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Lure Review

 

 

An Enthusiast Tier Creature from Megabass of America : The Bottle Shrimp

 

Date: 1/17/22
Tackle Type: Lures
Manufacturer: Megabass of America
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 7.08 - GOOD

Introduction:
Megabass is a very well known brand within the Bass fishing community as most anglers covet their fishing rods, limited run reels, and exquisite hard baits, bemoan the costs of all these products, or both. Today we take a look at one of these products with a somewhat traditional profile but in true Megabass fashion, just a little different take with the product's name. Here is our take on Megabass of America's Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp.

 

Megabass Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp Specifications

Type Craw Bait/Trailer
Material Soft Plastic
Colors/Patterns 6
Sizes 4"
Scent/Plastic Treatment Organic Blend of Natural Flavors
# per package 6
Resealable Bag? Yes
MSRP $7.99

 


Introducing Megabass's Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp

 

Impressions: Soft plastic baits from Megabass - we knew it had to happen sooner or later and truth be told, it has been happening in Japan for quite some time. It's only recently the manufacturer has decided to bring more western-styled (in shapes, sizes, and colors) to the North American Market.

 


The Bottle Shrimp is a 4" long bait with super long, claw-like appendages

 

The Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp is really a craw style bait spec'd at four inches (4") in length. If I recall correctly, there are other sizes and possibly versions of this bait available in Japan including a 5" and a 2.4", but the 4" version is what is officially being offered here. It has super long claw appendages on a relatively compact body and is made from a super soft plastic infused with what the manufacturer calls an "organic blend of natural flavors".

 


The bait's main body is relatively compact with a meaty tail section facilitating secure rigging of your hook

Performance: Normally I like to fish craw style baits as jig trailers but the Bottle Shrimp's claw appendages are so long, I felt more comfortable fishing this bait on a simple Texas rig and predominantly on the California Delta. I rigged it with a 4/0 sized punch hook by Gamakatsu.


On the top side of the bait is this channel to help conceal the point of your hook

 

The bait itself has a top and bottom side with a channel on the top to help conceal your Texas rigged hook. The back end of the bait is nice and meaty making giving you a good amount of material through which to thread your hook.

 

Little eyeballs protrude from what would be the bait's head
 


Rigged and ready to go with hook point concealed

 

Dropping one of these baits in our tank back at the lab to view its position underwater, we can see the claws on this bait have a tendency to float up giving it a very good crawdad defensive posture.


A quick check at the lab to see how the bait sits on the bottom

Design/Ergonomics: What many anglers are not going to enjoy is, because of how soft and malleable the soft plastic is on this bait, each Bottle Shrimp is susceptible to premature wear depending on how aggressive the fish you catch strike the bait. I've had some of these baits last through half a dozen fish and others last through only one. It really varies.


After a few fish, like many soft plastics, the bait will start to tear

 


Once the end begins to tear, it's difficult to re-rig your hook

 

But one thing for sure is, once the bait starts to tear, it goes pretty quick. With some baits, you can re-thread your bait through the hook to get an extra fish or two out of them, but that's difficult to do with the bottle shrimp. At the same time, I believe that's part of why the bait is so effective - because it is so soft and malleable it just gives the fish something more realistic to hold onto.

 


A better view of the Bottle Shrimp's long, but slender profile

Price & Applications: This is where a lot of non-enthusiasts will balk. The Bottle Shrimp comes in one of six different colors packaged in resealable plastic bags at a cost of $8.99 for six baits. That breaks down to $1.49 per bait - far above the average we've been seeing of around $0.60 - $0.75 per bait. But again, this is Megabass, remember?

The two sides of this bait
 

As mentioned earlier my primary method of fishing this bait was Texas rigged either with a light weight and pitching to visible structure, or with a heavy weight punched into matted vegetation on the CA Delta. This bait actually slides through vegetation rather well thanks to the claws that seem to streamline through with the width of the bait.

 

Ratings

Megabass Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Very good bait to bait consistency 8
Performance This bait seems to attract bites, but some will not like its durability 7
Price Are you ready for enthusiast level soft plastics? 5
Features Comes in a resealable bag and infused with "organic natural flavors" 8
Design (Ergonomics) Available only in six colors 7
Application Very good Texas rigged or used as a trailer and you can probably fish it Carolina, unweighted, etc. 7.5

Total Score

7.08
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ I list the softness of the plastic as a plus - When broken down to a per bait cost, pretty pricey
+ This bait has some size to it - Some will not like the bait's questionable durability
+ Easy to rig and good neutral buoyancy from its claws  

  


Ready for enthusiast tier soft plastics? Megabass plays well in this segment

 

Conclusion: The term "tackle enthusiast" used to just apply to those that sought after JDM or rare reel or rods, but as the market has matured we have seen that there are no boundaries when it comes to enthusiast tackle. This extends to lures and there are enthusiast tier swimbaits and even soft plastic baits. Sure at $1.33 per bait, the Bottle Shrimp comes at a hefty price - especially given the bait's durability questions. On the other hand, this bait does catch them and if it's too expensive for most to buy, that means it's a bait not many fish will have seen, and that makes for a good candidate to hold onto as your next potential Texas-rig or jig-trailer weapon.

 

Looking for Megabass Honjikomi Bottle Shrimp?

Try one of these reputable sources TackleWarehouse


 

   

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