When the new products hit the streets every year just before ICAST, we're like kids in a candy store. This year has been no exception.


A couple of weeks ago we received a giant box of new products from Berkley. Just like those kids in the candy store, we ripped it open and got to digging. We couldn’t wait to get on the water and test the new goodies.


Once again, Berkley has a little something for everyone. Just about every gamefish in North America gets something new to look at.

There are baits like the Power Manic Shad (a very lifelike swimbait with replaceable bodies), the 4-inch Gulp! Goby (perfect for dropshotting), the Mud Critter (a slender crawfish bait perfect for fishing heavy mats and blowdowns), the SaberTail Burly Bug (a flipping crawfish bait with Saber pincers), and our personal favorite, the SaberTail Tube.

Active Wings

The SaberTail Tube is hollow-bodied and has very active wings that that are connected just above the tentacles. We fished the Alabama craw color and teamed it with a Revo ST reel, a Setyr flipping stick, Trilene 17-pound fluorocarbon line (new this year), a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook and a 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight. We also placed a Zoom two-bead glass rattle into the center of the bait.

The lake we fished had bass in all three spawning phases and it was a full-moon period. Air temperatures were in the low 80s and the water temp was 74 degrees. We fished undercut banks, hedge blowdowns and shallow emergent vegetation.

Believe it or not, on the first flip with this bait we caught a 2-pounder, and caught 11 more bass up to 4 pounds during the test. Most of the fish bit on the fall, and we noticed that the tentacles were flaring as it descended, giving the bait a very large profile. Combined with the Saber flippers, they really made the bait come to life.

Lots of Versatility

This bait is unique in several ways. It can be pitched and flipped, and holds potential as a Carolina-rig bait as well. We can’t wait to swim it on ledges.

We also used the bait weightless over logs and matted vegetation equally well. And because of its weight and design, it can be cast long distances, even on 17-pound fluorocarbon line.

The Chigger Craw busted them at this year's Bassmaster Classic, and we would not be surprised to see some wins in the future for the SaberTail Tube.