When you love fishing as much as we do the research and development side of the creative process is probably the best part of the business. When we first started producing soft baits we had a conflict of interest in regard to the plastics used to make soft baits. Although we elected to use phthalate free plastics which are less harmful than traditional plastisol we wanted to take it a step further. In an effort to help preserve the environment, reduce pollution, and produce a product that is not only harmless to fish but nutritious we started working on our new Eco Ball Soft beads. These soft beads are made from natural products and safe and healthy for fish to eat.
To our surprise the very first batch of our Eco Ball turned out much better than expected. Based of our infamous Bloody Disco, this beads has the scent cooked in. In this case salmon egg oil, eatable glitter, a touch of salt, and a few drops of garlic. Phew! The smell of success is in the air. To our surprise the consistency is a bit firmer we had initially expected. Fairly good elasticity and pretty strong as well. We also found that you have to keep these baits cool. If left in direct sunlight they turn to a sticky blob of mush. We found that you have to keep them in a cooler. When exposed to temps above 65 degree they start to break down. Overall they hold up in pretty goon in the water. However, in warmer water the bait begins to expand and slowly starts to dissipate.
The absorbtion and dispersion scent extremely effectively and these baits hold up on the hook far better than natural bait like salmon roe. Yet over time start to soften up. The fish attracting capability is very effective. We ran a chum test and the bait fish were all over it. We will be working on additional flavors like shrimp, garlic, and anise to get an idea on how fish respond to those flavors as well. Were thinking in terms of fish food, not just soft baits. The idea is to provide a bait that actually has nutritional value for the fish yet a similar consistancy to soft plastic baits. Also, improved performace in regards to the fish attracting capabilities.
Given this is our very first batch I would say, So far so good! Our next phase we will be running more test in the field to see how it holds up after several casts, or after a fish bits, beatten on rocks and so on. The goal is to have a bait that is not as messy as other natural baits and eco freindly. Overall we’re pretty excited to see the results. Given the success of our current soft beads our new Eco Ball Beads are destine for greatness. Stay tuned for future updates as we work to help create the greatest soft baits in the industry and provide the sport fishing world with a new eco friendly fishing bait.
