the Megabass Magdraft. some questions?

[Darth-Baiter]

i have the 6" version.   i like them.  cant say i love them.  they have one speed as far as i can tell.  too slow, no tail wagging.  too fast, it rolls on its side disturbingly.  you have to find the Goldilocks speed.  so burning them in is out of the question.  

 

i bought the 5" and tried it yesterday.  i was getting the bait bashed.  but the math was easy.  i immediately got four hits and only one hooked up.  how many fish do they last for you?  that one 4 lb fish put a gash in the hook slot and that magnet may come out.  and with the hook hanging below the belly the hookup are tough to bury into the fish (for me).  you all getting better success?   are you adding a stinger hook?  if so, how?

 

yesterday, i sent out another bait option and got success, so i put the magdraft away.  it was fun bite, and the fish i did hook up gave me a good show of coming up from the depths and smoking the bait close to the surface. 

 

you like the freestyle better?

[FishTank]

I have had good luck with the six inch version.  The magnet sucks. I use a drop of glue to keep it in there but it still doesn't hold well. You almost have to get the hook in the cavity perfect for it to stay in there as well.

 

Also, I don’t usually use a straight retrieve and you're right,  you can't burn this bait. It's not really designed to be fished that way. My retrieve is usually a stop and pop. If you do this at the right speed,  it will roll a little on its side and that's when the fish will nail it. 

 

If you want to go at a faster retrieve,  try the 6th Sense Whale or the Duo Realis Versa Shad.

 

 

[casts_by_fly]

take one of the hook points and bend it almost 90 degrees out.  Now stick it back in the hole.  The barb will hold into the plastic of the bait better.

 

Super glue the gash.  I've heard a lighter works too from some musky guys but haven't tried it.

[5by3]

Yeah the durability is pretty bad. I wish they would go to the keeper style clip that the cull shads have. You could try some of the “mend-it” bait repair glue and see if it helps any.

[txchaser]

Anyone have good line-through alternative? 

[Big Swimbait]

19 hours ago, txchaser said:

Anyone have good line-through alternative? 

The 6 inch Daingerous line through has worked well for me.

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m going with the Little Creeper Trash Fish.  6/0 Beast hook providing the penetration hopefully.  
 

im slow crawling it on the bottom.  My Osakana Slide which is a line thru plows the algae lined bottom and fouls on every attempt.  I think having the hook coming out the top is going to work better. 

[Pumpkin Lizard]

On 3/26/2025 at 10:51 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

i have the 6" version.   i like them.  cant say i love them.  they have one speed as far as i can tell.  too slow, no tail wagging.  too fast, it rolls on its side disturbingly.  you have to find the Goldilocks speed.  so burning them in is out of the question.  

 

i bought the 5" and tried it yesterday.  i was getting the bait bashed.  but the math was easy.  i immediately got four hits and only one hooked up.  how many fish do they last for you?  that one 4 lb fish put a gash in the hook slot and that magnet may come out.  and with the hook hanging below the belly the hookup are tough to bury into the fish (for me).  you all getting better success?   are you adding a stinger hook?  if so, how?

 

yesterday, i sent out another bait option and got success, so i put the magdraft away.  it was fun bite, and the fish i did hook up gave me a good show of coming up from the depths and smoking the bait close to the surface. 

 

you like the freestyle better?

 

On the retrieve I do 4-5 turns of the reel and then one fast 1/2 to 3/4 turn. But the strike always seems to happen when I least expect it.

 

 

 

[wolfe_ohara]

On 3/26/2025 at 9:43 PM, txchaser said:

Anyone have good line-through alternative? 

i have liked z-mans, shadtron 6" rof 5 for my "open hook, wedge tail" line through.  i like the 6" and 7" daingerous, the 5" wasn't for me but it swam fine, it was just "smaller" than i thought it would be.  i also like the pulse tail bluegill from savage gear.  they have line through (3oz, 5.5") and "beast hook"(1.25oz, 4") versions, i have both and tend to use the line through more. it has a good thump, isn't "burnable" but i can work it without issue on my tatula 300 7.x:1. 

[Brian11719]

I use the freestyle w/ a 8/0 owner beast since there's usually a fair amount of grass / cover where I like to throw them. I think the daingerous does a little better in terms of the range of speed you can retrieve it and get a good action. I also like that one since it has a single hook on top...also picked up a couple of shadtrons but haven't tried them yet...hoping to get to that one this month. I still like the magdraft freestyle but to your point it does seem to have a narrower range when it comes to the retrieve speed.

 

Also found this video a little while ago and thought I'd share since it has some good info on the freestyle (and no irony whatsoever):