New baits are one of my favorite categories of products. They fill anglers with dreams of finding the lure that will result in a fish on every cast. Is that realistic? No, but it’s fun to dream. And while you may not have the coin to spring for a brand-new rod or reel, baits are relatively cheap, allowing virtually every angler to experience new gear hype.
While many of the new baits at ICAST had already been released at the Bassmaster Classic, there were still plenty of brand-new offerings to keep things interesting. As a hopeless tinkerer, I spent a solid portion of the show messing with the best new baits from ICAST 2025.
This list isn’t comprehensive of every new bait at the show. Other lists do that, and honestly, they end up being so long that it gets boring. So, here are the top baits that I’m most excited about from the show. After having hands-on with them, I think many anglers will be excited to try them out.
In short: There were three overarching themes from bait manufacturers in 2025: Noisy topwater lures, mass-produced glide baits, and “fuzzy” baits dominated the show. If you’re looking for a new bait to play with, there are plenty of new options in those categories. It should be noted that some of these products aren’t quite yet available. You may have to wait until the fall to get your hands on them.
Fortunately, Tackle Warehouse lists them in one spot, so you can frequently check on availability.
Best New Topwater Bait From ICAST
Rapala Claptail 110
This is the bait that I’m most excited about from ICAST, and based on the fact that it won the Best Freshwater Hard Lure award, I’d say everyone else is as well. Jacob Wheeler designed it, so you know it’s going to produce.
The Claptail is a Whopper Plopper-style bait with the volume turned all the way up. The rotating portion on the back has a metal fin that claps against a trailing back blade when the lure is retrieved. The result is a unique-sounding topwater that the fish haven’t heard before.
Plopper-style baits are my favorite topwaters. They cast far and are easy to operate. You just chuck and wind. Even my 5-year-old can do it.
Multiple brands made new ploppers this year, but this one stood out. It’s truly innovative and unique. It’s not in stock at Tackle Warehouse yet, but I’m chomping at the bit to get one out on the water.
Best New Fuzzy Baits From ICAST
It seems like just about every soft plastic manufacturer is jumping on the “fuzzy bait” trend that came across the pond from Japan. I swear, the showroom floor was covered in them. If you have a favorite soft plastic brand, chances are it has come out with a dice bait, a fuzzy bait, or both. Here are some of the biggest standouts to me.
Z-Man Fuzzy Nuggetz
Dice baits are getting crammed down bass anglers’ throats at the moment. I personally haven’t fished it yet, but with all of the hype around the popular Japanese lure, I guess I’m going to have to. My problem with them is that they’re really expensive for soft plastic lures. I don’t understand why. It seems to me like brands are charging more just because it’s associated with the JDM market.
That’s why the Z-Man Fuzzy Nuggetz stand out to me. They’re also not particularly affordable, priced at $10 for a pack of four. But, at least they’re made out of Elaztech, so you know they’ll last. That’s why when I cave and finally throw one, it’ll be the Z-Man. They’ll be available in six colors in a half-inch size this fall.
Z-Man Fuzzy TRD
An upgrade to the OG ned rig bait, the Z-Man Fuzzy TRD is all but guaranteed to produce. It’s exactly what it sounds like — a TRD with legs all over it.
When finesse fishing, secondary action is key for picky fish. I experimented with this bait in a demo tank, and all the legs dance and subtly move, even when the bait is held in a stationary position.
Outside of the legs, I appreciated the recessed portion in the middle of the bait. You can stick an O-ring there and fish it as a Neko rig, or cut the bait in half to turn your four-pack into an eight-pack. I plan on cutting them in half and using the downsized profile as a trailer on micro jigs. Unfortunately, these baits aren’t available until the fall. The four-pack retails for $10.
Yamamoto Fuzzy Senko
The Gary Yamamoto Senko is often replicated, but in many anglers’ minds (including mine), nothing performs as well as the Original Senko. It’s got the perfect weight and a rate of fall that bass can’t seem to resist.
Like the Z-Man Fuzzy TRD, Yamamoto took one of its best-performing baits and added the fuzzy secondary action that is an industry-wide trend. I love fishing Senkos, and I’m stoked to give this one a whirl.
It’s not available yet, and the 5-inch version comes in a four-pack with a retail price of $10. The 4-inch version comes in a pack of five at the same price. Both are available in eight different colors.
If you’re a Yamamoto fan, they also produced a few other fuzzy baits: the Fuzzy Nuki and the Fuzzy Nut. While they look cool, I’m most excited about the Senko.
