Berkley PowerBait Nessie 12cm / 11g

Overview

The Berkley PowerBait Nessie 12cm is a soft-bodied glide bait that brings the sweeping, side-to-side swimming action normally associated with hard articulated lures into a soft plastic format. Measuring 12cm and weighing 11g, it's built around a jointed body connected by a mesh-reinforced joint, designed to add durability while still allowing the free movement needed for its glide action.

Stabilising fins help keep the swimming action consistent, and the soft body itself is infused with Berkley's PowerBait flavour rather than flavour simply being used as a marketing term. The lure arrives ready to fish, pre-rigged with a sharp Fusion19 treble hook held neatly against the underside of the body by an integrated, patent-pending hook-retention clip.

Designed by Mike Iaconelli, the Nessie is supplied as a single lure per pack and is available in a range of baitfish-style finishes, giving anglers a genuinely different soft plastic option compared to conventional paddle tails.

Perfect For

The 12cm Nessie's baitfish profile, 11g casting weight and slow-sinking glide action make it a practical option for UK saltwater lure fishing, particularly bass fishing around shallow structure. It suits anglers who want a slower, more deliberate baitfish presentation rather than the constant vibration produced by a typical paddle-tail lure.

Because it sinks slowly, the Nessie can be worked relatively high in the water column instead of dropping quickly like a heavily jig-headed soft plastic, and its jointed glide action offers a presentation that stands apart from the usual sandeel and paddle-tail lures found in most sea-fishing tackle boxes.

Technical Insight

The mesh-reinforced joint is the key engineering feature behind the Nessie's action. Rather than two pieces of soft plastic loosely connected, the reinforced joint adds strength to the articulated section while still allowing the flexibility required to generate a side-to-side gliding motion as the lure is retrieved.

The integrated hook-retention clip also solves a common problem with soft jointed lures: it holds the Fusion19 treble hook flush against the underside of the body, giving a cleaner profile when not in use and reducing snagging, while the stabilising fins help the lure track true through the cast, skip, or slide retrieve styles Berkley says the Nessie is designed for.