Small but Mighty, the Deadly Megabass Dark Sleeper
Introduction: Few brands within the fishing industry enjoy a cult following quite like Megabass. Just having the Megabass name on a product is enough to drive some anglers to procure each and every new bait the company introduces for their collection. With lures like the Vision 110 leading charge there are plenty of reasons to take a serious look at any bait that the company introduces. The Dark Sleeper was launched two seasons ago, and is designed to arm anglers with a hybrid swimbait option for targeting deeper holding fish.
I am glad I am not the only one who looses them to underwater wood, I can't figure out why they seem to snag so often.
I really like the 1/2oz ones for fishing weedy and muck-bottomed ponds, they seem to pick up very little debris when fished on the bottom and they come through weeds very well. I do wish they were like a buck cheaper and in stock more often, I can't find them locally and have never found them in stock in any useful quantity when I am making a big online purchase.
BigG wrote:Nice review. have looked at these baits for over a year, guess it's time to pull the trigger.
Thanks BigG, yeah definitely worth having a few of these in the arsenal. When I first saw them I thought they were "cute," but they are mean fishing baits. Oddly enough that Pink is one of my top producers in some lakes haha.
Houndfish wrote:I am glad I am not the only one who looses them to underwater wood, I can't figure out why they seem to snag so often.
I really like the 1/2oz ones for fishing weedy and muck-bottomed ponds, they seem to pick up very little debris when fished on the bottom and they come through weeds very well. I do wish they were like a buck cheaper and in stock more often, I can't find them locally and have never found them in stock in any useful quantity when I am making a big online purchase.
Yeah it is interesting how wood seems to get these guys more than anything else. Sometimes if there is literally one stick-up I'll still manage to find it. Also hear you about stock. These baits are definitely no secret and some of the colors sell out pretty fast once etailers/retailers get them. The good news is they hold up pretty well and can be fished all year long... as long as you don't lose it to submerged timber
Curious. Question for everyone that fishes the Dark Sleeper. Do you get more fish when fishing the bait more like a jig (as I mostly do), or via straight retrieves, like a swimbait (as Wolbugger does in Florida)?
Zander wrote:
Yeah it is interesting how wood seems to get these guys more than anything else. Sometimes if there is literally one stick-up I'll still manage to find it. Also hear you about stock. These baits are definitely no secret and some of the colors sell out pretty fast once etailers/retailers get them. The good news is they hold up pretty well and can be fished all year long... as long as you don't lose it to submerged timber
It is a wood-magnet for sure. It's a funny way pricing and psychology work together. If they were $5 per I would buy them 10 at a time and not think about it too much. But $6 per is like some insurmountable thing where I hem and haw about it until they are out of stock.
Zander wrote:Curious. Question for everyone that fishes the Dark Sleeper. Do you get more fish when fishing the bait more like a jig (as I mostly do), or via straight retrieves, like a swimbait (as Wolbugger does in Florida)?
For me the fish always seem to hit on a steady retrieve bouncing across the bottom. I feel like I snag them too often if I hop and drag them like a normal jig.
Zander wrote:Curious. Question for everyone that fishes the Dark Sleeper. Do you get more fish when fishing the bait more like a jig (as I mostly do), or via straight retrieves, like a swimbait (as Wolbugger does in Florida)?
I was only able to fish this bait once or twice before ice over this past year. I was only swimming it, and didn't have any takers...was more of a 'let's see this how thing looks in the water so I have an idea over our long winter' thing.
I have a great feeling foraging this thing on the bottom of my home lake is going to produce.
Houndfish wrote:I am glad I am not the only one who looses them to underwater wood, I can't figure out why they seem to snag so often.
I've had zero trouble with it in and through wood though I've fished the lightest/smallest version of it for the past year for River smallmouth. It careens off a mix of VW Bug sized boulders littered with giant oaks beautifully without digging/wedging into it and my waters eat jigs/lead. That darn Zander beat me to it on the review. I adore it for fishing sub 50 degree water temps for consolidated wintering smallies dead sticked as current adds the rest and my rivers typically have 12+ feet of visibility. I've lipped plenty of pig smallmouth on it down to liquid ice temps where they stack. Well done on the review sir.
Houndfish wrote:I am glad I am not the only one who looses them to underwater wood, I can't figure out why they seem to snag so often.
I've had zero trouble with it in and through wood though I've fished the lightest/smallest version of it for the past year for River smallmouth. It careens off a mix of VW Bug sized boulders littered with giant oaks beautifully without digging/wedging into it and my waters eat jigs/lead. That darn Zander beat me to it on the review. I adore it for fishing sub 50 degree water temps for consolidated wintering smallies dead sticked as current adds the rest and my rivers typically have 12+ feet of visibility. I've lipped plenty of pig smallmouth on it down to liquid ice temps where they stack. Well done on the review sir.
Thanks Travis, appreciate the kind words. Great to hear you are able to navigate snaggy structure with the bait. I definitely seem to have better luck doing this with the smaller lighter baits, and it is awesome off rock. I probably just need to spend more practice with the bait through submerged timber, but definitely feel that it snags up less than conventional jigs, so already a big plus. Also thanks for the note on the smallies in cold water. Really liking how effective this bait is in such a wide range of conditions.
I wonder if the weight of the lure is what’s causing the different experiences in terms of snagging? I have only used the 1/2 and 3/4 ones, maybe the heavier weight lets the plastic weed guard collapse when the lure bumps through wood in a way that the lighter weights do not?
As it looks like the heavier ones are going to be out of stock for a while, I am going to order some of the lighter ones and see how they do.
Last edited by Houndfish on Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
