by Gord Pyzer photos by Simon Cheung Top Tackle 2005 (part 4) MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT MAXXUM PRO MinnKota has taken electric trolling-motor technology to new heights with its Maxxum Pro bow-mount. A revolutionary lift-assist stow-and-deploy system, which uses a heavy-duty, gas-charged spring, means you can literally pull the motor out of the water using only your little finger. And if you accidentally release the cord early when you’re deploying the motor, it slowly descends under its own weight without any splash. But the innovations don’t stop there: the new Weedless Wedge 2 prop, with its swept-back flared blades, is 100 per cent weedless. Combine these features with MinnKota’s famous Maximizer technology and you’ll see why the Maxxum Pro sets a new standard. Johnson Outdoors, 1-800-263-6390; minnkotamotors.com KREATURE Gary Yamamoto Bait Company has introduced one smash-hit lure after another: the Hula Grub, then the Ika followed by the Senko. Now there’s the Kreature, and prototypes have already helped win bass tournaments across the U.S. The four-inch Kreature, with its Senko-like body, Ika-like tail and long, flapping Hula Grub appendages, is an amalgam of the best features of Yamamoto’s time-tested lures. You can flip it, pitch it, team it up with a jig, rig it weedless with a bullet weight or fish it behind a Carolina rig. Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, 1-800-645-2248; www.baits.com MEGA STRIKE Whether we realize it or not, our bodies crave certain chemicals and foods. Same goes for fish, and after nine years of research, the folks at Mega Strike believe they’ve isolated the specific amino acids and proteins that fish desire. They’ve also developed a new way for the scent molecules to repel one another in order to rapidly disperse throughout the water column. So how well does their new formula work? According to the chemist who developed the scent, one fish actually used its nose to push away stones covering a small object coated with the new attractant. Mega Strike, 1-866-454-6487; www.megastrike.com VANISH TRANSITION It’s hard to believe that fishing-line manufacturers can still come up with something new, but Berkley has done just that with a new fluorocarbon line that remains invisible to fish under the water, yet easy for anglers to see above the surface. A line watcher’s dream come true, Berkley’s Vanish Transition adopts a highly visible golden yellow hue seconds after it comes out of the water and is exposed to daylight. You really do have to see it to believe it. Of course, the line retains all the other highly desirable qualities of fluorocarbon, including low stretch, high sensitivity, abrasion resistance and high density. Pure Fishing, 1-800-237-5539; www.berkley-fishing.com BEST VIDEO FISHING REEL MAINTENANCE Two thumbs-up for Lake Fork Tackle Repair’s tell-all video, Fishing Reel Maintenance. After almost 20 years in the tackle repair business, Connie and Tommy Kilpatrick have decided to share their time-tested secrets—and anglers everywhere are going to be glad they did. Now you can learn the same fail-safe techniques for maintaining your own expensive baitcasting reels. Priced at only $35.94 and $29.94 for the DVD and VHS versions, respectively, Fishing Reel Maintenance will pay for itself the first time you clean a reel. Lake Fork Tackle Repair, (903) 383-2120; www.lakeforktacklerepair.com Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 also read Top Fly-Fishing Tackle 2005