Major League Fishing Pro Matt Lee Partners with Deps Japan, Optimum Baits, and ima Lures
Temecula, CA: California based lure manufacturer Optimum Baits, who also distributes Japanese brands ima Lures and Deps Japan, has announced a partnership with Major League Fishing pro Matt Lee.
The agreement will help strengthen the national presence and brand awareness across the country, especially in Lee’s home in the southeast. The partnership resulted from a recommendation from a media partner and Lee’s interest in working with Japanese lure companies.
An admitted tackle fanatic, Lee is already familiar with the Deps lineup thanks to a friendship with Deps Japan and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Kenta Kimura.
“I’ve always been very intrigued with the Japanese culture and JDM tackle and have been buddies with Kenta since 2013 when we were both fishing the Bassmaster Opens,” said Lee. “He gave me some Evoke squarebills, and I’ve caught them everywhere from the Red River to Lake Erie with them. They’re some of the most used and beat up crankbaits in my box because they catch fish.”
Optimum Baits Co. CEO Matt Paino is thrilled to bring Lee aboard and sees it as a perfect fit for all of the brands he will be representing. Paino has been working with Deps since 2005. With the growing presence and product availability in states, the Japan team was searching for an American professional angler to share their product lineup.
“Connecting the dots led us to Matt Lee,” said Paino. “We wanted another pro that competes on the top level of the sport who had a strong social media presence and good skills in front of the camera. When going over the product lineups from all three brands, Matt not only knew the names of the products but had confidence with a lot of them.”
The Optimum Bait Co. motto is innovation, design, and performance. The company has a passion for fishing and providing lures and fishing tackle that give anglers an edge. That was a plus for Lee.
“I love that all of the products aren’t the same old stuff and are all designed and engineered to catch more fish,” he said. “None of the products from the brands are copycats and there are some very unique products that work on pressured fisheries when everyone is throwing the same things. There’s even more out there that’s untouched and I can’t wait to fish the products on the Bass Pro Tour.”
Deps Japan currently supports and works with two Bassmaster Elite anglers, Kenta Kimura and Masayuki Matsushita.
“I like building long-term relationships with anglers and look forward to growing and winning with Matt with Deps, Optimum, and ima,” said Paino.
About Optimum Baits
Optimum Bait Company has been the leader in swimbait design since 1996. Optimum was the first company to release a swimbait with an internal weight in the head, but that is only one of their many innovations. Using CAD machinery, the company has branched out within the swimbait market and into other genres – one such development was Furbit the Frog and the Poppin’ Furbit, which were chosen as the best new soft lure by the American Sportfishing Association at ICAST in 2006. While Optimum is based in Southern California, where swimbaits got their start, the lures have gained a strong foothold throughout the US and in overseas markets.
For more information about Optimum Bait Company, go to optimumbaits.com.
