Lure fishing for Bass

The Megabass Xlayer is a 100mm long stick bait with an aniseed scent and built in micro rattle, originally conceived to target bass lying in ambush in inaccessible places such as kelp beds and very rough ground it’s well suited to rigging ‘Texas’ style with jig heads such as the Owner Ultrahead Bullet Rig. Rigging the Xlayer weedless allows you to access areas where you wouldn’t dare cast a plug, in fact the very first time I used one in this style I hooked into a 5lb 7oz bass that had been concealed in some weed between some rocks not more than 3 metres away from me, in water little over a foot deep. Being only the 5th of April and my first bass of the year all I can say is, I was truly hooked. The fishing technique I use, when rigged in this style, is to simply to bounce it along the bottom.

Model: Xlayer    Manufacturer: Megabass
Length: original – 100mm, Giant – 150mm

Xlayer (colour: Srimp & Minnow) ‘Texas’ or weedless rigged with an Owner Ultrahead Bullet Rig 3/16oz 1/0 Hook (bottom) and a Zipper Finesse Football Jig 1/4oz (top)

More recently a popular way to fish them is more mid water like a diving plug, utilizing the Decoy Bachi Head (SV-67) who’s cylindrical profile is designed to distribute of weight of the head and lure to allow slow and controlled descents, this is aided by rigging the Xlayer with the flat side to the bottom. Being able to fish these at different depths allows you to search the water column and when fishing them in very clear water it’s clear to see why there action attracts bass.

The Giant Xlayer is exactly the same, except larger at 150mm, it’s advantage comes from it’s size in that you can use larger heads and therefore access deeper water in rougher conditions. I don’t know the working relationship between Xorus and Decoy, except it’s clear to see Xorus use Decoy hooks for many of there products. What’s interesting though is whilst the Bachi Head for the original size Xlayer is made by Decoy a similar head, but larger, is available from Xorus for the Giant Xlayer.

Giant Xlayer (colour: Aurora Shad) rigged with a Xorus Big-X – 18.5 g – DECOY 5/0 hook and Xlayer (colour: Srimp & Minnow) rigged with a Decoy Bachihead SV-67 – 1/4oz – 3/0 hook

Here’s the 5lb 7oz caught on the Xlayer, Srimp & Minnow, weedless rigged with an Owner Ultrahead Bullet Rig 3/16oz 1/0 Hook. Notice how good the hook up is, rigging weedless with Xlayers, in my experience doesn’t have any impact on hook ups.