Steve Starling and Kaj 'Bushy' Busch are two of Australia's best known and most respected anglers, especially in the field of soft plastic lure fishing. For the past two years, this pair have been working on a major project to design, refine and thoroughly field test an exclusive range of soft plastic lures and accessories. At long last, those lures are ready for release onto the Australian market and will begin appearing in selected tackle stores in June, 2002.

"The Squidgy range has been specifically developed to suit Australian conditions, Australian fish and Australian anglers," Steve Starling explained. "These are not lures that were originally developed for catching largemouth bass, walleye, zander, pike and crappies in North America or Europe. Squidgies were conceived, evolved, tested and thoroughly fine-tuned in our home waters and on our fish before being released onto the Australian market. This makes them unique amongst soft plastics"

"Steve and I have lost count of the fish we've caught on the prototypes and production samples of these lures," Bushy added. "They've been phenomenally successful." As part of that success, samples from the Squidgy factory have helped Starlo to become the leading prize money earner on the fast-growing BREAM Tournament circuit.

The initial release of the Squidgies includes three innovative tail designs: Squidgy Wrigglers (SQW), Squidgy Fish (SQF) and Squidgy Shads (SQS). Each tail design is offered in five or six sizes and up to six colours, with models suited to everything from bream, trout, whiting and flathead to bass, barramundi, snapper and mulloway.

In addition to tails, the Squidgy range includes two jig head styles; plain, ball-shaped lead-head jigs with an innovative keeper prong and deluxe fish-shaped heads with detailed paint jobs and eyes. Both jig designs are offered in a range of weights and hook sizes to complement the different Squidgy tails.

The release of Squidgies is accompanied by the installation of innovative point-of-sale material in specialist tackle shops and the release of a highly informative free leaflet detailing productive strategies for fishing soft plastics. A how-to video called "Secrets of Squidgy Success" will also follow in a few months time.

Look for Shimano Squidgies wherever quality fishing tackle is sold.

Trade enquiries to: Dunphy Sports/Fishing Imports Pty Ltd, phone (02) 9526-2144, fax (02) 9526-2510, website: www.shimanofish.com.au