Remember the buzz about Optimum's Furbit after the ICAST trade show? The high-test frog and popping frog – with a trailer blade and rabbit-hair legs – won best of show in the soft-lure category, and the design came straight out of Japan. The designer was famed Toshiaki Hirota, who's been making frogs for 18 years.
BassFan spoke with Optimum's Matt Paino about the genesis of the new Furbit frog and Poppin' Furbit. He said: "We'd played around with rabbit hair quite a bit in various worms. What some guys were doing was taking our Twin Teaser – which is a wacky worm with rabbit hair on each end – and using it for legs on our regular SP frog, instead of the skirted legs."
Paino, who in the past had split his time between the U.S. and Japan, also noted that rabbit-hair-leg frogs were popular in Asia for snakehead fishing. So 2 years ago he approached Hirota about making a rabbit-hair-leg frog for Optimum. The result was the new Furbit and Poppin' Furbit.
"Pretty much everyone who's seen rabbit hair in the water knows what it does, but (the hair-legs) are something completely new for the U.S. I like to think of the Furbit as an all-around frog. And if you fish it with the blade on, it's really good for open-water fishing. It's at its best on a stop-and-go retrieve, because the hair does throw off a good amount of resistance, but it can be walked right out of the package. If you trim one leg a little shorter, that'll help it walk better."
The Furbits come with a 6/0 Owner double-hook, and the weight is molded in and completely sealed off. A vent hole in the tail area allows the bait to compress on the hookset, but no water can get in. The baits aren't available yet, but should be at retail by November. Watch BassFan for updates on availability.
> In addition to its own lineup of worms, frogs and swimbaits, Optimum is also the exclusive U.S distributor for Deps. The BassFan Store carries both Deps and Optimum products. Use the search function to search by company name.
> For more about Optimum's lineup, visit OptimumBaits.com. Additionally, Optimum's detailed overview of the Furbit can he found here.
