Whether you’re in the Bassmaster Classic competing for thousands of dollars or just a dad hoping his young child can snag his first fish, there can be a little bit of pressure when it comes to fishing. Berkley has taken to science to evolve the sport to make angling that much better.

Forward-facing sonar (FFS), otherwise known as live sonar, has become a hot topic and is an incredible tool to allow anglers of all abilities to evolve as fisheries change. It enables anglers to understand more about fish behavior than ever before by providing them with the ability to see how fish react to their baits in real time.

Live sonar from brands such as Garmin, Humminbird, Lowrance, Raymarine and Simrad provides a dramatically different view than that offered by a fish finder or scanning sonar. With forward-facing sonar, the view is dynamic. You can see gamefish, bait and lures moving in real time and in resolution that rivals that of ultrasound imaging.

Forward-facing sonar, otherwise known as live sonar, has become a hot topic and is an incredible tool to allow anglers of all abilities to evolve as fisheries change.

Evolving With Technology

As forward-facing sonar advances, anglers using it are looking for baits that allow them to better interact with fish using this technology. Built on a tradition of innovation, Berkley is leading that charge, with three all-new baits that allow anglers to best interact with fish on forward-facing sonar and in ways never before seen. In January at a media event, Berkley officially launched the all-new Krej, Finisher, and Power Switch baits.

“Berkley is the leader in science-based bait development, and we take pride in providing anglers with the best solution to help them catch fish in any environment,” said Berkley’s Chief Brand and Product Officer Jon Schlosser. “We’ve known that forward-facing sonar was coming and have spent the past few years learning about the trend in anticipation of it catching on. Its impact on how anglers are approaching fisheries is advancing each day, and we at Berkley have made a conscious effort to take on the responsibility of providing those anglers with the best baits possible to interact with fish on forward-facing sonar. By taking our science-based approach to bait development and applying it to FFS, the team at Berkley Labs has been able to create some truly special baits that are proven to catch more fish with FFS. It’s exciting to see how revolutionary these baits are, not only in their design, but in how they enable anglers to manipulate their baits in ways that have never been done before.”

Berkley selected the Space Center Houston in Texas to introduce its new baits to the media and arranged for exclusive tours of the Space Center Visitor’s Center as well as the NASA campus that included seeing one of the first Flight Control Rooms.

Welcome To NASA

To help emphasize the science-based developments it is best known for, Berkley selected the Space Center Houston in Texas to introduce its new baits to the media and its team of 15 pro staff anglers. There’s probably not a better place to tie in advancements in science then against the backdrop of the NASA Science Museum and the NASA campus in Houston, Texas.

John Prochnow, a chemist and fish scientist, recounted the humble beginnings of the company that started in 1937 as Berkley Fly Co., a fishing tackle company in Spirit Lake, Iowa, by Berkley Bedell. Known for its Berkley Trilene fishing line and PowerBait scented lures, men and women with doctorate degrees using science and countless hours of lab testing at its state-of-the-art facilities have helped grow the company into one of the top leaders in the industry. It makes sense Berkley was quick to recognize the need for forward-facing sonar baits and has been working to perfect them for years so they could be released at this time.

A Taste Of NASA

Besides informative breakout sessions to talk baits and advancements in technology, Berkley arranged for exclusive tours of the Space Center Visitor’s Center as well as the NASA campus that included seeing one of the first Flight Control Rooms. The FCR-2 was used for the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission in 1969 and others, but was decommissioned in 1992 as an active control room. The room, including the waiting area where families sat and watched behind glass, was returned to its Apollo-era configuration that is now accessible to visitors. The control room today has been restored to look as it did back in the 70s, right down to the large monitors, manuals draped over the desks and even cigarette butts in the ashtrays to help give visitors a nostalgic vibe.

PDB Editor Brady Kay and other members of the media enjoyed the opportunity to try out the new Berkley baits the same day they were released to the public.

Let’s Wet A Line

You can only talk fishing to a group of marine journalists for so long before the itch to get out on the water becomes too much to bear. Luckily our trip to Texas included time on the water with the professional anglers to demonstrate how forward-facing sonar works. We were all given the chance to target fish using live sonar where we could see not only the fish, but our bait as well, as we dropped it in front of them while viewing on the screen. Unfortunately we could see the bait on the screen better than the fish could, as the chocolate milk-like water color made it extra challenging. The waters in mid-January tend to be cloudy in the area, but it was a true eye opener to see how far fishing technology has evolved.

Berkley Krej

One of the favorite new baits was the innovative, upturned bill on the Berkley Krej that is sure to be one of the most unique baits anglers will see on the market this year. This revolutionary hard bait was designed to mimic the natural, upwards fleeing reaction of a baitfish from predatory strike. Contrary to conventional methods of fishing a jerkbait, the upturned bill of the Berkley Krej (that’s “Jerk” spelled backwards by the way) allows it to work its way upwards in the water column, only to fall backward toward the fish chasing the bait.

