Glenn: Hey, folks, Glenn May here with bassresource.com. And guess who I found? Mike McClelland here at the Spro booth, here at ICAST. Here to talk to you about the new stuff coming out from Spro. Mike, what have you got for us?
Mike: You know, the thing about it is we've had such huge success the last few years with new products that all of us have released. That you get to a point where it's like, man, you don't hardly have room for new, new stuff. We do have a brand new product this year from Dean, the Spit Shad. We've got a new size in it that's the 60. The original Spit Shad was a 65. So we've got a downsized version of the Spit Shad that I think is gonna be phenomenal across the country.
Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Mike: When you start looking at other things here, a lot of it's color, color-specific, finish-specific. Like I said, we just got so many new products that have hit the last two or three years. It's like, "Whoa, we gotta kinda take a step back and develop each of the product lines." So basically, that's what we've done. You've got two new colors of the King Daddy, which, you know, the King Daddy's been really, really successful across the country. Great big frog. I mean, it's one of those that you pick up when you wanna catch big ones, and that's what the King Daddy's all about.
Glenn: That's a huge frog.
Mike: It's a big frog, but we're catching bigger and bigger bass every year. I mean, you look at what we weigh in at these events over the past few years. And it's like nobody goes out to catch numbers anymore, unless you're talking major league fishing. It's about catching the biggest ones you can catch, and that's what the King Daddy allows you to do.
Glenn: Now, would you throw that on, like, a different area than you would a smaller frog, or can you throw it in the same places?
Mike: You know, really you can throw it in the same places. It's just about the whole fact about trying to entice a bigger bite. I mean, you know, the realm over the last few years has been bigger swimbaits, bigger crankbaits, bigger everything. And that's the whole thing with the King Daddy. It's just putting a bait out there that they're not used to seeing to allow you to catch the bigger fish. And I mean, when you're talking about a bait like this, it's not just necessarily bass. I mean, guys are catching muskie and northern and all kinds of stuff on these baits. So I mean, it's not just limited to bass. But when you step on down through the line, John and myself, we've got a lot of new color options coming. Essentially, John has got a bait. You know, for years and years...
Glenn: Now, you're talking John Crews.
Mike: John Crews, yeah. We're talking John Crews. I mean, with the DD Series, how often do we throw black and blue jigs, black and blue worms? I mean, there's so much in the world of black and blue, and John finally is like, "Why don't we have black and blue crankbaits?" So essentially, John's taken and done a metal flake blue, you know, crankbait to fill that realm when you need a darker color in that series of baits. So that's gonna be a big deal, and really it's pretty unique to the industry. You look across the board and there's just not that many baits that are that color. So it's gonna be pretty cool.
Then you step on over into the Little John series, and essentially John and I both have been pushing for a clear version in our baits. And it's like, "Well, why are they gonna throw clear?" It's not about throwing a clear bait. It's about having the opportunity for these guys that want a custom-paint bait. You know, why make 'em buy a bait that's already painted and strip it? So essentially, we're offering, now, the Little John and the Rock Crawler in a clear bait. So guys can take the hooks of 'em, paint 'em the color the color they want 'em, and get to it right away.
Glenn: That’s a real smart idea.
Mike: It really is, and it took us a while to convince 'em that they were gonna sell 'em. But since they've brought 'em on, they've sold 'em as quick as they can put 'em on the shelves. So it's been a big, big hit.
Then you talk about the Rock Crawler colors themselves. You know, I knew the Rock Crawler was gonna be a great bait in a shad pattern. I mean, everybody knew that crawfish colors were gonna sell, and I had to push and push to get the Ayu Shad. But I've had five guys today already walk up and just, like, "We need more shad colors." Well, for now, it's the Ayu Shad. And then we also introduced the Watermelon Craw, which is basically a watermelon phantom craw. Nearly a transparent bait for those really clear water conditions that we're all faced with fishing every now and then.
And then the next bait, I've got a ton of colors in the McStick line. I mean, we've got 18 colors in the original 110, but in the 115, the 95, we haven't expanded that color line. So this year, we've looked at adding some colors in the 95. We got Ayu Shad is one. And then we've got Magic Purple, and it's available in both the 95 and the 110. So we've got some new color additions there.
And then you look at finishes on Bucktail. You know, Bucktail becomes bigger and bigger every year that we get into fishing. I mean, more and more guys are throwing bucktails, not only for bass, but a lot of different species. So Spro’s introduced some new finishes this year. The chrome-plated heads, some different colors on some of the chartreuse and yellow colors, and it's just given guys a lot of options in bucktails to throw. You know, bucktails, like I said, are thrown across the board for a lot of different species. And that's what we're trying to do, is fill those voids that weren't filled.
Glenn: Fantastic. Now, when are these all gonna be available?
Mike: These are all available right now. I mean, you know, they're introduced here at ICAST, but I mean, they are ready to order right now. So if you're looking to get baits, in specific finishes and new sizes and new colors, I mean, right now's the time to start shopping.
Glenn: Fantastic. All right, well, check 'em out, guys, when you have a chance.