Innovation – Design – Performance
Here at Optimum Baits, we have a very simple yet affective set of core values when it comes to designing our products. Though our design process has come a long way since we started in 1996, we are still striving to bring better designs to the table, and more fish in your live-well. The R&D team is constantly working with state of the art technologies. Our designers use the art of 3D CAD design and various forms of rapid prototyping such as 3D printing to drive quality and performance into all of our products!
With all of that in mind, our team has been putting together an all new swimbait design. We are proud to announce that the official release of the Optimum BoomBoom swimbait is set for icast 2016!
The Story…
There is actually quite a long background story on how this bait came to be. Back in 2005-06, our Bassmaster Elite Pro, Fred Roumbanis began to have a lot of success on a discontinued Bass Pro XPS swimbait. To read the full story check out “The Old Bait That Won’t Die” (here) on Bassmaster.com
Innovation:
Our 6″ Suspending optimum dates back to 1999. And while it may look similar to the new BoomBoom swimbait, it is nowhere near the same.
For years Roumbanis had been trying to find a swimbait that possessed the same qualities as the discontinued XPS bait and the profile and performance of our 6″ Suspending Optimum. The XPS bait had a lot of issues when it came to running “true” and would often flop on its side during the retrieve, but there was something about the action that drove Fred (and the fish) crazy.
It wasn’t until 2015, when Roumbanis finally put together the pieces of the puzzle. Upon our release of the AA’s Bad Bubba Shad at icast 2015, Fred Nailed it on the head. He watched the tail kick, body roll, and head shake of the 7″ Bubba Shad and shouted “We need a face on this thing!”
As it turns out, the Bad Bubba Shad possessed the exact action he had been looking for all along. And just like that, the concept for a new bait was born.
Design:
With Fred’s swimbait knowledge and input and Optimum’s expertise our design team turned the key and went full throttle with the new design. With many details derived from our other products, many more fine details came along with it.
To list a few…
– 3D Scale texture
– Beefed up and highly detailed pectoral and anal fins
– Realistic facial and gill plate detailing
– All new internal weight system
– Weedless model with hook slot
– Mouth concavity to conceal line-tie and large screw-lock hooks
– Cool BoomBoom X Optimum logo on the back (trust us the fish really dig it. Specially the fish that travel in schools and can read!!)
Performance:
Iteration after iteration, we pulled together the key attributes from several of our products to really dial in the signature action of this 6″ swimbait.
A few recognizable features related to performance…
– Wide body of the 7″ Bad Bubba scaled down to 6″
– The original Optimum face
– Pectoral and anal fins of the 6″ suspending Optimum (helps reduce roll over at high speeds)
– Ribbed boot tail of the 7″ Bad Bubba
With a mean tail kick, and a wide yet controlled body roll achievable at various retrieves, this is one killer chunk of plastic. What really sets this bait out from the crowd is the way the head shakes, an exact imitation of the way an injured gizzard shad swims. With the two models allowing you to fish this bait both weedless and
