Megabass Xslayer the ruin

After a bit of deliberation I recently purchased a pack of AYU Super Xlayer from Japan ,This purchase was never intended as a which hunt a point the finger at all i wanted as hundreds of other Bass lure anglers want was the AYU X Slayer ,that just seem so rare in the UK and Ireland at the moment keeping anglers on the edge of their pants waiting for stocks to arrive,,i couldn't wait ,,,,and what a surprise i got!

Megabass Super Xslayer AYU from Japan

Below is the model of Xslayer that is sold now all over the UK and Ireland  i find it quite astonishing that most or nearly all tackle dealers have all the old pictures of the XSlayer up (The original) on their online shops,,

here  Art of fishing

mr fish

        Bassmasters

             absolute fishing 

So you ask yourself what is the old fool banging on about today i would say its all about Quality and that The Great British and Irish Anglers as far as the X Slayer is concerned we are getting ripped off yet again the batch below came from Ireland and are a second batch of Slayers That Cian got in at Absolute Fishing after sending the first batch back to the suppliers for bad quality they are definitely better than the first lot but compared to what the choice the Japanese anglers have make your own mind up,

Megabass X Slayer Golden Shad sold in all outlets in the UK and Ireland



UK Slayer,,size difference



Glass Rattle totally in the wrong position over the horse shoe indent this affects the total tail action of the slayer

The sleek fine crisp cut of the ayu Japanese (Bottom) with the rattle in the correct position you can see the cold joints of the hand pour

This picture defines the way the rattle is inserted the Japanese Slayer is obviously mould injected giving a more accurate position,, with the rattle positioned after the slayer is stuck from the mould

The difference in quality just stands out a mile

 So make your own mind up but i know where i am getting my X Slayers in the future i do not really understand why we as anglers get this sort of deal or even put up with it from Megabass,wholesalers and tackle dealers and when we are supposedly so finesse with the best Rods ,Reels ,Braids ,LRF,HRF going for discussions long into the night on Forums and the like its so sad that we go to such high quality on all our tackle ,but this truly Iconic lure has been done a disservice by the build quality and supplied to the UK! and of course the Cost.

Easy Jet to Asturias

Last Year we had a real hard christening to the harsh terrain and waters of the province of Asturias in Northern Spain this area of coast is wild and exiting and needs experienced of the anglers fishing this really cool part of the world below Mark Padfield Last February getting a soaking from the unpredictable wave patterns you get in this area, 

Below you can see the diversity of the shore this picture is just a snap of the area at the anglers disposal you do need help with access and egress of the cliffs and marks Last year we met up with Manel and Dario two fantastic Spanish Bass Pluggers check out Manel's site on the link above things are really hotting up over there ,but i must stress that you need guys like Manel my advice is don't try it alone its just not worth it the place is off the scale but so Dangerious to the unwary local knowledge is King here.

Duo casting jigs the press bait fusion slim will be one lure that will be coming for the ride on the plane,, we will be looking at punching these certainly the 100yds mark with the long rods the bass are there  but at times hold well off shore,,,,,,Fusion Slim below take a look at the spec,

Here's my two partners on the trip Adrian and Mark Two very accomplished Bass Anglers will have my work cut out keeping up with these guys for 5 days Bassing that's for sure the fishing wasn't that good last year but now we have done some homework and met locals that are on the ball so lets hope for a bit of luck,,

If ever you fancy a trip to Asturias try  Easy Jet for brilliant cheap flights from Stanstead Essex to OVD Asturias Northern Spain , and the accommodation over there is as cheap as chips  here and what a  way to  bridge the silly season gap till our Bass season kicks in,,
We are flying out on the 13th march for 5 days and just cannot wait for this one will update with reports,,

Seaspin Lures worth a try in 2012

 I kindly got sent a few really tasty lures a couple of months back from the chaps at seaspin in Italy,, have a look here at their really nice site seaspin i don't know the exact price apart from they are undercutting the mainstream from Europe with their competitive prices,these lures are by no means copies they are stand alone on their own merit with fantastic detail and colourful paint jobs,
Below in Mullet the Coixedda 100 16g is a long casting sinking minnow that on a straight retrieve will rise to 40cm to 10cm depth a really nice lure that rolls and gently sinks horizontal on the pause,,


Coixedda 100 Minnow

 Next on the list the fantastically named Mommotti ,sounds like some sort of Italian racing car and this thing nearly is!! on the cast this 26g ,180mm long ,casting minnow, really flies through the air dives to a depth of 70cm a normal action for a long minnow but what strikes me about this lure is the slow floating nearly suspending in the table ,a proper lure that is such a tease,,, and to top this off the 180mm has a bigger brother the190mm Mommotti and 30g,,a sure fire winner for the long casters amongst us,


Mommotti 180 Mid Range Diver

 The Mommotti 140 Below in a striking Orange belly long casting 140mm ,16g  is a superb looking lure like its bigger brother in looks, but unlike a slow floating, it is a silent slow sinking jerk minnow ,,,



Mommotti 140 Mid Range Diver

 Pro-Q 120 Surface lure a Large topping lure below in mullet colour by my standards but has a awesome cast sits vertical in the water when still, but is the typical walk the dog lure has a sit up/ down side to side movement and some great colours including one that caught my eye in glow white ,,


Pro-Q 120 Surface Lure

 The Buginu 140 is some lump of a lure with a bib that puts the gataride to shame a lure that has a fantastic erratic action and suspends perfectly still in the salt water a beautiful shape 28g 140mm long casting this lure is built with precision and great detail and one that i will be having in my lure box in 2012,,


Buginu 140 Suspending Minnow



Duo Lures Thinking Japanese or are we????

