As I’ve intimated many times, I only carry bass lures that fulfil a specific role, under a certain set of sea conditions and/or over a particular type of terrain - something that clearly becomes easier to establish once you understand your marks and what each lure type can do for you. Which is why I feel almost guilty that I haven’t given one of my former ‘banker’ lures any water time this season, and one that I’d almost forgotten about while the sea has been so calm and clear - the Illex Nitro Sprat Shad.

Description

The lure is essentially a shellfish boosted shad, incorporating a paddle tail and with a jig-head connecting the two together via a locking system that also houses the single hook (enabling the weedless presentation). This articulated design also enables the soft body of the lure to swivel on an axis for a more natural swimming and vibrating action.

As per the majority of similar lure types, the size and weight of the jig-head is relative to the length and weight of the body - with 10g, 14g, 21g, 28g and 35g jig-heads available alongside 90mm and 120mm bodies respectively. There is also a range of colours encompassing clear, green, blue/silver and orange with the ‘Green Sprat’ pattern being my favourite.

An Illex Nitro Sprat Shad 14g jig-head/90mm body in the Green Sprat pattern (top) and the 21g jig-head/120mm combination in Clear Ayu (bottom). Sandwiched in between is a Fiiish Black Minnow 12g jig-head/90mm body in Khaki.

For me, there are two components that stand them apart (and above in my opinion) from what is without a doubt the most popular articulated lure of this kind - the deadly and proven bass catcher that is the Fiiish Black Minnow. Firstly, the malleable body on the Illex is far more robust and overall longer lasting - which if you have to contend with wrasse (that love these lure types being paraded close to their homes and over the same ground that the bass frequent) and their chomping teeth is extremely beneficial. Secondly, personally I find the flatter underside and subsequently pointier design of the jig-head’s nose doesn’t ‘snag up’quite as much as the Fiiish Minnows does when utilised over the same rough ground.

When the water becomes colder a slower moving, deeper presented paddle tail lure could be the way ahead.

Versatile and Compact

A versatile and compact lure, they can be retrieved ‘sink and draw’ in deeper water (ideal when you’re searching out the water column) or simply trotted down the flow of an estuary. However, I have found the most dependable (in bass catching terms) method is to effectively ‘bounce’ them along the seabed in a sink and draw fashion- especially when the sea is turbulent, relatively murky and over a flat(ish) expanse of reef or over a clean sandy seabed set amongst large rock formations. Depth of water is largely immaterial as I’ve caught bass in situations where the water is very shallow (less than 40cm) and really cloudy over patches of shingle or sand, to the deeper faster flowing water found around prominent headlands.

Sessions

There are two sessions that standout from my diary entries when the Illex Nitro Sprat Shad has come to the fore. The first was during an early morning session late in the season when a lumpy sea was pumping into an exposed bay some 200m across. From my stance high up on the adjacent walls of rock I was able to cast the lure into the swirling water and let it make contact with the seabed 3mdown, before inching it along the sandy bottom and maintaining enough contact so to allow the waves and swell to manoeuvre the lure around for me. I remember the ‘tap, tap’ of a number bass ‘mouthing’ its meal or the solid BANG signalling the fish had completely engulfed it.

The added attraction of the vibrating paddle tail alongside their weedless and compact design make these types of lure a versatile and popular choice.

The second session occurred on another dull and chilly November day. Following a slippery scramble over a long promontory of rock I was greeted by a zone of aerated bubbling water surrounding its outer edge. The seabed beneath the 2m of beautifully green tinged water was shingle interspersed with the odd clump of exceedingly long strands of seaweed - elements that I needed to be careful to avoid. I lowered ‘Nitro Sprat’ literally under my feet and proceeded to feel for it ‘knocking’ on the sea floor... WALLOP -a bass of around 3lb had clearly been holding station as the tide had ebbed and fancied the little fish. Quite remarkably (considering how straight forward my approach had been) I followed this one with two of a similar size just slightly further out from my stance.

A late season bass tempted by ‘bouncing’ a paddle tail lure on the seabed in turbulent sea conditions.

Autumn Approach

Once those windy days, rougher seas and the lowering sea temperatures associated to autumn kick in bass will become increasingly reticent about chasing their prey throughout the water column and will be more likely to hit items fished close to or on the seabed itself - and when this begins to occur in earnest I fully intend to pull my previously ‘forgotten’ lure out of the box.

Browse the range of Nitro Sprat Shads here https://lurefishingforbass.co.uk/nitro-sprat-shad/

Marc Cowling is a successful bass lure fishing guide based in south Devon.