So your looking for a finesse bait that the bass haven’t seen before that gives you the ability to be rigged several ways without sacrificing the action?
Then here is one that you’ve got to try if you haven’t, the Missile Baits Fuse 4.4.
Okay, so you want a bait that will go from a shakey-head to a drop-shot to a neko rig then turn around on a wacky-head or a Carolina rig or even just a straight Texas rig?
At the risk of being redundant, the Fuse 4.4 may be just what you’re looking for.
Construction of the bait
Like all soft plastic Missile Baits, the Fuse is constructed with a thicker bit of plastic in the caboose for easy rigging with multiple techniques, a simple but elegant design that has been thoroughly tested prior to it going on the market, an action that has its own characteristics as well as color options that aren’t taken from anywhere but rather are their own.
The Fuse 4.4 is slim in profile which makes it an excellent choice for sight fishing in clear water situations. You can put this little bait right where you want it with a soft touch and allow the small claws to do their thing which is flail around with every twitch of your rod tip or any change in underwater current.
The good thing about this is that there isn’t much here which means there isn’t much to spook a wary bass. This is one of the critical components of this bait.
We have followed other anglers who are throwing some kind of worm or finesse jig with no luck and picked up fish literally right behind them.
The 4.4 has no immediate, inherent negative cues to a bass. This greatly reduces the flight reflex and allows the fight to be foremost in the fishes mind.
Our first choice for rigging the Fuse 4.4
Our first choice for the Fuse in terms of rigging is the Missile Baits Warlock Head. We’ve reviewed just it and found that it really works very well with any of the company’s other products. All you have to do is select the proper size for the job at hand and your off to the races.
In this case, our first choice for clear water situations is the 1/8 size with the Green Pumpkin head. The rate of fall is slower with this weight but still allows it to be used with casting gear on fairly light line.
On a drop-shot rig, the small claws on the Fuse have just as much action. Rigged properly, this horizontal presentation can be just what the doctor ordered when targeting suspended fish. Because the tail section has a slightly thicker, denser plastic, you usually will get more than one fish per bait unlike some other soft plastics.
Another technique that makes good use of the more robust butt section is a neko rig. We’ve been most successful with this when we use a tungsten nail weight in the rear end and a wacky style hook in the middle section.
The Fuse 4.4 will sink tail first which makes the bait stand straight up on the bottom. This allows the claws to shake and vibrate with the subtlest twitches the angler can make.
While we have tried Carolina rigging this bait, it isn’t our first choice. There are other lures out there that we think lend themselves better to the old ball and chain. However, we have caught some fish this way.
Another rigging option that works well is to Texas rig the Fuse with a simple worm hook. Peg a tungsten sinker to this in a relatively light weight. You’ll be surprised how easily this rig will slip through sparse stick-ups and snake it way between lily pad stalks. We’ve caught quite a few bass using the Fuse this way.
In the end
Like all Missile Baits offerings, the Fuse 4.4 is reasonable priced at about $4 for a bag of an even dozen. That equates to about 33 cents per bait. That’s about as inexpensive as you’ll find a good quality lure.
This is one of those baits that may not be first on your list to throw when you’re on the water. It wasn’t for us either. However, it was one of those days where nothing was producing much that we decided to see what it could do.
Since that day, we have used it so many times with success that it has become a first stringer in our tackle box, never out of sight nor mind.
The Missile Baits Fuse 4.4 a durable, simple, inexpensive but very effective little lure. If finesse is your game, give it a shot. We think you’ll find, as we have, a bait that will find a permanent home in your arsenal.
| Missile Baits Fuse 4.4 | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| A versatile, durable finesse bait | |
See ya’ on the water …
