The old Phenix CB's where the best I've ever used and I use CB's a lot. My PB off of a CB is 8.5lbs.
I don't believe for a second that Brett Hite is mass producing the exact baits that he is winning tournaments with. I've watched many of his lectures on CB's, he provides a lot of great insight but he has his secret weapons that won't be mass produced and I would also doubt that he uses the same ones people are buying for $20. Maybe I'm wrong but that's my 2 cents. And to me $20 is too much for a CB because I have lost a bunch of them fishing around brush, debris, timber, etc. maybe the guys on the west coast fish so
Much rocks or clear water that they don't lose them like I do.

Actually, at the Classic he was using the exact ones you and I can buy. There's various things you can do, i.e. different trailers and different retrieves to impart different actions. So, I doubt he's concerned about anyone having 'the exact' bait he utilizes.