The theory is that for years, anglers fished with crank-bait lures that are rounded, but the lures are supposed to imitate long, skinny baitfish.

Fish swiped the rounded lure because they thought the plug was multiple baitfish, or a ball of bait, the company LiveTarget says.

LiveTarget figured this out, it says, and developed the BaitBall series of lures.

BaitBall Lures look like multiple baitfish in one lure.

Watch a video on the theory.

LiveTarget debuted BaitBall Lures last summer at ICAST, the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, winning the Best Hard Lure Award from the event.

The lures made a splash, but more on that in a moment.

BaitBall Lures are finally available in stores starting this December.

Several models make up the series.

The Threadfin Shad, in the illustration above, is a round-profiled, floating, diving lure.

The Emerald Shiner, in the illustration at right, and the Glass Minnow that looks similar are both long, skinny jerk baits that are suspending and shallow-diving.

The models come in different versions, sizes and colors.

The BaitBall Series made a splash because the lures seemed innovative.

The industry quickly developed more lures that imitated multiple baitfish.

Critics began to note that the lures were not a new idea.

Lures that imitate multiple baitfish probably existed since lures were created.

Practically no lure is actually new.

But this was sort of a re-introduction, and LiveTarget is known for quality lures.

LiveTarget's previous lures become known for looking especially realistic, and the company probably introduced more of them than anyone in the market currently.

BaitBalls were something completely new from the company, and that also gained the industry's attention.

BaitBall lures made a splash, and now you can splash one yourself.

For more info, visit LiveTarget’s Web site.