The 175 flier advanced line in sand eel a well known slow sinking Bass Catcher but What is your favourite target Fish

Tremendous detail that the Flier comes with

Distance casting is the way to fish the 175 flier successfully,, casts like a bullet and is a killer for the European sea bass at range,, try one of these custom rods for this method of angling Dorset rods

the American St Criox is a crazy distance Bass Rod a string to your fishing and you will not look back,,,

Below is the very versatile 145 SLD-S Sinker again a personal favourite  of mine (H02 Cotton Candy) and this lure does catch Bass and other species as well again a very detailed distance lure,

Check out the Sea Trout below caught off the shore in the open ocean superb detail within the Duo lure will fool these top predators in the clearest of waters

Try and win a few of the Duo lures from Japan  in their online and facebook competition,, i wouldn't know the answer with quality like the Sea Trout about ,,,but,,

So the contest question is:



What species do you fish for? What is your favorite fish target?
Curious to read the answers – with fans all over the world, I`m pretty sure that the results will be much more varied this time.

Have a look,,

From Duo contest no5

Shimano Stella STL-4000FD

Well i said i was going to get one and Taking advice of anglers that have one swung it for me!!,, ,the Shimano Stella 4000 FD has a 4.8:1 gear ratio which is a perfect retrieve rate for my type fishing ,Line capacity on the FD deeper spool is 200yds of 12lb mono ,,i backed up the spool with a larger Braid 50lbs then 150yds of 20lbs yamamoto braid,setting up the spool i placed one supplied washer behind the spool to slightly cone forward the line lay this suits Braid,line lay and Casting ,,

For some reason Stella came right handed ,normally on delivery the Stella will be delivered Left handed changing from left to right is a simple operation make sure you have the correct size screwdriver for the handle grub screw undo and the assembly will come apart then change for the Left hand shaft handle that is supplied with the reel, Reassemble and fix in reverse order ,,,simple

DUO TERRIF DC-11 TYPE II-J

Again i found in japan a jointed minnow type lure price delivered £13.00 price comparison with the UK dealers at £19.95 for the standard DC12 Bullet,of which is not at the top of my list ,so you ask yourself why the DC11 TYPEII-J First it was the colour Dark Back silver Flanks Red Belly shallow diver that caught my attention and a smaller lure that is jointed!!!all this adds up fishing a very active lure, fishing it slower (what the joint gives it) in running water that is cloudy like the Blackwater in Essex perfect for sunny days  

The silver flanks give that flash on a sunny day and the dark back/red belly gives silhoutte in dark esturine water

Fitted with Singles just looks the part ,

Just a bit of time out from the Fishing just let me thank all of you out there that bother to read my ramblings and have made the effort to join my site a  big thanks from Me!!

More winter Bass

I have so much respect for fishermen expecially lure fishemen that get out in the middle of January and with this year been so mild there are Bass still around with reports coming from all over the place and  of course the mighty Chesil; Beach my mate Adrian who has had just a amazing start to 2012 bagged a few more bass up to 4lb on Friday of course the Megabass Zonk and Gataride have played there parts,have a look here some great january prices, 

 Mark with a January Bass off the top!!!!!great stuff mate no doubt on the old faithfull gunfish keep up the fine fishing mate and thanks for sharing...

I got a new lure over the weekend too a Duo Tide Minnow SLD-S 125 sinking you can get Duo lures from a lot of outlets in the UK and Ireland i personally go to a friend of mine Henry Linem Henrys Tackle in Dublin fantastic choice of Duo lures,,but i have checked all over the UK and the SDLS-S 125 is unavailable at the outlets i have checked in the UK that includes  Mr Fish ,,

This little sinking beauty came direct from Japan £14.39 delivered and i have simply fallen for it,,,a super lure to have in your box,,,,a slow sinking long casting minnow,a killer in the right hands,,

Double Trouble in the UK

New years day evening on tramore strand Ireland looking for that stray bass in the dark surf bait fishing is the only way i have fished this beach for years now and i always say its a long casters beach you need to get out there beyond that last established wave for the cod ,coalfish and chance of a Bass after dark i had a schoolie a couple of days back and was brimming when setting up my bait gear ,,

a clip down with a 2/0 pennel and half a live black making a small bait greys triplex 16ft tapered leader to 10lb main line ,,wade out into them surf tables then hit the cast as hard as you can beyond those waves if you can,this is the skill of Tramore  ,,like  the picture below and you will be in business 

 i have won a few gold medal competitions off tramore beach and similar Munster beaches in the past with fish like this coalfish ,below,the first of the night the coalies were coming thick and fast at distance and i was enjoying myself ,, then

 a slack liner gave notice to the first codling of the session Tramore can produce some super fishing in the correct conditions but the Angler has to be switched on too ,,at the end of my new years day eve session i walked off the beach quite content with a bag full of coalies and 4 codling and a couple of prime storm beach flounders and a couple of monster bites missed ,some really tidy fishing i must say i felt very content as the memories of this beach came flooding back ,,

 JOE! JOE!JOE!!!!!!!!! Getting back to my Jeep the phone had been banging ,,and no wonder,,, take a look at this Double Figure Bass Joe nailed on a 120 Megabass Zonk pearl rainbow what a fantastic angling achievement caught on New Years Day  and to back this up !!!!!!!!!

 a 6lber next cast ,,,well done Adrian fantastic fishing ,,made my Irish cod and coalies look a Little like bait fish,,,,

Anyway let me wish a Happy new year to one and all,, these images have made my year and thanks to Adrian and Mark for showing the world your talents this is special for UK shore caught lure Bass,,,,,
what a way to End ???? start a year,,,,,,,,,