Megabass Asylum Tackle Box page2

Total Score: 7.83 + ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD!

Introduction: Mention the name "Megabass" to a tackle enthusiast at any level and visions of one-tens, ninety-fives, and other premium baits come to mind. Megabass is arguably even more famous for their exquisitely crafted, supremely detailed, high performance rods. Imagine our curiosity then, upon hearing the news that this Japanese tackle giant had plans to offer a product to store and organize your tackle. Imagine our chagrin upon learning of this product's price tag! Even TackleTour's "Enthusiast Tackle Editor" has his limits. Unfortunately, sanity, or in this case insanity, knows no bounds. Introducing Megabass's Institute for tackle management, the Asylum.

Available in nine different anodized colors, the Asylum also has three different cover options: clear plastic canopy; UV plastic canopy; ventilated aluminum hood. We chose the UV plastic option so that we could easily view our baits yet still have them protected to some degree, with the UV plastic. Each of the different covers carries with it an approximate different price tag of plus or minus twenty-dollars. Aside from the plug compartment in the very front of the box, the Asylum also has a slide out side compartment for blade baits and a lower compartment for miscellaneous storage. We were quite anxious to load it up and take it out on the water!

Real World Tests: Just one look at the Asylum and you can already tell this box is not meant to be carried around as you move from spot to spot on the shore of your favorite fishing waters. Perhaps designed more for at home display than actual fishing, I loaded up the Asylum with a variety of hard baits and put it in my boat to see how it would hold up for a summer's worth of gear testing and fishing.

As big and bulky as the Asylum may seem, once on the boat, I came to realize it is actually quite a comfortable size. What's more is that it is very stable. It can be left on your front deck or tucked away and out of trouble between your two forward consoles. While I'd still prefer some type of mounting bracket to ensure the unit's stability, on blast off tests, the Asylum sat firm and immobile on the front deck.

The Asylum fit comfortably within this nook on our Skeeter SX180

Plug Storage: The Asylum can accommodate up to 45 plugs of varying sizes within it's plastic matrix. At first glance, it appears 45 would be only half the capacity of this matrix until you come to realize that it is designed in such a manner as to have the baits' treble hooks dangling in the compartment underneath each primary row and out of the way. Having your stored plugs in safe keeping, untangled and ready to go is what the Asylum does better than any other management system I've used, the trouble is, only plugs of a certain length and width will fit.

The maximum length on a bait the Asylum can accommodate is right around four and three-quarter inches but more limiting than the length dimension is the size of the cubby holes that hold your plugs. These are best suited for long, narrow type baits and cannot accommodate those with any significant girth. Big bodied plugs such as the Lucky Craft BDS series, Specialty Tackle Big Bite, and Norman DD22's need not apply for room in the Asylum. Megabass's own Cyclone crankbaits barely fit and only if turned at an angle.