FishLab BBZ Bio-Shad Crankbait | ICAST 2022 Sneak Peek

July 11, 2022August 28, 2023 Admin

In continuing with our ICAST 2022 Sneak Peeks, we give you the FishLab BBZ Bio-Shad Crankbait.

ICAST kicks off in Orlando Florida the week of July 18 and is set to be a great show. With things opening back up around the world, we are sure to see some incredible introductions from many different manufacturers during the New Product Showcase. And one of the introductions we happened to get our hands on. The FishLab BBZ Bio-Shad Crankbait.

FishLab was generous enough to send over some samples of their new lineup for 2022. In that batch were the Nature Series Baits, Bio-Rat, Bio-Shad Gizzard and these Bio-Shad Crankbaits. First off, they all look incredible! The entire lineup of new baits looks very strong, but these new crankbaits are something to certainly take a look at.

These baits were created from the mind of BBZ creator Bill Siemantel who has worked with many manufacturers over the years and has won numerous product design awards.

Specs of Bait Reviewed

First Glance

Under normal circumstances I would generally give you an image of the packaging for the new baits that I receive/review. In this case, they are early samples and wanted to get them out prior to the show, so no finalized packaging was finished as of this writing. That’s ok. It really is whats inside that counts :).

In grabbing a quick first look at the FishLab Bio-Shad Crankbait, they are a great looking bait. The details look spot on and well thought out.

I will go from component to component of the FishLab Bio-Shad Crankbait from top to bottom and walk through each.

FishLab Bio-Shad Crankbait Walk Through

At this point I’ll go ahead and start at the head of the baits and work out way to the tail. I’ll take a deep look at the Bone color as it was one of the selections that were sent.

As you can see in the image below, these just plain look great!

Now starting at the head, we’ll take a closeup look of the attachment point. As you can see below, it has a solid wire attachment point, as well as coming standard with a heavy duty split ring. In this image, you can also get a feeling for the details that these baits have such as the great looking eyes.

Below the face you can see the crankbait bill. In the image above and below, you get a feel for the attachment of that bill. Below you can see that it is a nice thick plastic, that looks to be very durable. If you are going to bang these baits off of rocks and/or the bottom, these should hold up nicely.

Here is another look at the eyes as well as the bill attachment.

As we move back from the eyes a bit, and look down over the top of the bait, you can see the patterning that is occurring on these baits. The scale pattern looks pretty spot on, as do the gill areas. I mentioned the eyes already, but in the image below, you can get a feel for that body pattern, gills and eyes. Each of those components will give the bait more water vibration hitting a fishes lateral line.

Looking down at that bait, you can also see the FishLab printing along the top as well as the dorsal fin. Nice touches that do not detract from the baits action or appearance.

Check out that Body

Now sliding back from the eyes, you can get a full sense of the jointed body of these baits as well as the back of the baits profile.

As you can see above, this is a three-jointed bait with four total sections. This, along with the bill, give it a tight wiggling action as it swims through the water. You can also get the first look at the tail section of these baits.

I Like Big Tails…

The tail section of the FishLab Bio-Shad Crankbait is made of a soft material. Not super soft, but definitely pliable.

In the image below, you can see the detail that went into the creation of the Bio-Shad tail. They look great, and I like the opaqueness of this particular color pattern.

Getting Hooked on the Bio-Shad Crankbait

The FishLab Bio-Shad Crankbait comes standard with heavy duty BKK Treble Hooks. No need to switch these out when you open the package as they are rigged, and ready to go!

In the image below, you can see the attachment point for the front hook, which is the same as the rear, a sturdy wire attachment point with heavy duty split rings. These hooks are sharp, so be forewarned.

Here is another look at both of the hooks, attachments as well as the split rings.

That pretty much covers the components of the Bio-Shad Crankbait. Now we’ll go into some of the general info on these baits.

FishLab BBZ Bio-Shad Crankbait General Info

As mentioned above, the Bio-Shad Crankbait is a multi-piece (4 piece), jointed bait (3-joints). They are available in 5 of the top colors including Threadfin Shad, Golden Shiner, Bone, Tennessee Shad and Sexy Shad.

The baits only come in one size which is 4-inches in length. These lightweight, powerful baits are perfect for mimicking the shad on your body of water, but you also can’t count these little baits out for light saltwater use as well. And being so compact, you don’t need a specific swimbait style rod to fish them. Grab your 7′ medium heavy rod and you are ready to go.