The Incredible Edible Bait
Biodegradables for Bass
By Cory Schmidt
During the past decade, scientific developments in softbaits—what we used to know as soft plastics—have redefined this category. In a quest to build the perfect fishing lure, developers have created a class of baits that elude exact definition, though they’re generally regarded as biodegradable.
Some of these new baits contain not a trace of plastisol. Several are gelatin-based. Most consist of natural ingredients that begin dissolving the instant they’re placed in water, exuding a sometimes visible trail of flavor and scent. Discarded in a lake, they’re gone within years, months, weeks, or even days. A few baits even provide fish with nutritional food.
I consider these flavor nuggets third-generation softbaits—biodegradable lures or “tastebaits.” First generation softbaits, such as Crème’s Worm, contained vinyl, oils, and pigments. Next came scent-impregnated lures formulated with softer plastisols featuring lifelike texture and action. Today’s third generation are biodegradable, rich in scent and flavor, and in some cases edible.
This growing category includes products from FoodSource, Big Bite Baits, Berkley, Fishbites, and Advanced Angling Technology (AAT). Each is formulated with different organic and synthetic materials, yielding distinctive scents, flavors, textures, and rates of breakdown in the aquatic environment.
About Biodegradability
Biodegradability, while increasingly important in fishing applications as well as for environmental reasons, remains ambiguous. Tests of degradation rate cannot, for example, be conducted in tapwater because it lacks bacteria, microorganisms, and other scavengers that affect breakdown. As a result, there’s no timetable on how long it takes each bait to dissipate in a natural setting. We do know, however, that some like Fishbites Strips dissolve completely within a day or two, even in tapwater. Yet other biodegradable baits contain synthetics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that may eventually dissolve, but potentially toxic chemical byproducts may linger.
Environmental concern stems from the fact that most soft plastics contain resins, stabilizers, and softening agents known as phthalates. The EPA lists certain phthalates as toxic substances potentially linked to a variety of human health problems. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that as many as 20 million pounds of soft plastic fishing lures enter surface waters each year. The U.S. Geological Survey claims phthalates remain the most prominent contaminant in ground and surface waters. The role of fishing lures in this warning isn’t clear; but eventually, improvements in lure materials may not only be prudent, but mandated, similar to lead legislation.
Contributing further to the need for biodegradable baits is bass health itself. There are indications that soft plastics that end up in fish stomachs are harmful. Lures can become lodged in the digestive tract, blocking passage or absorption of food and leading to starvation.
In a recent study by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, undigested soft plastic lures were found in 63 percent of brook trout collected. Trout ingesting soft plastic had lost weight and exhibited poor body condition. During my tenure with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, we collected largemouth bass with sunken abdomens. In nearly every case, a soft plastic lure could be seen protruding from its throat. In contrast, many tastebaits are completely digestible. FoodSource lures are even composed of protein-rich ingredients, approved by the FDA as animal food.
Tastebait Tactics
Beyond environmental and health concerns, these new baits offer advantages in catching bass. Initially, tastebaits shone in finesse and deadsticking situations where action was secondary to scent and taste. To a point, the longer you soak them in water the more appealing tastebaits become to bass. Unlike plastisol baits that quickly lose flavor, tastebaits get better. The dissolving process also makes them feel softer, even slimy to the touch, as they release attractive ingredients. When bass strike, they often hold baits indefinitely, leading to excellent hook-set success.
Some tastebaits aren’t as supple as many of today’s soft plastics, however, meaning slightly reduced action. Rigging may require a screw-in or clip device on the hook. But rigidity has an upside—firmer tastebaits are more durable than soft plastics. Some tastebaits, though, such as Big Bite Baits BioBaits and Gulp! Alive! products, are supple.
Slow, subtle presentations, including flipping, are a great match for durable baits. Drop-shotting lures like Berkley Gulp! Minnows or Gobies or a FoodSource Coosa Flick are another hot combo, often approaching the effectiveness of livebait. Even when you try to pull a tastebait out of their jaws, bass often refuse to drop it. Carolina-rigging also is well suited to tastebaits, since slow dragging activates scent and flavor. Baits such as a 6-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! Lizard are a tremendous Carolina option.
Similarly, split-shot rigs make a fine tastebait delivery tool. Like other “do-nothing” presentations, split-shot rigging doesn’t require much wiggle in your worm and, in open areas, nose-hooking works well.
