Berkley PowerBait Chop Block

A Soft Swimbait Built to Glide

The Berkley PowerBait Chop Block sits somewhere between a soft swimbait and a soft glidebait - though it leans firmly towards the latter, as that is where it truly performs. Retrieved steadily, it tracks in a tight S-pattern like a swimbait - effective, but not at its best. Work it like a jerkbait, twitching and jerking it via the rod or ripping it with sharp turns of the reel handle, and it breaks away to the side with maximum fish-catching power. The intensity of your input shapes the glide: soft, subtle twitches produce wide sweeping arcs and even 180° turns, while harder, more frequent jerks tighten those arcs and trigger a more aggressive chop action. This makes it easy to match the PowerBait Chop Block's behaviour to the conditions and the mood of the fish.

Top for Pike and Deadly Around Cover

The Berkley PowerBait Chop Block is designed specifically for pike fishing and, unlike the American version with its hard-mono hook system, features a steel hardware setup. It needs it - pike take to this bulky, broad-bodied swimbait with real aggression, and it has the potential to cause a similar stir here as it already has among largemouth bass anglers in the States. It is a versatile lure, but its best performances come close to pike cover: sunken trees, weed beds, overhanging bushes, moored boats, bridges - these are classic pike hotspots, and this is where the PowerBait Chop Block excels. You can work it agonisingly slowly, almost dancing it right in front of a snag until a pike simply cannot hold back any longer.

Fishing Deeper with the Included Nail Sinkers

The Berkley PowerBait Chop Block is versatile enough straight from the box, but there is more to it than that. Out of the box, it is particularly well suited to shallow water. When you need to go deeper, the package includes 2 nail sinkers that add just enough extra weight to make the lure sink faster and run deeper - putting it in front of pike holding further down the water column.

Hook System with Clip and Magnet Retention

To keep the hook-up rate as high as possible, the Berkley PowerBait Chop Block runs a twin-hook system built like a shallow rig and attached to an eyelet on the underside of the head. The first hook - a treble hook - is seated with a fluke in a recess on the body and held in place via a retaining clip through the shank. The second hook is a specially designed double hook secured by an ingenious magnet system that holds it firmly in position until a fish strikes and is hooked, at which point it releases instantly from the body. A ball-bearing swivel is also built into the system, which significantly reduces hook pulls. When the PowerBait Chop Block gets a take, you can expect it to stay stuck.

Not Just for Pike

Pike are the primary target for the Berkley PowerBait Chop Block, at least in most waters. Where largemouth bass are present, they are equally willing takers. Beyond that, plenty of other predators are catchable on it - particularly zander on the smaller size during night sessions, where the ability to fish a swimbait very slowly can be the key. Swimbaits are still used relatively rarely for zander at night, but they fish brilliantly at a slow pace - well worth a go. Big perch and wels catfish also show up as by-catch with regularity. Plenty of good reasons to keep the PowerBait Chop Block in your lure box.

At a Glance:

• Soft plastic / soft swimbait / soft glidebait
• Available in multiple sizes and colour patterns
• PowerBait attractant scent
• Designed for pike fishing
• Also highly effective for largemouth bass, zander, and more
• Bulky, broad body profile
• Tail fin made from flexible plastic bristles
• At its best twitched and jerked
• Highly variable action depending on retrieve style
• Includes nail sinkers
• Innovative hook system with clip and magnet retention
• Particularly effective worked along cover and hotspots