TackleTour Autopsy: Inside tackle - Mattlures Upside Deadstick Swimbait

TackleTour Autopsy

An Upside Down Autopsy : Mattlures Dead Stick Trout (continued)

We took the lure out to the lake and sure enough cast after cast the lure quickly floats into “dead” position quickly. The lure may at first appear relitively lifeless but if there is any ripple on the water the fins quiver and the tail moves subtly, all of which is designed to add to the genuine look of the lure struggling on the water's surface.

Inside we found a hard epoxy module

In the lab this was one of our fastest and easiest autopsies to date. It took longer to remove the hooks than slice the Upside Dead Stick from gills to the belly with an X-Acto knife. It really felt like I was cleaning a fish and the plastic that Matt uses is even flesh color. Sashimi anyone?

The bait was poured around the module which includes a ballast and wire hardware

Inside the belly we found a hard molded module that we could clearly see the body had been poured around. It was held firmly in place with two channels that the plastic had flowed through during the molding process. This module contains all the hardware as well as an open cavity and weighting system that precisely weighted to rotate and produce the lure’s unique belly up appearance.

The internal module weighs 3.1 ounces

The module rotates and floats into the upside position quickly

The module provides plenty of buoyancy, but even without it the lure's outer plastic skin was still able to float by itself. In the test tank the module also always quickly rotated into the upside down position. This internal ballast system is what allows the bait to turn belly up quickly and consistently after each and every cast.

A look at all the parts of the Mattlures Upside Dead Stick

This was also the only bait we have ever autopsied that actually survived the process. We were able to put the module back in place and use Mend-It to effectively reconstruct the entire bait.

Putting this bait back together with Mend-It

With almost no scars to show for this bait is ready to go back and hit the lake and although this may not be the most action packed of techniques can you imagine the size of the fish that is able to take out a lure of this size?

The Mattlures Upside Dead Stick reconstructed

If you are into fishing swimbaits that require constant retrieves or aggressive rod movements the Upside Dead Stick is not for you, but if you are looking for an easy to fish big bait or want to put that second rod stamp to use this lure basically is designed to do all the work for you. If you are lucky enough to get a viscous splash hit on this unique lure it might just be a very memorable one.

Looking for the Mattlures Upside Dead Stick Trout?
Try Tackle Warehouse