Tastebait Options
Apparently only five companies offer biodegradable baits. Given the success of soft plastics, most manufacturers aren’t yet motivated to spend millions of dollars to develop biodegradable technologies.
FoodSource Lures: The makers of this unique line of tastebaits tout them as the only lures made of real fish food. Developed through a 3-year partnership between Auburn University fishery researchers and food scientists, FoodSource Lures are ­nutrient-rich fish food. In lab tests, fish not only ate them, but thrived, on a FoodSource diet.
Ed Rogers, president of FoodSource, says their baits aren’t intended to feel as soft as soft plastics. Rather, they’re designed to taste and feel like a live minnow or other natural food. Rogers adds that the firmness of their lures helps them stay on the hook better than soft plastic. “If you want to make a FoodSource bait softer, fish with it awhile, and the bait limbers up. Or add a little water to the bag and let them soak. The longer they’re in water, the softer they become.” Even when out of water for extended periods, FoodSource baits can be resoftened and recharged by placing them in water or a water-based solution for a few minutes. All FoodSource lures completely dissolve in water, leaving behind no synthetic byproducts.
FoodSource has added the Alabama River Series, including the 4-inch Coosa Flick, a drop-shot or shakyhead bait, and Little Warrior, a 3-inch creature bait, touted as a jig trailer and finesse flipping bait in heavy cover. The 5-inch Food Stick, a soft stickbait, remains FoodSource’s signature lure. And for smallmouth, their 3-inch Leech has been hot on clear natural lakes and reservoirs.
Big Bite BioBaits: Big Bite Baits, developed and manufactured in Eufaula, Alabama, have proven a hit in Texas reservoirs like Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Except for a slightly tacky gelatinous exterior, there’s little physical difference between a BioBait and a typical soft plastic. According to company Vice President, Scott Montgomery, “BioBaits are loaded with natural fish attractants that are released into the water at a much higher rate than soft plastics. They have no fish repelling chemicals, so bass strike and don’t reject them. Moreover, BioBait doesn’t dry out when exposed to air, so baits left on the rod are fine.” BioBait also is offered in translucent colors, not an easy accomplishment with biodegradable materials.
Texas tournament ace Russell Cecil relies on BioBaits, and won an FLW Stren Series event on Toledo Bend using a BioBait Trick Stick, a soft stickbait, and a Kriet Kreature. “Trick Sticks excel for working deep trees,” Cecil says. “The lure’s material is both tougher and heavier than plastic, so it sinks quickly into the tree tops where I can keep good contact with it. I don’t have to add extra weight to BioBait. Even in strong wind, when detecting bites can be difficult, bass hang onto it, so you convert almost every strike.
“Their density also makes them ideal for flipping into thick grass mats that hold so many bass on Rayburn and Toledo Bend,” Cecil adds. Anglers also have favored the new Kriet Kreature for Carolina-rigging, and Cecil used it to notch a 2nd place finish at an FLW Stren Series event on Rayburn last year.
Designed with input from Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff Kriet, BioBait’s Kriet Series also includes the Kriet Tail, a 6- and 10-inch curlytail worm and the Thumpin Worm, a ­double-ended paddletail bait available in 4- and 6-inch sizes and 6 colors. Rounding out the series are a 6-inch Pro Lizard, YoMama creature bait, Finesse Worm, Ring Worm, Tube, and Craw Tube. “Right now,” Cecil concludes, “I’d say that BioBaits may be the dominant softbait on the Texas tournament scene.”
Berkley Gulp!—One of the first on the tastebait scene, Berkley Gulp! was developed by lure researchers Dr. Keith Jones and John Prochnow of Pure Fishing. Several years after its ­introduction, Gulp! is a household name among avid anglers. While technically still a plastic, Gulp! is reported to biodegrade in water within 18 months, depending on bacterial breakdown and bottom-dwelling scavengers.
New packaging has addressed some initial drawbacks, such as rigidity, dehydrating when kept out of water, and warping in Ziploc bags. Packed in buckets and submersed in “Magic Gravy,” new Gulp! Alive! baits can be recharged, absorbing more attractant. Baits that begin to dry out are resoftened and rejuvenated by a dip in the bucket. Beyond the marketing brilliance of packaging softbaits as if they were livebait, Gulp! Alive! won’t fold or become deformed while suspended in Magic Gravy, something common even to Ziploc-bagged soft plastics.
