The $15,000 Smallmouth Bass Magnet
There is no getting around it. Whether you like it or not, live sonar is here, and it is here to stay.
BAFA Fishing owner, Bill Mathews, knew what the second BAFA bait release needed to be. The Primal Jig is a largemouth bass slaying machine, but Bill wanted a bait that was going to be irresistible to smallmouth. Thus, the F8 jig head was born.
The F8 jig head was only released at the very tail end of September. In two short months, Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice used it to win over $15,000 in the handful of tournaments that were remaining last year. They used the F8 head paired up with a variety of small swimbaits and minnow style lures on Kentucky lake to take home first place and nearly $12,000 in the Stars and Stripes Classic. They also brought home over $3,000 on Lake St Clair during the Tackle Shack classic.
Both of those events were dominated by smallmouth bass, and the F8 jig head was the key for Mathews and Iodice to take home some serious coin. So what makes the F8 jig head stand out you may ask? Great question!
The main advantages are the unique bait keeper (it offers more than one benefit and we will dive into that in just a bit), the hook, and the realistic profile/colors/eyes.
First, the bait keeper. Similar to the Primal jig, the F8 jig head boasts 8-microbarbs. As mentioned previously that does a few things for this bait. For one, it helps keep plastics locked in place without the need for superglue. Fish do occasionally short strike minnow style baits, and there is nothing worse than a short strike that rips your plastic down unbeknownst to you. The F8 keeper allows your bait to spend more time in the strike zone and it also saves you money on soft plastics.
Additionally, the 8-microbarbs do come down the shank of the hook a bit further than most other jig heads. This distributes the weight of the lead more evenly throughout the entirety of the bait and keeps your bait in a horizontal position MUCH better than a traditional jig head. With a traditional jig, most of the weight is front loaded in the head of the bait causing it to dive nose down quickly. The F8 head's even weight distribution allows you to work your bait much more slowly and naturally through the water column.
The bait keeper is obviously the star of the show for those reasons, but a great bait is absolutely nothing without a solid hook. The new Mustad Alpha Point hook that the F8 head is built around is absolutely deadly. Bill and Kris reported some seriously impressive hook up ratios this past fall. Local Southwest Michigan angler, Evan Delarosa. also raved about the hook on the F8 heads compared to alternatives on the market. Evan won a few local events with 20+ lb bags of smallmouth this past fall. The majority of his fish were caught on a F8 head dead sticking a minnow style bait and dragging it almost like a ned rig. Evan reported "the hook on that bait is legit".
Finally, a great swimbait/scope head NEEDS to look the part as well. The bait keeper and hook make it functionally dangerous on the water, the head design, paint job and realistic 3D eyes are what tip it over the edge! When you have your bait suspended in front of a bass that has had 100's of different minnows dropped on its head, the F8 jig head's realistic design and profile help your bait stand out just a tad bit more.
We truly are so proud of this bait, and we were disappointed that we were not able to release it until the tail end of the 2025 fishing season. This bait is going to be an absolute player this upcoming year wherever smallmouth and largemouth bass are chasing bait fish around!
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions about the F8 head or any of our other product lines by using the contact form on our website. We will see you here next Wednesday for the next edition of the BAFA Blog!