Berkley's PowerBait Power Swimmer

Finesse-size swimbaits have gradually become an integral component in the repertoire of a growing number of Midwest finesse anglers. It is replacing the classic curly-tailed grub, which Midwest finesse anglers have been wielding since the 1970s.

One of these swimbait converts alerted the Finesse News Network about Berkley’s PowerBait Power Swimmer, and he suggested that we look at it and publish a gear guide about it.

It is manufactured in two sizes: a 3.8-incher and a 4.3-incher.

Hunter Cole of Columbia, South Carolina, who is Pure Fishing’s media and public relations manager, helped us in this endeavor by sending us a package of the 3.8-inchers to work with and examine.

Here is what our observations revealed:

From the tip of its head to the tip of its tail, it is 3 11/16 inches long when the tail is not totally extended. When the tip of the tail is fully extended, it is 4 3/16 inches long.

The head, torso, and tail are constructed of solid and flexible soft plastic.

Its head is dome shaped. It is five-sixteenths of an inch long, and at its conjunction with its torso, it is three-eighths of an inch wide with a circumference of 1 11/16 of an inch.

Its 2 3/4-inch torso possesses a cylinder shape. It is three-eighths of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 3/4 inches. The torso is segmented and endowed with 24 prominent ribs. The first 10 ribs are divided with a hook slot along its dorsal and ventral areas. These hook slots are 1 1/4 inches long and an eighth of an inch wide. Each rib is one-sixteenth of an inch thick, and the distance from the solid core section of the torso to the outside edge of each rib is one-sixteenth of an inch. The width and circumference of the torso diminishes dramatically as it approaches the junction with the tail, and the width of the torso at rib number 24 is a quarter of an inch with a circumference of three-quarters of an inch.

The posterior portion of the Power Swimmer is embellished with what some anglers call a boot tail and othes describe as a paddle tail. This section of the tail is somewhat heart shaped. From its top edge to its bottom edge, it is three-quarters of an inch long, and from its left edge to its right edge, it is three-quarters of an inch wide at its widest spot. It is thin and less than one-sixteenth of an inch thick.

The narrow, slender, and short portion of the tail that connects the paddle portion of the tail to the torso is not cylinder shaped. Instead, it is flat and with somewhat of a flange that is L-shaped. One leg of this L is nine-sixteenths of an inch long, and the other leg, which is flush to the paddle, is eleven-sixteenths of an inch long. It is an eighth of an inch thick.

Berkley manufactures it in the following hues: Ayu, Bass Magic, Black Shad, Bluegill Flash, Electric Blue Chartreuse, Electric Shad, French Pearl, Green Pumpkin, Pro Blue Red Pearl, Rainbow Shad, Sexy Shad, Sight Flash, Silver Shiner, Sun Gill, and Tennessee Shad.

It is impregnated with Berkley’s exclusive Powerbait formula, which is said to be a scent that will provoke a black bass to “hold on longer -- up to 18-times longer -- than with standard soft plastic baits.”

A package of six costs $5.49. And it is packaged in a state-of-the-art system that will keep them straight as an arrow and prevent the scent from escaping.

Endnotes

1. Here is a link to Berkley’s website: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/berkley-bait-soft-bait-berkley-powerbait/powerbait-power-swimmer/1454422.html.
2. Midwest finesse anglers will affix the Power Swimmer to a mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook. Their most frequently used presentation will be the straight-swimming retrieve. But there will be spells when the other five Midwest finesse presentations or slight variations of those retrieves will be effective. Here is the link to the Midwest Finesse column that explains how to execute those six retrieves: http://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946.
3. As we have noted in most of our gear guides, Midwest finesse anglers are inveterate customizers, and the solid body of the Power Swimmer will allow them to easily customize it. Many of them will make it shorter by removing its head and a tad of the anterior portion of the torso.



4. For more information about the scents that Berkley employs, see Steve Quinn’s insights in his article entitled “Berkley Takes New Soft Baits To The Max.” Here is the link to Quinn’s article: http://www.bassfan.com/reviews_article.asp?id=257#.W6ew8PlRcdU#ixzz5RwIGYBHT. 

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