“Unlike traditional softbaits, anglers can alter the consistency of Gulp!,” says Pure Fishing Senior Marketing Manager, Eric Naig. “If an angler wants to toughen a Gulp! Craw for flipping heavy cover, let it dry in the sun for a few minutes. For a softer bait with a bit more action, place the bag or an Alive! bucket in the hot sun.
Gulp! was first embraced by smallmouth anglers, and the Leech, Minnow, Goby, and Sinking Minnow have become staples for anglers on the Great Lakes, particularly for drop-shot fishing on deep rock structure. Many new additions are intended as finesse presentations for largemouth bass. Introductions include the 3-inch Nuclear Nelly, a compact creature-shaped jig trailer, 4-inch Crawfish, and 6-inch Lizard, all packed in wide, flat Alive! buckets that resist spilling. Newest is a 7-inch Gulp! Super Worm, a ribbontail worm anglers have requested.
“Anglers are experimenting with new ways to rig these baits,” Naig says. “We’ve developed our own rigging system that works incredibly well and it will be brought to market this year. Another barrier has been translucence. Right now, the materials in Gulp! prevent translucent colors, but we’ll get there.”
Fishbites: Developed through decades of research by marine ­biologist and University of Florida professor Dr. William Carr, Fishbites is a rapidly biodegrading tastebait that consists of laboratory-formulated feeding stimulants. His research defined chemical substances fish use to detect and track prey.
Carr focused on replicating natural, water-soluble feeding stimulants in the lab, creating a more potent form that fish prefer. Today, Fishbites offers a line of clean, odorless tastebaits, some of which completely dissolve in water within a few days.
Originally designed as an alternative to live- and cutbait for saltwater fishing, Fishbites has introduced Xtreme Scent Release Baits, with shapes and colors for bass fishing. Made from Fishbites’ proprietary Hydro-Gel, a type of biodegradable plastic, Xtreme Scent Release baits retain flavor and scent until the lure hits the water.
Similar to FoodSource, Fishbites are a little firmer than many soft plastics. But when submerged, they immediately begin breaking down, becoming softer and more pliable. The longer you fish a bait, the more appealing it becomes to bass, as attractant leaches out and its texture becomes natural. In trials last year, nearly every bass that struck a Fishbite held it indefinitely.
Shapes in the Xtreme Scent Release line include a 3-inch Paddle Tail Grub, 5-inch Jerkbait, 5-inch XR Fatty Jr., a soft stickbait, and 6-inch Finesse Worm.
The original generation of Fishbites featured a spongy material that dissolved in water within days. I’ve found that Fishbites Pro Inshore Strips and Crayfish and Shad Strips work exceedingly well as jig and spinnerbait trailers. These thin baits are sold in sheets or strips and can be easily cut with a scissors into any shape. They also contain an ultralight mesh backing to keep baits on the hook. Due to their thin profile, Fishbites offer a flapping action and are as durable as pork rind.
AAT NitroPro: Advanced Angling Technology (AAT), a branch of Optimum Lures, offers NitroPro baits, soft hand-pours that are biodegradable, according to Tony Paino of Optimum. “They’re free of phthalates,” he notes, “which are banned in Japan and parts of Europe. Baits biodegrade, leaving no harmful chemicals and no toxic residue. In lab tests, NitroPro broke down in 1 to 5 years in microbially active waters, leaving no traces of PVC byproducts.”
NitroPro is reportedly plastic-free, made of a porous, organic-based polymer that delivers potent scent and flavor underwater. Like most tastebaits, NitroPro’s scent doesn’t diminish over time, but releases attractants as long as it’s in water. Maximum release, however, is within the first 16 to 24 hours of fishing.
NitroPro has good shelf life and won’t begin to break down until submerged. In the line is a 3-inch Ridge BioWorm, a dainty finesse bait with grooves to enhance movement, excellent for drop-shotting. They also offer 4- and 6-inch curlytail worms, as well as 4-, 6-, and 8-inch straight-tail BioWorms, available in 8 colors including translucent hues.
These are exciting times for anglers. Never before has so much scientific research entered the bait formulation business. The result is lures that appeal to a bass’ every sense while reducing aquatic pollution. We don’t know the eventual destination, but we’ll surely enjoy the ride.
