow and Choppo.
Berkley has introduced a number hardbaits over the last two years that have become proven tournament winners, including some dynamic crankbaits and topwater baits. This year, anglers will have even more options to choose from as they look to take advantage of Berkley’s years of designing, testing and proving its lures with pros who know what it takes to make a fish bite.
“Our team is dedicated to making the best hardbaits in the world,” said Kevin Malone, brand manager for Berkley. “It is evident in our new baits, especially the Berkley Frittside and SPY. These baits represent years of hard work, prototyping, tank testing and proving their performance on the water and it is evident every time you pull one out of the tackle box.”
The Berkley Frittside crankbait features the same proven action that won David Fritts the Bassmaster Classic and made waves at the 2019 Bassmaster Classic earlier this year. Delivering balsa actions with the durability and casting performance of a plastic bait, the Frittside is a key bait for tough conditions when fish are sluggish or heavily pressured. The classic flat side profile mimics a variety of species and creates the most flash of any Berkley crankbait. Balanced weight design makes for improved tracking accuracy at higher speeds and the bait is designed to be cast well, even on bait casting set-ups.
The Frittside comes in 18 colors across three sizes, five, seven and nine which run five, seven and nine feet deep respectively. The seven and nine models feature a weighted bill to get the bait down to running depth quickly. The bait has sticking power thanks to sharp Fusion19 hooks. All models retail for $8.99.
Delivering a new level of Berkley finesse, the SPY has been fine-tuned by professional angler Josh Bertrand to perform in the toughest clear water situations. The compact profile offers a slightly different and wide-ranging baitfish profile. Fitted with easy spinning props and a tailor-made tight shimmying action, the SPY delivers an ideal spybait action on the fall and throughout the slowest retrieves. The bait features a compact profile for bullet-like casts.
The bait comes in two fall rate options, including a standard fall rate model and a slow-fall model designed to fish in shallower water than a traditional spybait. Each version comes in twelve dynamic colors and the baits feature high-detail finish and cosmetics for finicky fish. All the baits are equipped with super-sharp Fusion19 treble hooks. The SPY retails for $9.99.
A variety of popular Berkley baits will benefit from new size offerings. The popular Berkley Warpig is now available in a smaller, two-inch version called the Warpig Junior. This bait is perfect for pond anglers and is likely to get a workout from plenty of ice anglers this coming winter. The Berkley Choppo, currently available in a 90-millimeter and 120-millimeter version is now available in a 105-millimeter bait that fills in the middle ground and gives anglers a sought-after size option. The Berkley Bad Shad is the premier casting shad bait on the market and is now available in a new, larger 8cm size in addition to the existing 5-centimeter and 7-centimeter size, giving anglers a larger-profile bait.
The Berkley line of Flicker baits gets updated with new colors this year. Most notable are the additions of the popular firetail colors launched in 2018 for the Flicker Shad Jointed range, now available in standard Flicker Shad and Flicker Minnow bodies.
The 2019 lineup of new Berkley hardbaits will be available in retail stores nationwide in September 2019.
