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Lure Review


A Bait With Two Personalities: The Megabass Crank/Jerk Flap Slap (continued)

 

Effectiveness: Well, the proof is in the catching. On the very first trip with this bait, we were out O'Neill Forebay in California targeting land locked striper. Action had been sporadic all day so I tied on a Flap Slap to change things up a bit. Zander saw me tie the bait on and made a comment that he had purchased some too but hadn't had any luck with them. Right after his comment I had what looked to be about a five pound largemouth follow the bait up. The bass made a swipe at the bait right at the boat, but I was so shocked and excited, I pulled the bait away before it could inhale it! It would be a full year before we managed any significant action with this bait.


One of our first Flap Slap bass


Enter the diving Flap Slap. The original version of this bait is primarily a shallow running bait diving no more than 3 or 4 feet at the most. I'd managed a fish here and there with the shallow version but nothing consistent and was really longing for a way to get it down deeper to better tempt the bass with the bait's broad sided flashes. That was going to be my primary criticism for this bait until, that is, Megabass decided to debut the deep diving version! Naturally, I had to try them out before going to work on this review.


A look at the diving Flap Slap in PM Ayu
 

Scarred by a day of fish catching success


Finally, the diving Flap Slap, delivered for me, where the shallow running version fell short and in fact, on one fateful trip to Clear Lake, California in particular, it really shined and outshined some of the other jerkbaits we were using. I should point out, however, Zander still isn't sold and JIP chooses to remain neutral.

 

The devil is in the details

 

Zander's Take: I had high hopes for the Flat Slap, as it bears so many of the great features that I love about Megabass lures. Perhaps the Megabass Vision 110 had me spoiled, but the Flat Slap was a letdown. The lure casts well, and even looks good in the water when retrieved exhibiting a unique side to side action or twitching retrieve. Unfortunately trip after trip the lure zeroed for me, even as other hardbaits performed. When Cal finally landed the first fish during a test I was taken aback, had he stumbled upon the right retrieve? Indeed he was onto something. With a twitch retrieve the lure began to produce. The Megabass Flat Slap began to redeem itself for Cal but for me it was just another jerkbait, one that didn't have the flexibility or productivity of other jerbaits we have tested from Megabass's own lineup or competitor offerings. The Megabass Flat Slap can catch fish (Cal proved that), but compared to previously tested Megabass lures this one still leaves something to be desired.


Ratings:

Megabass Flap Slap Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Another solidly crafted bait from Megabass 9
Performance Best fished as a jerkbait ("I would have rated this section a 5" - Zander) 7
Price Average for Megabass, high by comparison to everyone else 7.5
Features Katsuage Hooks (Original Only) and the Shaft Balancer are the primary difference makers 8
Design An intriguing profile and shape to say the least 8.5
Application When you want something different and wildly erratic, the Flap Slap might be it. ("or maybe not, there are many other lures out there even from Megabass's own lineup that perform better. For now I'll stick to my DeepX and Visions. i would have rated this section a 6" - Zander) 8

Total Score

8.00 (7.33 - Zander)

  
Pluses and Minuses:

                 Plus                                    Minus

J Easy to cast despite its broad profile L Expensive
J A shape and size that says "food" to big fish L May take a while to find its niche in your arsenal

    

Even this football shaped bass could not persuade Zander to give the Flap Slap another chance, but seeing as how, on this day, I caught four more just like it in the span of an hour, I am definitely sold.

 

Conclusion: Like a championship contender pulling out all the stops in the closing rounds to win the fight, the Flap Slap finally delivered. Zander had already given up on the bait and since it had been just about a full year from the beginning of our journey with the Flap Slap, I was on the brink. Then one successful trip followed by another showing the importance of using a bait in the right place at the right time. While it may not be one of those magical baits that works when others do not, it is an effective bait nonetheless, if the bass are in the right mood. My recommendation is to start with the diving version and work backwards to the shallow. Experiment with it as a crankbait, but know that the strengths of this bait lie in its use as a jerkbait.

 

                                     

 

   

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