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Every day’s a Bassday, and a bream day, and a trout day, and…
  |  First Published: July 2007



Frogleys Offshore has begun importing a new and exciting range of lures from the Japanese Bassday company. Presently they comprise a select range to target bream and bass, but these lures definitely cross over to flathead and trout.

The Sugar Deep minnow comes in floating 35mm and 50mm sizes that have a tight action. It is ideal in a variety of situations and can be worked very slowly without losing its action. The 35mm dives to around 1.5m and the 50mm around 2.5m.

The floating and sinking versions of Sugar Minnow slimline crankbaits are suited to bream and trout. The floating model is an excellent lure that dives to around 50cm on a long cast. The sinking minnow is only slightly heavier and sinks incredibly slowly. When paused on a retrieve it sinks slowly backwards. These versatile lures are available in 40mm and 50mm sizes in a variety of attractive colours.

Also in the Sugar range is the Lipless 50mm stickbait that weigh s 4.3g. This sinking lure will catch many flathead and come into its own when impoundment fishing for bass.

At first I was hesitant about the Crystal Popper because it is a sinking popper but when bream and bass are up and feeding, it creates exciting fishing. When you get followers that aren’t keen enough to grab the presentation, it sinks backwards right into their faces. Coming in 55m and 30mm, they’ll be deadly lures during the warmer months.

A variety of heavy-duty surface lures look very appealing for bass fishing but will definitely cross over to many species. The Bustle is a 45mm popper with a fizzer blade on the back.The Wanderlei is a 60mm popper that can walk the dog, pop and even dive when slow rolled.

The 50mm and 40mm Feather Cranks are surface to sub-surface lures that put out an impressive bow wave while the Hone Crank is a diver that has an impressive skeleton pattern inside the lure. Then there is the angry-looking Bubble Crank, a surface lure with a flat bib with holes in it and a rear fizzer blade to create maximum bubbles and draw attention of fish from a long distance.

The Kangoku range presents a variety of styles that will have any angler champing at the bit to get some. The baby is the Kangoku Crank 27, a 27mm, 3g sinking lure that has an action you have to see. Like the sinking Sugar Minnows, it falls relatively slowly and has many applications in shallow and deep water and will be dynamite on bream and trout.

Likely to be the biggest hit will be the Kangoku Shad 45mm suspending minnow. This lure has a great action and can be worked at a very slow speed and, when paused, stays in the strike zone for an amazing length of time before it very slowly rises.

Coming in some very nice finishes, these lures will certainly grace many tackle boxes. They have already proven excellent on bream, flathead and trout but will certainly be effective on many different species.

Small lipless crankbaits having been growing in popularity and Bassday has the Range Vib in 40mm and 55mm sizes. Both lures have their use with bass and bream and will prove highly efficient when lake fishing for trout.

The only downfall of these lures is their fish-attracting potential and the way that big fish like them so much they don’t give them back. Some big fish can also make short work of the trebles, which in some models are freshwater-grade hooks that need replacing after a few dips in saltwater. But for impressive lures with lots of potential, this is a small inconvenience.

These lures aren’t cheap but when you see them you’ll see why. The attention to detail and finish is truly artistic.

The 30mm Crystal Popper is the cheapest of the range with a recommended retail price of $18, while the Bubble Crank and Wanderlei should retail around $29.50. With all the other lures within this price range, they are certainly aimed at the enthusiast but for any keen fisho they are well worth checking out.

Check out your local tackle shop, visit www.frogleysoffshore.com.au or call 02 6681 3988 for your nearest Bassday stockist.

– David Poulton

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