by Gord Pyzer photos by Simon Cheung Top Tackle 2005 (part 2) ULTRABITE Mustad’s Ultrabite is the first and only fish attractant to contain pheromones, the natural chemical secretions that all animals release. Since fish use their olfactory senses to follow the pheromone scent trails of their prey, they simply can’t avoid striking a lure scented with Ultrabite. Indeed, the manufacturers say it’s possible to stimulate nearby fish to feed simply by placing just two or three drops in the water, or by fan casting a scented lure around the boat. O. Mustad & Son, (315) 253-2793; www.mustad.no MUSKY MARABOU By replacing the stiff deer hair with vivacious marabou feathers, the folks at Mepps have improved their world-famous Musky Killer. The results are stunning, but the change is more than cosmetic: it’s now easier to retrieve the lure just under the surface or over the tops of weeds. Livelier and more colourful than the Killer, the Musky Marabou also promises to trigger more strikes in dark or dingy water. The lure features a heavy-duty split ring, which eliminates the leverage a big fish can exert on a straight wire lure, and makes mixing, matching and replacing tails a simple task. Breck’s, (819) 563-2115; www.mepps.ca MASK 100 In the tradition of the super-realistic premium baits coming out of Japan these days, Jackall’s Mask 100 is soft and pliable like a live fish—you can bend the tail around so that it touches the lure’s nose—yet it’s extremely durable. The body is moulded around a tungsten head and a strand of titanium-nickel alloy wire that forms the backbone. This space-age wire allows the bait to flex naturally when you rip it in the water. The four-inch Mask 100 perfectly matches the size and shape of smelt, herring, shiners and alewives favoured by bass, walleye, trout, pike and muskies in most Canadian waters. Jackall, (714) 847-7435; www.jackall.co.jp MUST-HAVE LURE X-RAP SLASHBAIT At ICAST, the display models of Rapala’s new X-Rap kept mysteriously vanishing from the shelves. And you’ll understand why when you see these lures in the water. Adorned with sticky-sharp treblehooks, you can cast the short but surprisingly heavy 7/16-ounce bait a mile—a real bonus for Canadian anglers who fish clear-water lakes and rivers. When you pause the lure on retrieve, it points its nose up and quivers like a dying minnow. Mark Fisher, Rapala’s vice-president of marketing, says the company still doesn’t completely understand why or how the lure assumes this deadly position. But who cares? Bass, walleye, trout, pike and muskies can’t resist it. Rapala, (905) 571-3001; www.rapala.com Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 also read Top Fly-Fishing Tackle 2005