Bass angler Nathan Quince has released his annual five-lure forecast for the 2026 season, pairing two emerging trend categories with three tournament-proven staples and flagging the release of his own signature glide bait as a project in development.
The list leads with glide baits and multi-jointed swimbaits, a category Quince argues is under-fished outside the traditional spring window. He cited winter and autumn success stories as evidence that opportunistic feeding bass will commit to oversized presentations year-round, and noted that even when fish refuse to eat, a big glide bait's drawing power can reveal where fish are holding under docks or laydowns.
Second on the list are the 'fuzzy dice' micro baits that dominated the most recent ICAST trade show. "I walked every booth there and literally everyone that was a tackle company had one of these things coming out," Quince said, confirming he has secured 13mm Quakis, Strike King Tumble Weeds, and an incoming batch of Z-Man Fuzzy Nuggets. He compared the moment to the Ned rig's early years: "I was late to the game. I waited two, maybe even three years before I even started fishing the Ned rig. And by that point, the fish had seen a ton of them... I believe the same thing is going to happen with these dice baits."
Third is a tariff-era value pick — the ChatterBait Evo at $9.99. Quince said he has caught multiple seven-pound largemouth on the Golden Shiner colour during pre-practice sessions at Lake Toho, and ran the Evo in place of a JackHammer at a recent Bassmaster Open. "Half the price of a jackhammer... They have a great blade on them. They're direct connected to the head. They vibrate almost immediately," he said.
The final two picks are the jig and the drop shot. Quince credits the jig family with unmatched versatility across depth and cover, noting he considers it a first and last tie-on of the season. For drop shot rigs he rotates the Strike King Magic Worm for largemouth and spotted bass, and Z-Man TRD-style baits or the Strike King Half Shell for smallmouth, with both nose and Texas rig configurations in his lineup.
Quince also confirmed he is designing his own glide bait, with prototypes expected later in 2026. The list is broadly applicable to Australian impoundment bass anglers, where glide baits remain under-utilised and tariff-driven pricing on premium bladed jigs is opening the door to value alternatives like the ChatterBait Evo.