Berkley Soft plastics what am I missing?

[Cgolf]

Back in the day I used Berkley soft plastics, but now I have found that I really don't have any interest in any of their products. For the 25 day sale I had 1 pack of twitchtail minnows in my cart, but I ended up removing them. generally I have found other brands that I like better, either because they are cheaper or at least in my eyes have a better product.

What am I missing? Has Berkley stopped being innovative, or are there just too many options out there now? 

[Arobb2012]

I think they still make a good product, but there is so many different options for soft plastic lures now it makes it difficult to be innovative. I really like their havoc line of baits. The flat dawg and the jerk fluke style bait were my go to lures when the bass had lock jaw.

[Toeshots]

Can't speak to many of their other baits, but the 7" Power Worm in blue fleck is my go-to plastic worm. I've tried others and the only one I like as much as the Berkely is the Rage Tail Anaconda (also in blue fleck). 

[imagine29028]

Cant beat a Pit Boss....for $1.75 a pack?! Cmon 

[Cgolf]

3 minutes ago, imagine29028 said:

Cant beat a Pit Boss....for $1.75 a pack?! Cmon 

I have been on the fence with this bait for a while now and just can't pull the trigger on it, not sure why. Some of it is I have a lot of jig trailers and want to put money elsewhere, but I should pick up at least a pack for next year. 

[JDJ]

1 minute ago, cgolf said:

I have been on the fence with this bait for a while now and just can't pull the trigger on it, not sure why. Some of it is I have a lot of jig trailers and want to put money elsewhere, but I should pick up at least a pack for next year. 

What I especially like about the Pit Boss is how buoyant it is which, as a jig trailer, allows it to sfand up nicely on a jig with an angled hook (e.g., Siebert's Dredge jig). It makes for a good imitation of a craw in the defensive position.

[MIbassyaker]

Powerbait, especially power worms and Chigger Craws, have been staples in my tackle box for a long while.

I have only used a few of the baits from the havoc line (pit boss, juice worm, subwoofer), but they strike me as both affordable and fairly innovative in some of their designs.

[Bluebasser86]

I carry a ton of Berkley baits in my boat, especially the Havoc lineup. The twitchtail minnow is a great bait and one of my favorite multispecies baits. 

[alzun664]

1 hour ago, imagine29028 said:

Cant beat a Pit Boss....for $1.75 a pack?! Cmon 

The Pit Boss is my go-to trailer. Might not be as innovative or realistic as other soft plastics, but they flat out work and are a total steal at that price.

[FloridaFishinFool]

5 hours ago, cgolf said:

Back in the day I used Berkley soft plastics, but now I have found that I really don't have any interest in any of their products. 

What am I missing? Has Berkley stopped being innovative, or are there just too many options out there now? 

You may not have any interest in Berkley products, but the fish certainly do!

From rods, to lines, to lures, to scents. For the price Berkley is hard to beat.

Another member here posted a video taking a look inside the Berkley lab in Iowa...

http://www.bassmaster.com/video/spirit-lake-iowa-inside-berkley-plant

 

[Bluebasser86]

2 hours ago, alzun664 said:

The Pit Boss is my go-to trailer. Might not be as innovative or realistic as other soft plastics, but they flat out work and are a total steal at that price.

I would say that the Pit Boss is probably one of the most innovative baits in the Havoc lineup. I don't know of any other bait with those appendages and that action. It's certainly become a staple for a ton of anglers all around the country, myself included. 

[Fishes in trees]

The crazy legs chigger craw is where I start when the subject is bubba drop shot baits.  I wish they still made the 8" Powerbait Lizard.

[Bluebasser86]

7 minutes ago, Fishes in trees said:

  I wish they still made the 8" Powerbait Lizard.

Agreed, that was a big fish catching machine! Can't count how many big springtime bass I caught on a black 8" power lizard. Tried other brands but they just don't produce like that one did.

[roadwarrior]

I don't own any Berkley products and have not fished one in more than a decade.  However, I am not surprised to hear of their large following, the company has grown dramatically as they have acquired other companies. My experience with some Berkley products makes me skeptical of the overall research and development program featured in the video. Did those guys ever actually fish Vanish before introducing the line?   

[bowhunter63]

I use there chigger craws alot,Pretty good bait.

[A-Jay]

Berkley's line of plastics both the older stuff & much of the newer baits have & do catch fish for me.

From power worms, chigger craws and various creature style baits to hollow belly & flat back swim baits, they all produce.

