Report And Review On Megabass X-Plose Spy Bait

[Bill Babler]

Well, I wish I had better news this morning. I was really wanting this deal to be for real and to work as I had hoped it would.

Not the case for me this morning. Hit the water at 6:15 with a Megabass X-plose and X-ploSe Jr. spybait. wanted to test them on suspended fish and also if chance be toss them to a chaser. Color was Pro Blue as it is by far my favorite Jerkbait color.

The full size bait is exactly the same size as the Megabass jerkbaits and the Jr. is about 1/3 less.

The JR. has full size #6 hooks and they are not the inverted barb, but regular and very sharp. The Full Size bait has size 4 hooks

I fished these baits on a Falcon Cara Kriet Squirrel tail with 3 different lines

Maxima 4# ultra green .006

Maxima 6# ultra green .009

and Seaugar Smackdown Braid in 10# which is .005 or the smallest diameter.

Caught a total of 1 fish on the baits and it was a chaser on the Jr. Hooked up and stayed hooked.

Now here is the deal. The X-POSE is I'm going to say the very first Megabass bass bait of any kind that I have ever purchased that did not preform correctly.

I could not get both the front and rear blade to rotate out of the box. After a huge amount of tinkering I finely got the back blade to spin, but never got the front to work with any pressure on it.

The rear hook on the bait, not every cast, but 7 out of 10 times would either hook the side of the bait or the back top. For a $27.00 bait that was completely unacceptable.

The bait on all 3 different lines sank at a rate of about 1' every 3 seconds. Way to slow. Did not matter what line it was fished on, this bait is a sub 5 foot bait. If at any time you even touched the line the bait would rise in the water column and you would have to start the count again.

For warm season bass on Table Rock or any of the White River chain, This bait is going to have to have a sink rate of at least 1' per second. This bait does not come close to that. You have to fish it slower than a Varmint. I threw a varmint a little just to see this morning and the varmint on a 1/8 head would hit the bottom in 20' of water in about 12 seconds. The X plode after a full minute was not even near the bottom. It just cannot get down to fish suspended in the 20 to 35 foot range. Especially if there is even a gust of wind as it moves the boat thus moves the rod thus moves the bait back up in the water column.

The JR. at first was no better, and probably worse. The only way I could get it to fish was using the 4# Maxi. and attaching 8 suspend dots and 4 suspend strips along with wrapping the hooks with lead wire. Doing this I could get about a foot a second drop. In any wind however just about 1/2 that.

To fish these baits you must let them drop on slack line and have the boat positioned as to put ZERO pressure on the bait. Any line tension and the bait will not drop. The blades did turn wonderfully on the Jr. and they were a completely different configuration.

I's sending back my unopened baits, unless anyone else wants them. The ones I tried I'm stuck with.

Wished this would have worked out. It did not and it will not, on these particular Megabass baits for our fishing application.

Good Luck

[Quillback]

Thanks for the warning, I was eyeballing those baits, but, like you say, for the money, you'd expect something better.

I'm not trying to sell you on the Duo Realis 80, but it sinks well, maybe about a foot/second, doesn't rise in the water column, and the props turn, etc., It's a well made bait and functions like these things should.

[Bill Babler]

I'm going to try those baits Quill, but I think they are making a fast sink and I just believe you are going to need it to get down to that 30' range in an appropriate amount of time.

That Megabass may work, but not here and not now.

[5bites]

I wonder if you would have had better luck with flourocarbon with the baits lifting on retrieve and maybe a faster, deeper fall? Obviously I ask because flourocarbon sinks.

[Bill Babler]

Quick answer. NO. Even with a light FLC line these baits will not get down in any kind of a time factor to fish this lake in the correct manner that they were designed to be fished. Outside of splitshot on the line, there is no way to get these baits in the 30' range.

Also the bait really wants to rise, a touch or pull on the line and the bait just shoots to the top. If anyone would like some, let me know before I send them back. I have a 1/2 dozen of each size.

[5bites]

Well honestly I don't expect to ever work them in 30'. To get something that deep, retrieve horizontally and slowly at the same time would be tricky.

Now the lift part is more what I was getting at with my question. With the line sinking it seems like it would aid that. Again though you'd be constrained to a limited depth. I have jerkbait depth in mind when I think of these.

[Bill Babler]

Well honestly I don't expect to ever work them in 30'. To get something that deep, retrieve horizontally and slowly at the same time would be tricky.

Now the lift part is more what I was getting at with my question. With the line sinking it seems like it would aid that. Again though you'd be constrained to a limited depth. I have jerkbait depth in mind when I think of these.

The only reason I have for using them is another method of catching deep suspended fish, other than a drop shot. Fish right now are not at jerkbait level. They are at the thermocline suspended in open water and over cover. Exactly what the bait "says" its designed for. Not a jerk bait.

I am looking for the bait to operate in that 25' to 35' level to present itself at the depth the fish are holding. There are a 1000 baits that will catch them in 10' and under.

Guess I really did not understand what the bait was designed to do.

[moguy1973]

Thanks for the warning, I was eyeballing those baits, but, like you say, for the money, you'd expect something better.

I'm not trying to sell you on the Duo Realis 80, but it sinks well, maybe about a foot/second, doesn't rise in the water column, and the props turn, etc., It's a well made bait and functions like these things should.

I experienced this also with the Duo Realis 80. I have not caught any fish on it as I haven't fished any lakes that would be better suited for this type of bait. The Duo does have a really nice wobble action to it on both the fall and the retrieve and the props spin nicely also. Duo has out a bigger 90 version now too.

[denjac]

I will give you a realis 80 tomorrow to try. Try it before you buy it kinda deal.

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing your results.

That pretty much killed my interest in this bait, so I will apply that money to more varmints. Lol