Biodegradables for Bass
By Cory Schmidt
During the past decade, scientific developments in softbaits—what we used to know as soft plastics—have redefined this category. In a quest to build the perfect fishing lure, developers have created a class of baits that elude exact definition, though they’re generally regarded as biodegradable.
Some of these new baits contain not a trace of plastisol. Several are gelatin-based. Most consist of natural ingredients that begin dissolving the instant they’re placed in water, exuding a sometimes visible trail of flavor and scent. Discarded in a lake, they’re gone within years, months, weeks, or even days. A few baits even provide fish with nutritional food.
I consider these flavor nuggets third-generation softbaits—biodegradable lures or “tastebaits.” First generation softbaits, such as Crème’s Worm, contained vinyl, oils, and pigments. Next came scent-impregnated lures formulated with softer plastisols featuring lifelike texture and action. Today’s third generation are biodegradable, rich in scent and flavor, and in some cases edible.
This growing category includes products from FoodSource, Big Bite Baits, Berkley, Fishbites, and Advanced Angling Technology (AAT). Each is formulated with different organic and synthetic materials, yielding distinctive scents, flavors, textures, and rates of breakdown in the aquatic environment.
About Biodegradability
Biodegradability, while increasingly important in fishing applications as well as for environmental reasons, remains ambiguous. Tests of degradation rate cannot, for example, be conducted in tapwater because it lacks bacteria, microorganisms, and other scavengers that affect breakdown. As a result, there’s no timetable on how long it takes each bait to dissipate in a natural setting. We do know, however, that some like Fishbites Strips dissolve completely within a day or two, even in tapwater. Yet other biodegradable baits contain synthetics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that may eventually dissolve, but potentially toxic chemical byproducts may linger.
Environmental concern stems from the fact that most soft plastics contain resins, stabilizers, and softening agents known as phthalates. The EPA lists certain phthalates as toxic substances potentially linked to a variety of human health problems. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that as many as 20 million pounds of soft plastic fishing lures enter surface waters each year. The U.S. Geological Survey claims phthalates remain the most prominent contaminant in ground and surface waters. The role of fishing lures in this warning isn’t clear; but eventually, improvements in lure materials may not only be prudent, but mandated, similar to lead legislation.
Contributing further to the need for biodegradable baits is bass health itself. There are indications that soft plastics that end up in fish stomachs are harmful. Lures can become lodged in the digestive tract, blocking passage or absorption of food and leading to starvation.
In a recent study by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, undigested soft plastic lures were found in 63 percent of brook trout collected. Trout ingesting soft plastic had lost weight and exhibited poor body condition. During my tenure with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, we collected largemouth bass with sunken abdomens. In nearly every case, a soft plastic lure could be seen protruding from its throat. In contrast, many tastebaits are completely digestible. FoodSource lures are even composed of protein-rich ingredients, approved by the FDA as animal food.
Tastebait Tactics
Beyond environmental and health concerns, these new baits offer advantages in catching bass. Initially, tastebaits shone in finesse and deadsticking situations where action was secondary to scent and taste. To a point, the longer you soak them in water the more appealing tastebaits become to bass. Unlike plastisol baits that quickly lose flavor, tastebaits get better. The dissolving process also makes them feel softer, even slimy to the touch, as they release attractive ingredients. When bass strike, they often hold baits indefinitely, leading to excellent hook-set success.
Some tastebaits aren’t as supple as many of today’s soft plastics, however, meaning slightly reduced action. Rigging may require a screw-in or clip device on the hook. But rigidity has an upside—firmer tastebaits are more durable than soft plastics. Some tastebaits, though, such as Big Bite Baits BioBaits and Gulp! Alive! products, are supple.
Slow, subtle presentations, including flipping, are a great match for durable baits. Drop-shotting lures like Berkley Gulp! Minnows or Gobies or a FoodSource Coosa Flick are another hot combo, often approaching the effectiveness of livebait. Even when you try to pull a tastebait out of their jaws, bass often refuse to drop it. Carolina-rigging also is well suited to tastebaits, since slow dragging activates scent and flavor. Baits such as a 6-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! Lizard are a tremendous Carolina option.
Similarly, split-shot rigs make a fine tastebait delivery tool. Like other “do-nothing” presentations, split-shot rigging doesn’t require much wiggle in your worm and, in open areas, nose-hooking works well.