Best New Swim Baits From ICAST
All around the show, there was buzz around big glide baits. It’s not a new trend by any means, but clearly, the big bait craze is here to stay.
For many, throwing swimbaits isn’t realistic due to the prohibitive cost of custom-made lures, which can reach prices in excess of $400. Fortunately, it looks like some companies are focusing on mass-produced glide baits that we mere mortals can afford. Here are some of the ones on my short list.
Strike King Hog Father Jr
Some people complain about knock-off lures, especially guys who are into swimbaits. I love it, though, especially when the knock-off performs as well as the original and saves me a few bucks.
This particular swimbait is an unashamed knock-off. But Strike King did it right. The brand collaborated with Tater Hog Custom Lures to create a mass-produced replica of the Original Hog Farmer, which retails for over $280. If you can even get one. The Strike King Hog Father Jr is only $45.
It’s basically a custom glide bait with a friendly price and widespread retail availability. I love it.
Knowing it’s designed in partnership with a dedicated swimbait maker gives me high faith in its ability to perform. In hand, I love the quality and the fantastic paint jobs. I know I’ll be picking a few up once they hit the shelves.
G-Ratt Steve Kennedy Signature Glide Bait
I’ve always loved Steve Kennedy. The dude has been around forever, crushes fish, has minimal sponsorship, and generally stays to himself. He’s always happy and positive. You can tell the guy loves fishing. I like his style.
While many people are aware of the YouTubers and Instabros who popularized swimbaiting, it can be forgotten that Steve Kennedy is one of the original masters of the craft. The dude is all about big baits for big bass.
The G-Ratt Steve Kennedy Signature Glide Bait is his collaboration to make his own perfect swimbait. This is similar to the G-Ratt Pistol Pete with custom colors from Kennedy and a few improvements on the bait design.
The body is textured, it has 3D eyes, and it’s designed to suspend rather than slowly sink. That’s how Kennedy likes to fish his swimbaits, and who am I to argue with that guy?
The baits weigh 2.55 ounces are 8 inches long. They’re set to sell at $50. I was impressed with the quality, and I’m excited to throw something designed by an angler who flat-out catches ’em.
Other Cool New Baits From ICAST
While the above three categories dominated the show, I did see a few other baits that grabbed my attention. These are also high on my list to buy.
Yamamoto Hinge Minnow
While strolling through the new product section, the Hinge Minnow’s hinged body immediately drew me in. It looked like a fluke, with an articulated section. I watched this bait work underwater, and it rolls an impressive amount. It makes other fluke baits look like junk.
I love fishing soft plastic jerkbaits, and this one will add a heightened level of darting action with the articulated body. The channels that run down each side of the bait help to keep the bait from riding up to the surface of the water column.
It’ll be available in 3.5-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch, and 7-inch versions in 10 different colors. A pack retails for $10, and it’s a good-looking bait.
Great Lakes Finesse Ned Bug
Great Lakes Finesse is a brand focused solely on finicky northern fish. The team is an expert at that style of fishing, and the brand has been producing some of the best finesse lures to date.
I recently started fishing the Great Lakes Finesse stuff, and I’m a fan. It seems like the company isn’t just making a knock-off of other soft plastics. It’s producing unique, well-thought-out products.
The Ned Bug is a great example of that. The profile was invented fairly quickly, but Great Lakes Finesse didn’t want to push something to market as quickly as possible. They found the bait created hook-up issues, with too much plastic around the hook.
Over the course of 2 years, the team developed a slit in the upper part of the bait. That allows the bait to slide away from the hook, giving anglers full penetration with the entire bend and shank of the hook. It’s well thought out, and it works. If you finesse fish, grab a six-pack for $7 and go wreck Smallmouth.
Rapala DT 12
The DT (or dives to) series is the most used crankbait on my boat. They offer a tight action and a huge depth range. This year, that depth range was expanded with the DT12. So it’s not an entirely new bait, but an extension of an already existing top-seller.
Since I have had so much success with the existing DT crankbaits, I know this one will produce. It offers the same fish-catching action as the rest of the series at a deeper depth. I’ll be ordering dozens.
Final Thoughts
While the list of the best baits from ICAST could go on and on, I had to cut it off somewhere. I didn’t want to start listing everything because then the list would just look like all the others.
These are my top baits that I’ll be buying ASAP (or as soon as they’re available).
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