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1. Minnow baits are being released nearly every day – why do you think the Echo is catching on?
> "Our timing was right. We got ahead of the minnow deal before the craze. And the Echo has unique features from other minnows. A lot of minnow baits look very similar, but ours has a true baitfish profile, with gills, fins, eyes and realistic baitfish colors. And it comes with a small glass rattle in its belly that adds sound when it shakes.
> "We also use a proprietary plastic...you can catch 20+ fish on one bait. This saves you money, but it also makes tournament anglers more efficient since they don't have to change baits after every fish catch.
> "Our customer service.... I will personally call our customers to explain the best ways to rig our baits to catch more fish. The word-of-mouth marketing we get from satisfied customers has been huge for us.
> "And the recent high finishes at the national and regional tournaments with the Echo.... Dillon Falardeau finished 6th and Brooks Anderson finished 8th at the recent Bassmaster Open on Clarks Hill using our Echo. And Austin Shields just won a recent BFL on Guntersville using the Echo."
2. Why do you include the glass rattle?
> "It emits sound to help bass find the bait, especially in murky water. And the ping from FFS off the glass rattle makes the bait show up really well on the screen. We didn't create it with that in mind. It was an added benefit that we discovered later.
> "We don't glue the rattle in, so you can pop it out and add a nail weight to the belly."
3. If you put a nail weight in the belly cavity, basically you are hovering or strolling at that point. Was that the point of the cavity?
> "No. That was an afterthought. The Echo was born from our 3-inch swimbait called the Prodigy. The rattle alerted the fish to the bait's presence. But then one of our pro staff guys removed the glass rattle and put a 3/32 nail weight in it. He could cast it out and straight wind it. This lets it pendulum back and forth with a very natural, subtle swim.
> "We call this the Sneak Rig. We rig it a couple of ways. When we put the weight in the belly, we are fishing it more vertically like a traditional hover or Damiki rig. Or we can put the nail weight in the nose and fish it more horizontally.
> "The separation of the hook from weight is the key. Most hover hooks have the weight built onto the hook. When you separate the weight from the hook, it acts as a ballast and allows the bait to really lift and swim naturally with a straight retrieve."
4. Are guys fishing the Echo in ways that are not minnow shaking?
> "A lot of guys are using the ball Neko weight and a weightless hover hook and just throwing it out and winding it back – not necessarily with FFS. It acts like a soft-bodied Rat-L-Trap.
> "My favorite technique is to use it on a Scrounger [here's an IG vid of the action] around the herring spawn on blueback lakes. Some guys use it as a ChatterBait trailer, some on an underspin.
> "It works on a lot of traditional techniques, which is a good thing because neither owner of Cast even owns FFS. [Laughs.] But the diehard FFS guys have found that it excels in the pinging game too."
5. Do you have a favorite jighead to pair with the Echo?
> "Absolutely. It's the Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin, for lots of reasons. The bait keeper on the Rollin Strollin locks our proprietary plastic on the hook. Queen Tackle offers the perfect weight and hook sizes for all 3 sizes of the Echo [2.75, 3.5, 5.4].
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