With the meteoric rise of forward-facing live sonar, the angling world is undergoing rapid changes. The tackle manufacturing world is quickly trying to adjust gear to capture the market. Even new tackle language " buzz words" have developed and are now well established in recent angling lingo-> live scoping, active targeting, ...
The latest scramble is a fun one for Catch to watch... big tackle manufacturers trying to figure out how and what items they can quickly develop and create based on new techniques that are working with the "scopers". The now prehistoric writings of our Bassmaster days of "you can't catch suspended fish because they are in a neutral feeding mode" are well, let's just say, not exactly accurate. The recent and most trendy of the scoping techniques is to use lighter tackle and gear in efforts to call out finicky toads to react by using finesse, slower falling presentations. The new buzz word for this approach is " hover", as in hover and swim your slow falling lure above your pinpointed fish and then gauge it's reaction. With all this said, we can't help but somewhat snicker at watching manufacturers scramble goods to retail, pros tout them as novel, and seeing anglers gobble up these "new" slow falling lures.
With all these slower presentation innovations and gear changes taking place we can't help but ask, "hey tackle industry, where have you been the last 15 years"? We've been sitting at this finesse table, waiting, defying gravity for long, long time.
Zero Gravity Jig- 2010 (design & development for 3 years prior) Tackle Tour Innovation Award 2011- 8.25
Zero Gravity Hybrid AirDrop- 2015 Tackle Tour Editor's Choice Award 2019- 7.83
Zero Gravity Hybrid AirQuake- 2017 Tackle Tour- 7.83
Zero Gravity AirScope- 2024
To all the anglers, pros and dealers that have championed our slow falling tackles the last 15 years, we want to say to you, you were way ahead of your time. You were pioneers to what we are seeing with today's angling tactics. We greatly appreciate your support and most of all thanks for being open-minded enough to tie on our novel "hovering", slow falling concept lures.
Good fishing in 2024!
Kelly Barefoot