Yo-Zuri Bonita Trolling Lures

Yo-Zuri’s Bonita lures have had some changes over the years, all positive steps in the lure’s development. The current series posted here now represents their best efforts, and recognizes that pricing is an important consideration just as is the build quality, rigging and overall construction of lures like this. Knowing that the target species is wahoo, a fish with an incredible bite and razor sharp teeth, Yo-Zuri improved the materials used several years back. The new material is harder than most such lures  (Power Body). In the past Bonitas and Marauders were made with compressed foam which was prone to degradation with use. These lures are thru wired for strength and security, and they feature ball bearing stainless steel swivels to the hooks – which are also flat forged stainless steel. The color change technology which Yo-Zuri introduced in 2012 is maintained, only for the top of the lure. That feature has no real world appeal to fish in my humble estimation, but it’s trick to see. That was a huge talking point with the prior generation, now it’s downplayed – and that makes some sense since I’ve never noticed a wahoo approach the bait at 10 knots from two different directions before making it’s mind up about eating a bait or lure. There was little if any benefit from the feature other than adding cost, so it’s basically gone. Additionally, the ribbing which had to be incorporated made the lure’s body rough, not smooth. For best hooksets some feel that the more slippery body allowed the lure to slide through the ‘hoo’s mouth allowing for a better hook up rate. I’d tend to agree with that thinking. Rigging is done correctly, with quality components, material used for the lure’s body is also top notch. And, for the new lures, pricing is far more aggressive with costs of $29-39 rather than $55! The 2016 Bonita lures are just what we like to see, nice quality, good materials, and they are very well priced.