Always been a fan of power bait and now the Havoc line (very reasonably priced).

And though it is scentless, a little Megastrike takes care of that.

I will not mention the pounds of very effective but discontinued Berkley baits I've hoarded over the years.

A-Jay

[FloridaFishinFool]

12 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Berkley's line of plastics both the older stuff & much of the newer baits have & do catch fish for me.

 

I will not mention the pounds of very effective but discontinued Berkley baits I've hoarded over the years.

A-Jay

Agreed! Berkley catches fish! And for a great price too! I use up a ton of their soft rubber powerbait swim baits. Absolutely love fishing with them as much as the fish love inhaling them!

But that last line of yours above I found interesting... I think a lot of us fishermen do it. I still use an old rubber worm that has been discontinued for more than 10 years!

I have a google search and an ebay search and amazon search programmed to let me know whenever an unopened bag shows up for sale and I grab it up.

I now have close to 20 bags on the shelf ready for next year and the years after that! Kind of nice to still be catching fish with them!

If Berkley ever stopped making the swimbaits I use I swear I will have to start pouring my own. Maybe I should be saving all those weighted hooks even after a fish tears it up???

[BaitMonkey1984]

4 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

The crazy legs chigger craw is where I start when the subject is bubba drop shot baits.  I wish they still made the 8" Powerbait Lizard.

My soft plastics arsenal ( and I mean arsenal bc it takes up a good portion of my garage) has many many brands. But the two  major brands are GYCB and Berkley. I use both the Havoc and the Powerboat lines and they both have great baits.

The crazy legs chigger craw is by leaps and bounds the best t rigged bait for my area. But the Havoc Line works extremely well too. As many people have said already the Pit Boss has somewhat of a cult following. The berkley havoc back slide is one of the most innovative french style baits I have seen as it has dual weight zones allowing the bait to fall back under docks. Then the smash tubes come in great colors and because  of their shape allow you to get more hook ups, because you have less plastic to go through. All this, and you can usually get them on sale for $1.50 a pack-great lures. 

[FloridaFishinFool]

17 minutes ago, BaitMonkey1984 said:

...because  of their shape allow you to get more hook ups, because you have less plastic to go through.

You would be amazed at how many fishermen either do not or, will not even consider this!

I told one of my fishing buddies this year I thought he was losing fish because of it, but would he listen? Nope.

I think it is slowly sinking in though, so maybe by next season he will come around to including this bit of wisdom into his soft rubber choices of any brand.

[drew4779]

I always have a crazy leg chigger crawl tied on and packs scattered throughout my boat.  Flat out catches fish.  I just ordered a bunch of flat dawgs too but can't testify as how these work yet.

 That t-rig/jig hybrid rig A-Jay posted a few years back with the powerbait beast trailer slays bass on the small creeks I fish where the broken bedrock makes jig fishing impossible.  

But heck...different styles for different folks.  I can't fathom not being able to catch bass on a chigger crawl but then again, in 20+ plus years I still have never caught a bass on a rat-L trap so go figure?

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I use sub woofers and there gulps with success

[Cgolf]

Maybe it is my fishing style that steers me to other brands, my T rig staples are Kalins grubs, BPS tender tubes or any cheap tube generally works, and netbait and zoom finesse worms and slim shakes and swamp crawlers. On jigs I went with a Paca craw selection. 

I do have some chigger craws, one pack of the crazy legs version that I will have to give a toss this season and see how they work. I do have a bunch of old power bait shaky worms that I have done decent with, but I don't think you can get them anymore. Probably end up kicking myself for not stocking up on the pit boss with the sale, but live and learn. Also with the above baits Berkley is the more expensive choice, vs the brands listed. The grubs may be the exception, but kalins just work too good for me. 

I had some success with the twitchtail minnow on a jig head river fishing for smallies, but before I go crazy with them I want a little more time on the water to confirm it wasn't a fluke. 

[lo n slo]

12 hours ago, Toeshots said:

Can't speak to many of their other baits, but the 7" Power Worm in blue fleck is my go-to plastic worm. I've tried others and the only one I like as much as the Berkely is the Rage Tail Anaconda (also in blue fleck). 

it's a 7" green pumpkin power worm for me

[imagine29028]

9 bags of soft plastics on my 25 days order at TW today...Pit Boss, Money Makers, 10 inch worm, and powerbait tubes. 

[The Fisher]

Green Pumpkin or black blue fleck  Chigger Craws love them as jig trailers or just plain TX rig