The Secret Story Behind the Development of ForceMix ~Episode 2~

Inside the ForceMix: Hydrodynamics, Monster-Fish Structural Integrity, and Wing Optimization

Hey everyone, Nakanishi here, lead lure designer for ADUSTA.

In this journal, I want to pull back the curtain on the ForceMix development story, sharing the exact design concepts, internal schematics, and tuning methods that we’ve kept under wraps until now. For Episode 2, we’re breaking down the specific blueprints and structural functions baked into each component of the ForceMix.

Differences in cross-sectional shape between Adasta Zackroll and Forcemix

Body Architecture: ForceMix vs. Zacrawl

The Cross-Section Difference: The classic ADUSTA Zacrawl features a perfectly round cross-section. The ForceMix utilizes a tall, slender, oval profile. This geometric shift changes the lure's hydrodynamics completely.

A river in Australia where you can catch marre cod. It's very similar to rivers in Japan. ForceMix was created with this kind of situation in mind.

The Zacrawl was engineered with a rounded belly to excel at dead-slow, insect-mimicking presentations on slick, stagnant water. The round contour allows it to pivot effortlessly on the surface, throwing tight ripples with minimal forward travel.

The ForceMix, however, utilizes a tall, compressed oval silhouette. This serves a dual purpose: it mirrors the profile of actual forage fish and drastically improves your hookup ratio.

A photo of the Force Mix from the back. It features a distinctive elongated silhouette, which is rare among crawler baits.

Through my years of testing, I’ve noted that large apex predators—especially Largemouth Bass and exotic gamefish—display a highly aggressive feeding reflex toward long, slender, eel-like profiles. Back when keeping bass in research aquariums was legally permitted in Japan, I spent countless hours observing how predators tracked live forage versus hard lures. I saw the exact same predatory triggers when analyzing Peacock Bass behaviors.

This is the silhouette of the Force Mix with the tail removed. Of course, it can be used as a 5.5-inch crawler bait as is. The action changes to be slightly more dramatic.

Look at the global market: the large hard baits and soft plastics that consistently survive the test of time and catch big fish almost always retain a long, slender profile. The data doesn't lie.

Based on these foundational studies, we gave the ForceMix a commanding 20cm (approx. 8-inch) footprint, classifying it as a true big bait/swimbait. Yet, because the body remains remarkably streamlined, it tricks wary fish into striking without hesitation. To maximize the "match-the-hatch" factor, if you remove the soft-swimming elastomer tail, the remaining hard-body profile matches the exact size of a standard 14cm baitfish.

Force Mix's internal partitions. The inclusion of truss-type structural partitions enhances structural strength.

In fact, you can run the ForceMix completely tailless. It transforms the lure into a compact, highly responsive 5.5-inch crawler bait with a slightly more erratic, aggressive surface dance.

By blending this slender profile with strategic internal weight balancing, we solved a massive big-bait bottleneck: castability. You don’t need an ultra-stiff, specialized giant-bait rod to fish the ForceMix effectively; it loads up beautifully on standard heavy tackle.

Global Monster-Fish Structural Specs: Internal Truss Architecture

Just like the Zacrawl, the ForceMix was built to do battle with violent apex predators around the globe. We explicitly factored in target species like Australia’s legendary Murray Cod and prehistoric Saratoga, which meant standard freshwater construction was out of the question. We had to drastically increase the hull strength.

To achieve this, we engineered an internal Truss Partition System (triangular bracing walls) inside the plastic hull. This drastically raises the bait's crush resistance and structural integrity against violent jaw pressure and rock impacts.

If our sole focus had been domestic pond bass or catfish, this heavy-duty bracing would be overkill—and frankly, it risks robbing the bait of precious internal air volume (buoyancy). But at ADUSTA, our core philosophy is to build tools that survive the world's harshest fisheries. The final layout strikes a flawless, high-performance equilibrium between maximum structural durability and surface buoyancy.

The main weight of the Force Mix is ​​concentrated towards the tail, improving castability.