Tastebait Options
Apparently only five companies offer biodegradable baits. Given the success of soft plastics, most manufacturers aren’t yet motivated to spend millions of dollars to develop biodegradable technologies.
FoodSource Lures: The makers of this unique line of tastebaits tout them as the only lures made of real fish food. Developed through a 3-year partnership between Auburn University fishery researchers and food scientists, FoodSource Lures are ­nutrient-rich fish food. In lab tests, fish not only ate them, but thrived, on a FoodSource diet.
Ed Rogers, president of FoodSource, says their baits aren’t intended to feel as soft as soft plastics. Rather, they’re designed to taste and feel like a live minnow or other natural food. Rogers adds that the firmness of their lures helps them stay on the hook better than soft plastic. “If you want to make a FoodSource bait softer, fish with it awhile, and the bait limbers up. Or add a little water to the bag and let them soak. The longer they’re in water, the softer they become.” Even when out of water for extended periods, FoodSource baits can be resoftened and recharged by placing them in water or a water-based solution for a few minutes. All FoodSource lures completely dissolve in water, leaving behind no synthetic byproducts.
FoodSource has added the Alabama River Series, including the 4-inch Coosa Flick, a drop-shot or shakyhead bait, and Little Warrior, a 3-inch creature bait, touted as a jig trailer and finesse flipping bait in heavy cover. The 5-inch Food Stick, a soft stickbait, remains FoodSource’s signature lure. And for smallmouth, their 3-inch Leech has been hot on clear natural lakes and reservoirs.
Big Bite BioBaits: Big Bite Baits, developed and manufactured in Eufaula, Alabama, have proven a hit in Texas reservoirs like Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Except for a slightly tacky gelatinous exterior, there’s little physical difference between a BioBait and a typical soft plastic. According to company Vice President, Scott Montgomery, “BioBaits are loaded with natural fish attractants that are released into the water at a much higher rate than soft plastics. They have no fish repelling chemicals, so bass strike and don’t reject them. Moreover, BioBait doesn’t dry out when exposed to air, so baits left on the rod are fine.” BioBait also is offered in translucent colors, not an easy accomplishment with biodegradable materials.
Texas tournament ace Russell Cecil relies on BioBaits, and won an FLW Stren Series event on Toledo Bend using a BioBait Trick Stick, a soft stickbait, and a Kriet Kreature. “Trick Sticks excel for working deep trees,” Cecil says. “The lure’s material is both tougher and heavier than plastic, so it sinks quickly into the tree tops where I can keep good contact with it. I don’t have to add extra weight to BioBait. Even in strong wind, when detecting bites can be difficult, bass hang onto it, so you convert almost every strike.
“Their density also makes them ideal for flipping into thick grass mats that hold so many bass on Rayburn and Toledo Bend,” Cecil adds. Anglers also have favored the new Kriet Kreature for Carolina-rigging, and Cecil used it to notch a 2nd place finish at an FLW Stren Series event on Rayburn last year.
Designed with input from Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff Kriet, BioBait’s Kriet Series also includes the Kriet Tail, a 6- and 10-inch curlytail worm and the Thumpin Worm, a ­double-ended paddletail bait available in 4- and 6-inch sizes and 6 colors. Rounding out the series are a 6-inch Pro Lizard, YoMama creature bait, Finesse Worm, Ring Worm, Tube, and Craw Tube. “Right now,” Cecil concludes, “I’d say that BioBaits may be the dominant softbait on the Texas tournament scene.”
Berkley Gulp!—One of the first on the tastebait scene, Berkley Gulp! was developed by lure researchers Dr. Keith Jones and John Prochnow of Pure Fishing. Several years after its ­introduction, Gulp! is a household name among avid anglers. While technically still a plastic, Gulp! is reported to biodegrade in water within 18 months, depending on bacterial breakdown and bottom-dwelling scavengers.
New packaging has addressed some initial drawbacks, such as rigidity, dehydrating when kept out of water, and warping in Ziploc bags. Packed in buckets and submersed in “Magic Gravy,” new Gulp! Alive! baits can be recharged, absorbing more attractant. Baits that begin to dry out are resoftened and rejuvenated by a dip in the bucket. Beyond the marketing brilliance of packaging softbaits as if they were livebait, Gulp! Alive! won’t fold or become deformed while suspended in Magic Gravy, something common even to Ziploc-bagged soft plastics.
