Originally published in NZ Fishing World by Scott MacDonnell

It was only a matter of time before Catch Fishing introduced a soft-bait body to match their new Stingaz jig heads.

Catch enter the soft bait body market with a new offering that is something a bit different, and something a bit the same as our current favourites.

Traditionally this market has been owned by GULP, and Z man, with many other brands coming and going that have not made the cut for various reasons.

Will Catch be able to foot it with the others?  They certainly appear to have a product that just might.

The new Catch bodies will be called, wait for it …. Livies.

Guaranteed to cause some confusion when asked what is working out there?

Lets’s look at what Catch have done.

GULP own the international, biodegradable, scent dispersing, proven track record side of things in the market, so anything that takes them on needs to be damn good.

Z Man own the super duper stretchy, wobbly jobbly action, one-body-lasts-many-fish thing (at the moment).

Most keen soft bait fishos have either got their firm favourite, or are happy to use either depending on what seems to be working best on the day.  Having used both brands comprehensively they are both extraordinarily effective at catching a wide range of species.

Everything else in the market has had less than stellar success against these two, so it’s interesting to see where Catch have came in.

Thermoplastic elastomer

The smart move from Catch would be to offer something anglers can relate to. Opting to go for a compound that is more similar to Z man,  the new Livies bodies are indeed super stretchy, wobbly jelly style lures made from thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

This compound offers a couple of key benefits, it is extremely durable and hard to damage, and has a very good action in the water where the lure tail is concerned.  Catch claim the product is recyclable, but like any artificial lure, don’t leave this responsibility to mother nature, take your leftovers home with you to dispose of.

Catch have elected to offer two main body shapes and several enticing looking colours for their first generation patterns.

One pattern is shaped just like a small baitfish, about 4 inches in length complete with sparkly eyes.

The other is a larger profile lure with a square end that butts up against the jig head, and a curly tail to give that swimming mullet wiggle.

Colours are attractive naturals mostly, two-tone and full of glitter, sure to be a favourite of both fish and fishermen alike.  Go ahead, choose your weapon in anything from fishy to fancy.

Yes they catch fish

End of story, these work, and look great in the water.

Because the body is actually quite buoyant, they work well on the new Catch Stingaz tenya jig heads.  Why?  The tenya stlye jig head is designed to point the hook upwards away from snags, and a body that floats gives the lure a very realistic movement along the seabed that imitates a feeding baitfish nosing through the sand and mud.

There’s not a snapper, gurnard, kingfish, john dory, blue cod…the list goes on…that can ignore that for long.

What’s the verdict?

The new Livies from Catch will no doubt get a solid trial from their pro and sponsored angler network, and we are already seeing some very solid results appearing on social media.

They are new toys on the block, and they look good enough to eat.

Will they be your new go-to?

Available online and throughout the Catch retail network.