Ballast Configurations & The Horizontal Float Posture

By counterbalancing the rear-positioned main weights against the physical mass of the aluminum wing rig, the ForceMix is factory-tuned to rest in a dead-flat, horizontal posture on the surface film.

Concentrating the main ballast blocks in the rear section keeps the bait from tumbling mid-air—a flaw that plagues most jointed swimbaits. This hindquarter ballast maximizes your casting distance and provides pinpoint accuracy, even when fighting a headwind, all while maintaining an immediate, instant-start swimming action the second your reel handle turns.

The rear body has been weight-tuned. The key is to adjust it in 0.25g increments.

Pro-Tuning Tip: Tail-Weighted Sub-Surface Adjustments

Because the factory horizontal float is balanced on a razor's edge, adding even a fraction of a gram to the rear jointed section allows you to customize the resting angle, forcing the tail to sit deeper in the water film.

If you need maximum casting distance into the wind, or if the fish are short-striking and you want the bait to sit lower for a cleaner intake into the fish's mouth, try adding adhesive lead strips to the rear body panel. I highly recommend adjusting in ultra-precise, increments.

Tuning the tail heavier will give you a highly specialized, custom presentation tailored to your specific river or reservoir conditions, without ruining the immediate startup action of the crawl.

Note: Be careful not to over-weight the rear section, or you will turn the plug into a slow-sinking bait.

Force Mix's wings, crafted with meticulous attention to detail, produce an exquisite sound thanks to their carefully chosen materials, shape, and thickness.

Metal Component Engineering: The Acoustic Compound

The ForceMix inherits the proven wing geometry of our signature Zacrawl line. The massive surface area, coupled with the precise thickness and weight of the heavy-gauge aluminum alloy, is calculated to generate a deep, hollow, rhythmic "ploop-ploop" surface gurgle.

The hardened aluminum wings are paired with custom heavy-duty mounting brackets designed to minimize metallic clicking noises. This ensures the lure emits only the pure, organic water-churning acoustics that big bass respond to. This specific acoustic frequency was dialed in using decades of collective angler feedback and my own field observations.

We went through dozens of physical mockups, tweaking the bend angles and surface curvature by fractions of a millimeter until we achieved the ultimate balance of water displacement, acoustic pitch, and hydro-resistance. The wing layout is optimized perfectly to match the joint placement and body roll of the ForceMix.

The wing assembly is the literal engine of any crawler bait—it dictates the entire action.

This photo I casually showed earlier... it actually shows a tuning wing that's currently under development.

Development Insider Hook:

Here is a sneak peek at a prototype we’ve been quietly testing. We are currently in the final refinement stages of an Aftermarket Tuning Wing Upgrade for the Zacrawl and ForceMix series. Once released, this hardware swap will completely alter the acoustic frequency and crawl action of your bait, transforming it into an entirely different topwater beast. Stay tuned for the release dates.

An original wing support rig developed for Force Mix.

Our proprietary wing brackets feature an integrated structural stopper that prevents the wings from folding completely flat against the body during the cast. This guarantees that the wings instantly catch water the split-second the bait touches down, giving you zero dead-zone on your retrieve. The hardware is locked down using an dual-anchoring system—combining direct thread-screws with an internal body-insertion peg—ensuring the rig will never tear out during a violent strike.

By engineering this specialized hardware from the ground up, we minimized the number of loose components, keeping production costs in check while maximizing the bait's natural buoyancy and raw structural strength.

We’ve traveled from the initial design phase of the ForceMix straight through the technical breakdown of its individual components. Every single line, weight, and screw in this crawler bait was implemented for a specific reason.

In our next entry, we’ll take these design concepts and apply them directly to the water. I’ll break down my go-to retrieval cadences, triggering mechanisms, and the optimal rod/reel/line setups to extract maximum performance from the ForceMix.

See you on the water.

Global Tackle Procurement:The ADUSTA ForceMix and elite hard-bait lineups are distributed globally through our network of Authorized Specialty Tackle Outlets and premium pro shops. Gear up through your local dealer!