“Unlike traditional softbaits, anglers can alter the consistency of Gulp!,” says Pure Fishing Senior Marketing Manager, Eric Naig. “If an angler wants to toughen a Gulp! Craw for flipping heavy cover, let it dry in the sun for a few minutes. For a softer bait with a bit more action, place the bag or an Alive! bucket in the hot sun.
Gulp! was first embraced by smallmouth anglers, and the Leech, Minnow, Goby, and Sinking Minnow have become staples for anglers on the Great Lakes, particularly for drop-shot fishing on deep rock structure. Many new additions are intended as finesse presentations for largemouth bass. Introductions include the 3-inch Nuclear Nelly, a compact creature-shaped jig trailer, 4-inch Crawfish, and 6-inch Lizard, all packed in wide, flat Alive! buckets that resist spilling. Newest is a 7-inch Gulp! Super Worm, a ribbontail worm anglers have requested.
“Anglers are experimenting with new ways to rig these baits,” Naig says. “We’ve developed our own rigging system that works incredibly well and it will be brought to market this year. Another barrier has been translucence. Right now, the materials in Gulp! prevent translucent colors, but we’ll get there.”
Fishbites: Developed through decades of research by marine ­biologist and University of Florida professor Dr. William Carr, Fishbites is a rapidly biodegrading tastebait that consists of laboratory-formulated feeding stimulants. His research defined chemical substances fish use to detect and track prey.
Carr focused on replicating natural, water-soluble feeding stimulants in the lab, creating a more potent form that fish prefer. Today, Fishbites offers a line of clean, odorless tastebaits, some of which completely dissolve in water within a few days.
Originally designed as an alternative to live- and cutbait for saltwater fishing, Fishbites has introduced Xtreme Scent Release Baits, with shapes and colors for bass fishing. Made from Fishbites’ proprietary Hydro-Gel, a type of biodegradable plastic, Xtreme Scent Release baits retain flavor and scent until the lure hits the water.
Similar to FoodSource, Fishbites are a little firmer than many soft plastics. But when submerged, they immediately begin breaking down, becoming softer and more pliable. The longer you fish a bait, the more appealing it becomes to bass, as attractant leaches out and its texture becomes natural. In trials last year, nearly every bass that struck a Fishbite held it indefinitely.
Shapes in the Xtreme Scent Release line include a 3-inch Paddle Tail Grub, 5-inch Jerkbait, 5-inch XR Fatty Jr., a soft stickbait, and 6-inch Finesse Worm.
The original generation of Fishbites featured a spongy material that dissolved in water within days. I’ve found that Fishbites Pro Inshore Strips and Crayfish and Shad Strips work exceedingly well as jig and spinnerbait trailers. These thin baits are sold in sheets or strips and can be easily cut with a scissors into any shape. They also contain an ultralight mesh backing to keep baits on the hook. Due to their thin profile, Fishbites offer a flapping action and are as durable as pork rind.
AAT NitroPro: Advanced Angling Technology (AAT), a branch of Optimum Lures, offers NitroPro baits, soft hand-pours that are biodegradable, according to Tony Paino of Optimum. “They’re free of phthalates,” he notes, “which are banned in Japan and parts of Europe. Baits biodegrade, leaving no harmful chemicals and no toxic residue. In lab tests, NitroPro broke down in 1 to 5 years in microbially active waters, leaving no traces of PVC byproducts.”
NitroPro is reportedly plastic-free, made of a porous, organic-based polymer that delivers potent scent and flavor underwater. Like most tastebaits, NitroPro’s scent doesn’t diminish over time, but releases attractants as long as it’s in water. Maximum release, however, is within the first 16 to 24 hours of fishing.
NitroPro has good shelf life and won’t begin to break down until submerged. In the line is a 3-inch Ridge BioWorm, a dainty finesse bait with grooves to enhance movement, excellent for drop-shotting. They also offer 4- and 6-inch curlytail worms, as well as 4-, 6-, and 8-inch straight-tail BioWorms, available in 8 colors including translucent hues.
These are exciting times for anglers. Never before has so much scientific research entered the bait formulation business. The result is lures that appeal to a bass’ every sense while reducing aquatic pollution. We don’t know the eventual destination, but we’ll surely enjoy the ride.