Review: Berkley PowerBait The Deal
So, here’s the deal on The Deal
Designed by Major League Fishing pro Skeet Reese, the Berkley PowerBait The Deal is a unique twin-tailed trailer that’s right at home on the back of a vibrating jig or a swim jig. The Deal comes in 3 1/2- and 4 1/2-inch versions (I tested the 4 1/2), all the standard colors and has already seen tournament success.
A new spin on twin tails
The Deal is built for life as a trailer, with a thick body that sits well on a hook and two tails that flutter behind it. Made in roughly a shad profile, it’s fairly tall, but not too wide and meant to sit vertically on a swim jig or vibrating jig. Though not the same as a Strike King Menace Grub, you can see a bit of a resemblance in the theory. In practice, the tails are more like what you find on a classic grub, with a body that’s a cross between the body of a Yamamoto Zako and a Z-Man Razor ShadZ.
The 4 1/2-inch bait is decently large, with plenty of weight to improve your casting and a perfectly sized body to sit on a vibrating jig.
One thing it doesn’t do well is sit on a spinnerbait. Because the trailer is so vertical and large, the spinnerbait has a tendency to run at an angle. The smaller size of The Deal might do better, but I haven’t been able to get the large size to work to my satisfaction on a blade.
Interesting action
The tails look a bit goofy out of the pack and don’t swim as beautifully as a paddle-tail swimbait, but there’s no getting around the fact that the bait works. When swimming it back, the tails sometimes paddle in perfect unison, but sometimes only the top or bottom tail paddles. Other times, one will pause slightly and pick back up. To a degree, it naturally has the sort of erratic action that we strive for so often.
It doesn’t always look great on a swim jig, as the tails don’t always swim a lot at slower speeds, so there might be some situations where The Deal isn’t perfect on one. On the other hand, it always looks great on a vibrating jig. I suspect the vibration keeps the legs moving a bit, so if they do pause, they start right back up almost instantly.
Durability is a plus
Any sort of vibrating jig trailer should be able to take a beating. Some of the best swimbait trailers don’t last incredibly well, but most of the other trailer styles keep chugging for a long time. The Deal is no different. I’ve caught perhaps 15 fish on one bait with no issues.
The verdict
I really have no complaints about The Deal. Matt Stefan used the small size on a swim jig in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event at Lake Martin with great success, and I’ve caught a pile of fish on the big size behind a variety of vibrating jigs this spring. I would like a few more white color options instead of all the translucent colors, but that’s nitpicky. For me, the essentials of white, black and blue, and green pumpkin are all I need. The price is also fair, ringing in at less than a Zako and just a bit more than a Menace Grub.
Details
Company: Berkley
Product: Berkley PowerBait The Deal
Colors: 11
Size: 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 inches
Price: $4.99 for a six-pack