Purposefully designed in Berkley Labs to excel with forward-facing sonar, this new style of fishing, or “krejing,” allows the angler to take advantage of being able to see how the fish reacts and work the bait up and away from the fish to better imitate a natural fleeing motion, or back towards the fish to trigger reaction strikes.

“The Krej is a bait that performs like no other hard bait, especially when paired with forward-facing sonar,” said Berkley’s Senior Project Engineer of Bait and Terminal Tackle, Dan Spengler. “It’s a bait that took over two years to develop, integrating key bait fish movements and predator-induced prey reactions like darting, erratic motion behavior, and changes in motion. Whether it’s on the rise or fall, the Krej is always in action. We implemented an upturned bill which allows this bait to conquer the water column in a way a standard jerkbait cannot, but yet it can do so much more than that. There are several ways to manipulate this bait to interact with fish and it gives anglers a solution to the current gaps when using forward-facing sonar.”

The bait can be fished sub-surface or topwater to best imitate the natural progression of predator and prey and is available for $14.99 in a variety of colors including Blue Vapor, Stealth Shad, Stealth Minnow, Wakasagi, Chrome, OG Blue, Table Rock, Hankie Pankie, Nebu, and Stunna Shad.

Contrary to conventional methods of fishing a jerkbait, the upturned bill of the Berkley Krej (that’s “Jerk” spelled backward, by the way) allows it to work its way upward in the water column, only to fall backward towards the fish chasing the bait.

Berkley Finisher

Purpose-built for forward-facing sonar, the Finisher optimizes the bait’s time in the strike zone by “hovering” and moving laterally in the water column with minimal retrieve progression. This unique ability provides the angler with maximum control when using FFS to effectively maneuver the bait based on how the fish is reacting to it.

Whether fishing it like a modern style, fin-less glide bait for walleye or like jerk bait for bass, the Finisher delivers strike-producing action day in and day out when attacking the various scenarios that forward-facing sonar unlocks. Its weight-forward design allows for precision casts, fast drop-ins and a wide range of actions that will draw a strike out of the moodiest fish. The modern finless double-treble design brings the Finisher to the forefront of modern hard bait design for fit, finish and performance.

Purpose-built for forward-facing sonar, the Finisher optimizes the bait’s time in the strike zone by “hovering” and moving laterally in the water column with minimal retrieve progression.

“The Finisher is the first of its kind; a hovering hard bait we call it,” said Spengler. “It truly gives anglers ultimate control of their bait, being able to manipulate it in several ways based on what fish are responding to, especially when pairing this bait with forward-facing sonar. What makes this bait unique is that it has no fin structure, which can allow it to do a multitude of actions. From erratic darting to natural minnow-like tail movement, what makes the Finisher deadly is its flat bottom which allows it to hover or hang in the water column. A bait with such diversity truly allows anglers to have control of how they’re interacting with fish on forward-facing sonar.”

We found that using subtle wrist snaps for medium glide works best, while long, harder strokes will produce longer darting and gliding actions. Ultra-premium colors and texture include Chrome Red Perch, Wakasagi, Blue Smelt, Bad Anaconda, Black Gold, Black Silver, Chrome, Chrome Perch, Crazy Steel, French Pearl, Gold Chrome, MF Firetiger, Nebu, OG Blue, Perch, Pink Pearl, Prime Time, Purple Slime, Stealth Shad, and Sunset 84. The Finisher retails between $8.99 and $10.99.

Berkley PowerBait Power Switch

Built to interact with fish on forward-facing sonar, the Berkley PowerBait Power Switch gives anglers the control to “switch” methods or react to how the fish are behaving or the structure they see.

When a fish is located using forward-facing sonar, the window to catch the fish begins, and that window will close fast. Anglers need to react and present their bait as quickly and precisely as possible. The weight-forward design of the PowerBait Power Switch allows for precision casts, fast fall rates and a wide range of actions to make the most finicky of fish commit to biting. With such a design, anglers have total control and the ability to interact with any fish at any depth in the water column, utilizing a variety of “hover” and “stroll” techniques. Packed with PowerBait flavor and pre-rigged with a Fusion19 hook to ensure a positive hookup ratio for every angler, the Power Switch’s baitfish design will appeal to a wide range of species, making it a bait to always have tied on and at the ready.

“The Berkley PowerBait Power Switch is one of the first baits that incorporates several different actions and techniques into one bait,” said Berkley’s Project Engineer of Bait, Kyle Peterson. “This bait can sink fast, hover at the angler’s desired water column, with each action working together in one profile. It gives anglers everything they need to best interact with fish, especially when paired with forward-facing sonar.”

On retrieve, “switch” techniques and actions whenever and however you want and because the Power Switch is packed with PowerBait flavor, it gives you a chance to set the hook on every bite. The new bait is available starting at $9.99 in a variety of colors including Clown, Firetiger, Green Pumpkin, HD Blacknose Shiner, HD Purple Wizard, HD Pink Wizard, Wonderbread, HD Blue Wizard. HD Red Belly Goby, HD Stealth Minnow, HD White Wizard, HD Yellow Perch, Lemon Head Glow, and Silver Bullet.