By Tackle Warehouse | Updated September 2023
Our goal with the Tackle Warehouse Product Review is to provide customers with an honest opinion on the latest bass fishing tackle and equipment, so they can make the most informed and optimized purchase possible. The products are distributed to a team of trusted Tackle Warehouse employees who have a wide breadth of fishing knowledge and experience. Each reviewer is responsible for testing and grading the product before and after use. After we are done testing, the grades are averaged and the reviews are compiled to highlight the most important elements, all in an effort to provide as much information as possible before you proceed to checkout.
All scores are rated from 1-to-5 with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest score.
Innovating within the jig category is a tall task, but our initial impressions led us to believe that Berkley may have captured lightning in a bottle with the release of their new Powerbait Jig line. While scenting is nothing new to veteran jig anglers, the integration of Berkley’s Powerbait formula directly into the skirting is a big deal, especially for those who know the fish-drawing capability of Berkley’s many Powerbait offerings.
Before we ever wet a jig, the early sentiment from our reviewers was that Berkley hit the sweet spot for both pricing and quality for a mass-produced jig, even without the Powerbait-infused skirting. Take into consideration the potential edge that the Powerbait formula provides, and you could be talking about another Maxscent-level innovation. Overall, we unanimously agreed that these are well-polished jigs in their own right, but before we start fishing them the question still remains: How much of an edge will this new technology deliver?
Do these jigs catch fish? Oh yeah. Did they catch big ones? You betcha. The overwhelming opinion from our testers was that each jig does exactly what it is intended to do, and does it well. Between the head shapes and the weedguard pairings, all the jigs move through cover effectively, making them easy to fish. When it comes to fooling fish, the color schemes and the scenting seem to do the trick. How much of the attraction is attributed to the skirting? That is a very difficult question to answer definitively.
A couple of things we did notice while fishing with the Powerbait-infused skirting: The skirting itself is very high-quality and loaded with scent. Right out of the package, the skirts are evenly dispersed throughout the collar and don’t cling or bunch, which can be a problem with other mass-produced jigs. After handling the jigs, you will be immediately aware of the scent infused into the skirts, and while they do seem to lose some potency over time, that is the case with most scented soft plastics, so it is to be expected.
A big jig bite for Joey on the Berkley Powerbait Football Jig at one of our local lakes.
"...I am curious enough that I'll keep fishing them, especially the football jig." - Joey R.
Sure, these jigs can catch fish, but how do they stand up to rod-jarring bites, paint-chipping rocks, and misplaced casts? In our opinion, great. Passing the durability test with flying colors, the Berkley Powerbait Jig’s paint job stood up to multiple fishing trips and multiple fish without incurring any more damage than you would expect from any other high-quality jig. While some testers would have preferred a hook gauge increase or decrease in some of the models, overall we were all pretty impressed with the sharpness of the Fusion19 jig hooks and how well they held their edge. Some concern was expressed over the lifespan of the rubber-banded skirt, but for the price, we think you would be hard-pressed to find a jig of equal quality with a hand-tied skirt.
With an MSRP of around $5, the Berkley Powerbait Jigs are very competitive when compared to similar jigs. Take into consideration the durability of the jig and you can rest assured that you’re going to get your money’s worth. Overall, we feel these jigs represent an outstanding value, especially when you consider the quality of the hook, custom hook keeper, high-quality paint job, and the fact the Powerbait-infused skirting might eke out a couple of extra fish over the life of the jig.
With the expansive initial offering, the Berkley Powerbait Jigs deliver a style, color, and size for just about any scenario. If there was any counterpoint to the utility of these jigs, it would be that the offering is slightly redundant if you prefer to keep your jig selection as simple as possible.
After putting the Berkley Powerbait Jigs through their paces for months, we all agreed that each jig type performs its designated tasks to a degree of efficiency that discerning anglers can appreciate. After pitting them against rock, wood, and what available grass we had, it became abundantly clear that Gary Klein and Bobby Lane’s expertise was not lost in translation when designing these jigs. Each jig type performs its intended application, but a few notable standouts were the Swim Jig and the Football Jig, both of which were praised for their ability to move through cover.
While we couldn’t unanimously come to a conclusion on the effectiveness of the Powerbait-infused skirting, we were able to agree on a couple of key conclusions while testing: These are great jigs in their own right, and the scenting definitely isn’t going to hurt.
For more information on the Berkley Powerbait Jigs make sure to check our ICAST interview with Gary Klein
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