Remembering Trigger-X

For all the nostalgic tackle junkies, who remembers Trigger-X?

Launched in 2008, Rapala introduced their own line of soft bait plastics to compete with other tackle manufacturers. The black, green, and orange bags were merchandised heavily at Gander Mtn and Dunham's Sporting Goods. What made them different and where did they go?

Trigger-X came out at a time where the scent was really starting to develop with artificial baits. The market was being lead by Berkley brands, such as Powerbait and Gulp! Other notable scented products from the time included Strike King Coffee; Northland Impulse, Mister Twister Exude; along with Yum, Yamamoto, and Zoom using blends of salt and enzymes, often with garlic. What made Trigger-X stand out was unique scent developed with biology in mind. CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences), a government agency in the United Kingdom, along with Marukyu, Japanese manufacturers and researchers, created a scent by the name of "Ultrabite Alpha." The gist of all of this was pheromone technology to entice a natural feeding response.

The material used for Trigger-X baits was a water-soluble, non-PVC biodegradable polymer. It acted like a sponge to hold and release a pheromone scent trail. Compared to standard plastisol, the material was more tough, stretchy, and lacked traditional movement. With this in mind, the team designed these baits to have ribbed bodies, appendages, and prominent features, to create more surface area for movement under water. Examples of this would be their stick bait, the Flutter Worm, had a body exaggerated ribs and a bold collar; the Flappin' Bug had two craws, four body appendages, and a rounded body; the Swimming Grub had a bigger body and tail compared to other grub baits; and the Big Moe creature bait had two body legs larger than the front, along with a wide tail. The Slop Hopper swimbait would later go on to be utilized under a different company in the Rapala brand as the Storm 360 GT.

Bait options were created in many shapes and sizes for anglers of all needs. Whether it was for bass, walleye, ice fishing, or even saltwater, Trigger-X was meant to have something for everybody.

Big name anglers, like Jacob Wheeler and Seth Fieder, along with media entities, such as the Lindner's Angling Edge and Italo labignan, helped carry the product into a national spotlight. Real bass heads remember Seth caught his PB (13-4) flippin the 'Goo Bug' in Florida in January of 2014.

So what happened? In the mid-2010's the marketing died down and clearance bins were being filled to sell off product. From what was shared with us from officials at Rapala, baits are discontinued when they fail to meet sales expectations. With middle ground reviews at a time of a scent renaissance against tough competition, they just didn't take off. Being a water-based material, consumers were hesitant to buy, knowing that the bait would have to go back into the container to prevent drying out and shriveling.

With more super scents, like Bait Fuel and Maxscent, on the market today, along with popularity of finesse fishing now compared to 15+ years ago, and other consumer-driven factors, some people believe that Trigger-X was before its time. The scientists at Marukyu who once developed the Ultrabite Pheremone for Trigger-x now create the JDM scents for Nories, such as the aging bass liquid, bite bass liquid, and famous bite powder.

Looking back with consideration across perspectives, it was much more than the baits themselves. Trigger-X was before its time, but not for nothing. This product line served as a crucial stepping stone for the future of a different softbait series later to come, Crush City.