Megabass for Mexico
Back in January, I took a tour of multiple lure manufacturers’ lineups to make recommendations for your next trip to El Salto or Picachos. I stand by those options (although I certainly supplement them extensively) and will have all of those products on our next trip South of the Border in a couple of weeks.
Recently someone asked me about jerkbait selections down there, and the question made me realize that I left out one of my favorite manufacturers from the survey: Megabass.
I’ve been a fan of JDM tackle in general and Megabass in particular for longer than I care to admit. Everything they make tends to be creative and well thought out. In recent years it has become easier to obtain a wide variety of their gear, and that has upped my fish count while draining my wallet. I’m generally loathe to spend $20+ on a deep-diving crankbait that I may lose on the first cast to a brush pile, so that influences what I buy from them, but when it comes to shallower-running baits I’m a true believer. Here are the five that I have the most confidence in when we go to Sinaloa:
If I had to choose one jerkbait to take anywhere that largemouths and smallmouths swim, this would be the one, and I’ve caught hundreds of fish on them at El Salto when other similar lures would not produce. Worth every penny they cost, and while at times Hanna has outfished it with a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer, day-in, day-out this is the number one draft pick. Bring extra trebles because you’ll go through a bunch. Colors I like: GP Pro Blue, Elegy Bone, GP Stain Reaction, Wakasagi.
This is one of the easiest-walking topwaters I’ve ever used, and it sometimes attracts a better grade of fish that a popper. In recent years I’ve kind of gotten away from it as I’ve used the Vixen more, but I need to get back to this one. The GP Pro Perch color is deadly on our Mid-Atlantic tidal rivers, but in Mexico I prefer any of the shad colors with a white or clear belly.
You can often tell how good a lure is by how many copycats it has, and the Dark Sleeper has them coming out of the woodwork in swarms. It took me a while to realize that this little bait Hanna calls “Nemo” is more of a jig than a traditional swimbait, but it excels along bluff walls and even hopped and dragged across offshore structure. The colors I’ve liked best are Shirauo and Clear Chartreuse. They’re available exclusively in bite size packages but a wide variety of weights from ¼ to 1 ounce.
This bladed swim jig quickly became one of Hanna’s favorite offshore tools last year when she mopped up my school of cranking fish with it. Tipped with a Skinny Dipper, Zoom Swimmer or your other favorite trailer, it gets deep, tracks true and attracts big fish. Even after she lost the blade, they kept biting it, and it’s remarkably snag-resistant. Another nice thing is that you don’t need to take it off when you go shallow – instead, just fish it like a traditional swim jig or vibrating jig.
OK, I’ll admit that I haven’t fished this one yet, but one of our regular guides had a client experience one of those “days of a lifetime” with it. He outfished comparable and better-known squarebills by a heavy margin that day. The next time he returned with several in each size in every color. That’s how much he believes in them. As noted above, I haven’t thrown it yet, and don’t expect the a shallow crank to be a primary deal on our upcoming June trip, but if it is I’ll be ready. I liked the looks of Black Back Chartreuse and GP Sexy Shad.
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I haven’t used any of the various Megabass travel rods, but I have used one-piece sticks from their Orochi XX and Destroyer lineups and I’ve been very impressed. If you’re looking for a travel rod for your next trip to El Salto or Picachos, you might want to try out their Triza three-piece rods. Unlike many other widely-available travel rods that only come in basic medium and medium-heavy powers and one length, the Triza baitcasting rods come in five models from 6’6” to 7’2” that collectively are able to handle lures from 1/8 to 3 ounces. There are also spinning models available.
