The
Megabass Bumpee Hog, strong to a fault?

Date: |
9/27/08 |
Tackle type: |
Lures |
Manufacturer: |
Megabass |
Reviewer: |
Zander |
Total Score: 5.66 -
MEDIOCRE
Introduction:
Megabass may be best known for their line of premium fishing rods and innovative
hardbaits but the company also offers a wide range of unique plastics. This
includes the company’s line of VIOS baits which make use of a soft but ultra
durable plastic. We take a look at a lure in this series that Megabass has
dubbed the Bumpee Hog.
Megabass
Bumpee Hog
Specifications |
Bait
Style |
Plastic (VIOS) |
Length |
3
and 4.5
inches |
Colors/Patterns |
10
available |
Price |
$9.99 |

Each Megabass Bumpee pack comes
with three lures
Impressions: Megabass
has delivered many times when it comes to enthusiast grade product. The
company’s rods remain some of the most detailed and creatively crafted sticks
that strike an exclusive combination of art and functionality. The company’s
baits were once extremely hard to acquire, but increased distribution has helped
make them more available, though the prices continue to be a barrier for some
anglers. It is no surprise to me that Megabass is pushing forward with a complete
range of plastics, but the question is whether or not the company is able to innovate in the same way that they
did with hardbaits.

When I first saw the Megabass Bumpee Hog I just couldn't wait to fish this
plastic.
The Megabass VIOS baits make
use of a plastic that is approved by F.D.A. and exhibits characteristics such as
exceptional shape retention capability, and bio and photo degradability. The Bumpee
Hog’s design allows more than one color material of different weight to be
combined together, giving the lures a unique color and transparency. Megabass is
able to change the tip of the claws on the Bumpee Hog, much like a laminated or core shot plastic.

The resalable pack has recessed
molded areas for each lure to rest in
Megabass states that the
“VIOS baits can be used again and again without breaking easily and the natural
formula stays with the bait much longer.” Remind you of anything? The minute I
heard this both the Cyber-Flexx
Terminator SnapBack Super
Plastics, and Strike King 3X Soft Plastics both came to mind.

A first look at the Bumpee Hog
When I first examined the
Bumpee Hog I noticed the protective re-sealable pack that the lures come in. The
minute you open the pack you can smell the scent the lure is infused with, the
scent isn’t overpowering and reminds me of fish oil. The lure itself is covered
in the scent and the lure actually feels slick and oily to the touch.

Notice the different colors of
plastic infused together, these different layers have varying levels of buoyancy
When I started rigging the
Bumpee Hog the lure further reminded me of the old Terminator and Strike King baits
which make use of 3X Soft Plastics Cyber-Flexx materials. These baits made a big
impact when they were first released to market, only to fade away into tackle
oblivion. The durability of the plastics wasn’t enough to make up for the high
cost, and while some anglers swore by the floating presentation many anglers
simply didn’t like the way the plastics presented themselves underwater,
requiring anglers to change up their techniques to compensate for the increased
floatation.

The Bumpee Hog VIOS plastic is
extremely durable, and even after stretching it out over 10x in length it
returns to the same shape
Real World Test: When I was
done tugging the baits to see just how far they would stretch it was time test
the Megabass Bumpee Hog, and for this I head to the stained water of the
California Delta to assess the bait side by side with other creature baits and
crawdad imitators. We fished the Bumpee Hog on both Toray and Sunline
Fluorocarbon line and rigged the bait a few different ways.

The thin appendages are just as
resilient
Casting: The Bumpee Hog is
heavy enough to be cast weightless for extremely subtle presentations but being
a crawdad bait I preferred to put the lure right on the bottom. This meant
adding a bullet sinker and rigging the lure Texas style or sticking it on the
end of a jig for punching through vegetation. Either way casting the Bumpee Hog
was undemanding and equally uneventful.

The Bumpee Hog can be rigged
Texas, Wacky, or used as a trailer
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