Megabass Problem

[Jbrant]

I've got a Megabass 110 that I've been using for a couple of years. Went fishing yesterday and it constantly set nose up/butt down in the water when it was stopped. On the pause, the tail section dropped rapidly and it set completely vertical in the water. The tungsten balls were sitting in the tail section and wouldn't move to the belly after the cast (they would move about 1/2" then stop). If I hit the bait against the boat just right, I could get the balls to move forward and sit in the belly. I could flip it out beside the boat and it would suspend perfectly. But every time I'd make a cast, the balls would roll to the tail and become lodged again.

Anybody else had this happen?

[Champ188]

The balls have probably built up rust on them. Pitch it in the nearest refuse receptacle. You got two years out of it. That's better than some.

[Rodmaker]

Probably right champ,but its a bitch throw'in out $25 baits,

[gitnby]

I agree with Champ.

You might try this?

Stick it in a vise with padding or a piece of leather on each side.

Drill a tiny hole and get some light oil, WD-40 or maybe liquid wrench in there.

As much as you can get in there.

Hold your finger over the hole and shake it up.

Let it sit over night.

Shake out as much oil as you can.

Take a piece of regular cotton string and poke it in the hole with a needle, turn the hole side down and let the string wick the excess oil.

May have to do this a few times?

Super glue the hole and give it a try.

I did this with my favorite old rattlin rogue several years ago and it worked like a charm!

PS-might want to remove hooks to make it easier to work with?

[fishinwrench]

Drill a hole in the top near the tail section, stick a piece of a plastic coffee stir stick (or similar) in the hole to act as a stop to keep the balls from going all the way back where they can get wedged. Epoxy it closed.

Or give it to your partner and hope like hell he doesn't outfish you with it.

Or hang it on a limb in a precarious location near the boat ramp and count how many guys fall out of their boats trying to get it.

Or make a key chain out of it.

No I got it...... Super glue it to the walkway of the courtesy dock.

[Champ188]

Good stuff, guys. May try your trick gitnby and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I'll default to wrench's suggestions. I especially like the ones about the tree and the courtesy dock. Sounds like great entertainment.

[ozarkgunner]

Anyone have a dock with a web cam? It would be fun to watch what happens.

[Jbrant]

Thanks for the advice - I'll probably try that. Only questions are 1) aren't those tungsten balls and 2) will tungsten rust??

As for the other thoughts, I'd be one of those guys doing whatever I could to get that bait out of the tree!

[dblades]

I've got several of the smaller Darters that have done just that since I got them. No Megabass for me again ever.

[Bill Babler]

I would bet is not rust but has some calcium build up on it, as it has probably leaked at some point. The build up is probably at the rear of the channel and kind of grabs the weights. It would also be hard to see.

Great sugestions, but if it is calcium you probably won't get it fixed so take one of the other measures. You can also add a weighted hook to the front of the bait and see if that will balance it out. Right now if our baits are not falling, we are not getting bit, so if it will sink, that is not a problem in this cold water.

Good Luck