A 2 1/2-inch purple Berkley PowerBait Pro Shad and a hand-painted blue 1/16-ounce Gopher Tackle's Mushroom Head jig.
June 18, 2016
By Ned Kehde
The Berkley PowerBait Pro Shad is a finesse-size swimbait that has been catching the fancy of some Midwest finesse anglers and their quarries.
It is manufactured in two sizes: 2 1/2 inches and 3 1/2 inches. Some folks say it possesses a bite-size profile in the eyes of a black bass.
Its head is embossed with two bulb-like eyes and two abstract gill membranes. Its nose is flat, which allows it to fit snugly to the back of a mushroom-style jig, such as Gopher Tackle's Mushroom Head. Its torso is shaped similar to the thin body of a gizzard shad. The back portion of its torso is segmented, and it supports a paddle or boot tail, and these two features are designed to create a significant amount of movement, which the folks at Berkley describe as hard pounding, which is said to attract black bass from a goodly distance.
The folks at Berkley say that anglers can affix the Pro Shad to a small Chatterbait, tiny A-rig, or a swim jig. But Midwest finesse anglers will opt for a 1/16- to 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig, and they will present it with all six of their standard Midwest finesse retrieves.
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It is available in the following colors: Black Ice, Bleak, Blue Ice, Chartreuse Ice, Chartreuse Purple Ice, Firetiger, Madtom, Opening Night, Pearl White, Perch Ice, Pink Ice, Purple, Purple Chartreuse, Purple Ice, Smelt, and Watermelon Pearl.
It is impregnated with Berkley's exclusive PowerBait Formula, which Berkley heralds as the most effective scent in the world of freshwater angling.
Anglers can purchase a package of 10 for $4.99.
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Endnotes
(1) It is interesting to note that the jig illustration on the Pro Shad's package looks to be a Gopher Tackle's Mushroom Head, which has been one of the longtime favorite jigs for Midwest finesse applications. A photograph of the package is below.
(2) Here is a link to a Midwest finesse column that details the six retrieves that Midwest finesse anglers will employ when they work with the Pro Shad: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/ .
