Berkley Powerbait Max Scent review

[12poundbass]

Over the past couple weeks I've been trying out the Berkley Powerbait Max Scent soft plastics. To be honest the older Powerbaits have kind of been a little stinky which has left them out of my regular line up. So when I received these in the mail I wasn't too optimistic. 

 

The General:

 

I chose the General which is a 5" stick worm. Upon opening the package, you guessed it, curiosity got this cat and I stuck my nose in and took a whiff. Not bad at all, in fact there isn't much scent at all. They are wet, so you can tell they've been saturated in the Max Scent formula. From the package they're strait and true. The front of the package has a nice recommendation on what it's best paired with. They suggested a whacky rig. I went with a 3/0 EWG Gamakatsu and T-rigged it weightless.  The bait glides through the water nicely. I caught several fish this way. What I noticed was after catching several fish the General held up nicely, so much so the Senko queen herself (my wife) took notice. For my wife to consider anything besides a Senko is huge! Back at home I took the General and a Senko to my sons pool that's about three foot deep for the ultimate test. Side by side I let the two go. The General has a faster fall rate which was to be expected. That being said the fall rate wasn't fast at all, in fact it was right where I want a stick bait to fall. Not too slow you could take a nap waiting for touchdown, and not too fast is drops like a rock with no movement and flies by your target fish. It swayed back and forth and had a sweet little shimmy to it that drives the fish crazy! At just under $7 for a bag of I believe 9 worms that will catch multiple fish per worm it's a great deal. On top of that the movement is perfect and the scent isn't going to leave you sleeping on the couch waiting for the smell to wear off. 

 

Creature Craw:

 

I didn't get as much time with this bait but it reflects a lot of the qualities the General has. It seems to be more durable than some other creature baits on the market. The pinchers have plenty of movement on them which is a good thing. The ribs along the body have plenty of contour so it should be easy for the bass to quickly hone in on. This retails under the $7 price tag as well so you really can't go wrong. 

 

The Powerbait Max Scent line up is a hit with me. I'm going to check out what else they have I can load up on, and it looks like Berkley might have converted the Senko queen! 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

Nicely Done Sir.

By you and especially The Senko Queen . . .

A-Jay

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

At just under $7 for a bag of I believe 9 worms that will catch multiple fish per worm it's a great deal.

Multiple fish is a big deal.  So, does it fall faster than a senko, or a little slower, like a Dinger?

[12poundbass]

47 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Multiple fish is a big deal.  So, does it fall faster than a senko, or a little slower, like a Dinger?

It falls faster than a Senko, but not like a rock. 

[J Francho]

Woa!

[Beetlebz]

35 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

It falls faster than a Senko, but not like a rock. 

That's quite the feat. The biggest issue I've had trying to find non-senkos to save money is that fall rate. The shim-e-stick is close but it falls too slow, I have to use nail waits to get them down in anything but ultra slick calm. 

 

I guess I'm ordering some generals tomorrow.

[12poundbass]

2 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

That's quite the feat. The biggest issue I've had trying to find non-senkos to save money is that fall rate. The shim-e-stick is close but it falls too slow, I have to use nail waits to get them down in anything but ultra slick calm. 

 

I guess I'm ordering some generals tomorrow.

You won't be disappointed.

[ChrisD46]

The new Berkley Power max line of baits are a different deal for sure (material wise) ... The Green Pumpkin color in the General  is a great place to start and does look good in the water with action as such described by the OP ... I just haven't put them in an area where bass are yet or tested in detail (that's on me !)

[Way north bass guy]

The General has been great for me, Texas rigged for pitching into the thick stuff for largemouth and wacky rigged or wacky drop shot rigged for smallies. Last week one night I got on a big school of them and they were smoking it on nearly every cast. Once I was down to my last one, after it finally ripped in two I just put on the half section and they kept on eating it. Good stuff indeed!

[ww2farmer]

This post is not meant as a hi-jack of this thread, but as an additional review of the Max Scent General.

 

I bought 2 packs of them the other day to try. I am a big fan of Berkley soft plastics, and was looking forward to trying the General, as to my knowledge, Berkley has never has never had a "true" stick bait in their line up before. Things like the Gulp Sinking Minnow, Havoc Flat Dawg, etc..have always left a lot to be desired for me.

 

First impressions straight out of the pack were:

 

#1, listed as a 5" bait, they are a little smaller than a 5" Senko, or my usual go-to stick, the Yum Dinger, but a little bigger than 4" versions of those baits.

 

#2, the scent is not over powering like OG Power bait

 

#3, the make up of the plastic material is different from most other baits on the market. I can best describe it as very similar to Gulp!, but denser, and it doesn't dry out.

 

I took them out last night and fished with them exclusively to give them a fair shake. I neko rigged the Junebug colored ones I bought with a 1/16th oz nail weight for fishing deep grass lines in slightly stained water, and wacky rigged the green pumpkin party colored ones on a 1/16th oz wacky jigs for fishing clearer water around/under docks, and shallow grass lines.

 

I caught fish on both presentations, with the high lights a 4-4 on the shallow wacky rig, and a 4-1, and limit of 2.5-3.5lbers on the neko rig in deeper water.

 

After fishing them for 4-5 hours, here are my thoughts/observations.

 

#1...., BOTH colors turned from their darker original color to a a light purple/pink for the june bug, and a weirdo greyish/whiteish/greenish color for the green pumpkin based color. That was a big turn off.

 

#2...Durability was decent, not better or worse than a Yum Dinger, but much better than a senko.

 

#3....Wacky rigged they have the wiggle of a weightless Senko, and about the same as a Yum Dinger on a jig head (weightless dingers don't wiggle nearly as much)

 

#4... They cast and skip like bullets, and sink very fast. Faster than a weightless senko, way way faster than a weightless dinger, and noticeably faster on a jig head as a weighted dinger on the same size jig had.....I DON'T like that, as I like to be able to start from a known base line of the super slow falling dinger, and add weight as needed to get the fall rate, and or wiggle I want

 

Overall....they are a quality option, but I don't think I will replace my dingers with them. The main reasons are the sink rate is too fast out of the package for my liking, the color fading issue bugs me, and price...they are not  cheap at $6.99 for 8. I will eagerly wait for the OG Power bait version of the General to hit the shelves (9/15 according to Tackle Warehouse) and give those a try next.

 

 

[burrows]

I’ve tried out the general in black and blue also green pumpkin only two packs but that’s all I needed to be sold. I think durablity is about the same as a senko? maybe just a little more durable? It’s got tuffer skin. I have no problem paying 7 bucks a pack for these and next trip to bass pros and I’m definitely getting a few packs no doubt this is my go to stick bait from here on out. It catches em when a regular senko won’t which makes the senko Irrelevant for me. 

 Still gonna make sure I keep a few packs of yum dingers always on stock because I know I’ll be running out of the power bait max scent General here and there.

[NYWayfarer]

I agree with everyone that has commented on the fast fall rate. Yum, Senko, General in that order.

 

My second outing with them produced some Smallmouth catches. I have been wacky rigging them on a 1/0 Eagle Claw weedless hook.

 

Durability... Day one I had a worm rip in two after the second fish. I will save the halves for Ned rigs. Day two I lost 2 worms. One on a cast which surprised me as it was on a weedless hook. Could be my savage casting though. Second worm was lost as I was bringing in a fish. The worm had ridden up the line and went flying when the fish shook. I assume the line cut right through the body. The weight of the worm probably contributed to this.

 

Another observation, make sure you seal the pack properly or it will leak all over your tackle bag.