“At first glance, you might think it just looks like a big grub – so what? That was my first impression as well when I got to play with the prototype last year.

“The bait itself has an internal harness, a wide grub-shaped tail, and comes with screw-in weights to adjust the depth to your liking. If you look closely, you’ll notice a small cup at the end of the tail – this is responsible for the bait's erratic kicking action.

“I got the bait in November, so I threw in a couple heavy weights to get it down deep, and it didn’t take long to put my first Whale Tail musky in the bag. We caught 7 fish on the prototype over the next few days. Not only was it catching fish, but it was doing it from the back of the boat behind other dominant baits I typically lean on that time of year, during what many on the lake were calling a “tough bite”.

“Musky #8 grabbed the tail and didn’t get any hooks, then proceeded to play a surprisingly long game of tug-of-war before finally tearing off. The prototype was out of commission and the fun was over. Unfortunately, I was not able to get another one before the lake froze over (despite begging).”