The Rise of Swimbait Collaborations: Dream Baits You Can't Afford? Check Again

Why Swimbait Culture Creates the Perfect Playground for Lure Collaborations
Swimbait Innovators Are Partnering with Big Lure Brands for Wider Reach
From Bull Shad to Hog Father: How Big Baits Went Mainstream In a Big Way
Soft Plastic Lure Collaborations are Gaining Momentum, Too
Collaboration Over Competition: A Win for Bass Fishing Innovation
Why You Should Care About Lure Collaborations
You Might Also Like These Bass Fishing Stories:

Why Swimbait Culture Creates the Perfect Playground for Lure Collaborations

Over the past decade, swimbait culture has been a big deal in the bass world. You can’t swing a flipping stick without finding some kid in a flat brim hat, covered in tatts, who’s just looking for “one good bite” with a lure that cost more than my rusty 1978 Pontiac.

Those garage baits, even if you’re willing to pay three or four figures, aren’t necessarily easy to get. You have to monitor social media for “the drop,” hammer the refresh button, hope you get through, and then hope the dude crafting them delivers. And after all that you have to hope that your line holds on that $300 work of art, both during the cast and then if and when you get old Gina on your line.

The exclusivity is part of the allure. These guys like having something that others don’t, not just the baits themselves but particular colorways, too. But not everyone can or will pay the big bucks or camp in front of the computer hoping to get it on the drop.

That’s where the collab comes in.

Swimbait Innovators Are Partnering with Big Lure Brands for Wider Reach

In this lure collaborations, boutique baitmakers partner with a mainstream company to produce a slightly lesser-priced model with most if not all of the original’s magic.

Perhaps they’re made of a different material or with a limited color schemes. The originator and his baits retain their street cred, while also getting wider exposure, the big companies add to their lineups with previously-established gravitas, and the consumer can get in on the game without bankrupting junior’s college fund.

From Bull Shad to Hog Father: How Big Baits Went Mainstream In a Big Way

Mike Bucca + GSM Outdoors = Bucca Brand Trick Shad

A collaboration of Mike Bucca and GSM Outdoors produces the Bucca Brand Trick Shad | Tacklewarehouse.com

Name: Bucca Brand Trick Shad
Price: $39.99
Key Features: ABS Plastic, swivel hook hangers, Mustad Triple Grip hooks, replaceable tail

The trend started last year with two main introductions. The first came from Mike Bucca, one of the OGs of the swimbait world, whose Bull Shad has quietly been on professional tournament anglers’ decks for over a decade. He collaborated with GSM – owner of brands like Yamamoto – to bring his Trick Shad glide to market at the $40 price point. It was ABS instead of resin, and came in only a handful of colors, but man did it draw in anglers and big bass.

This year, Bucca added an ABS version of his original three-piece Bull Shad as well as new sizes of the Trick Shad. Apparently the demand was huge – and he still sells the more expensive custom versions at shows across the country, where they’re in high demand.

KGB Swimbaits + SPRO = SPRO KGB Chad Shad

SPRO KGB Chad Shad bass lure — A collaboration betwenn KGB Swimbaits and SPRO brings us the SPRO KGB Chad Shad. | Tacklewarehouse.com

Name: SPRO KGB Chad Shad
Price: $59.49
Key Features: Oversized eye, 3D scales, premium hardware

Meanwhile, KGB Swimbaits (the name doesn’t connote the Russian spy agency, but rather owner Kevin Brightwell) partnered with SPRO, another giant, to bring his popular Chad Shad to market. Another slam dunk, so much so that this year he added a new smaller size to the mass-market version and canceled that option in his custom line. He just said it couldn’t get any better – and this not only puts more of them in the hands of customers (and the mouths of big bass) but gives him more time to work on the prized custom versions of his bigger baits.

Tater Hog + Strike King = Strike King Hog Father Jr.

Strike King Hog Father Jr. bass lure — A collaboration between Tater Hog and Strike King brings us the new Strike King Hog Father Jr. | Tacklewarehouse.com

Name: Strike King Hog Father Jr.
Price: $44.99
Key Features: Unique shape, swivel hook hangers

This year, industry giant Strike King got into the mix, too, partnering with Matt McBee, aka, “Tater Hog”. If that name sounds familiar it’s because pros like Chris Zaldain have been using them effectively at big fish factories like Lake Fork for years. Now you don’t have to spend over $200 to get one – for about $45 you can get a Hog Father Jr., a 7.5” slow sinker that looks remarkably like a gizzard shad or herring. They’re still not “cheap” but this is a price point where just about anyone can get in the game.

Soft Plastic Lure Collaborations are Gaining Momentum, Too

It’s not just swimbaits where the collaboration bug is being passed around, nor is it a new practice. JDM lure companies have done it for years. For example, Megabass partnered with Heddon to produce a special run of “Big Bud” topwaters, a seeming novelty lure that is revered across the pond. But where it really shines is in the soft plastics world.

John Crews, owner of Missile Baits, has been particularly active in this process. Rather than “stealing” an idea, borrowing a color name, or strictly paying homage to an innovator, he worked with others to build a better mousetrap.

Early on, Crews collaborated with legendary western company Roboworm to make their Magic Worm. They used the latter company’s unique pouring ability to produce colors that no one else could make, and they did it all in the USA. The Magic Worm has gone on to produce more than a few national tournament wins.

Subsequently, Missile combined with Tennessee-based Alabama Rig juggernaut Hog Farmer to produce their own lineup of Spunk Shads, a small pintail ringed worm that can be used as a jerkbait or jighead minnow, but which has almost incidentally become one of the most popular Chatterbait trailers around.

Collaboration Over Competition: A Win for Bass Fishing Innovation

There have been some nasty battles in the history of bass fishing over who invented what, and when they did it. Some of them have risen to the level of litigation or patent enforcement. There’s certainly nothing wrong with someone fiercely protecting their intellectual property.

These lure collaborations prove that when two brains (and brands) come together, the resulting product can be greater than the sum of its parts—bringing cutting-edge designs to a wider audience and pushing the sport forward.

Why You Should Care About Lure Collaborations

What were once only aspirational, very rare, custom boutique baits are now more affordable and accessible
Proven creative lure designers bring the magic, while big, reputable fishing brands bring the muscle
You no longer need insane money, insider connections, or wild luck to own the lures that can provide a true trophy bass hunt experience
Soft plastic baits appear to be following suit, so expect more interesting fishing innovation in the near future

Table of Contents