Subscription boxes are nothing new, but MONSTERBASS has taken a revolutionary approach.
We've all seen the ads and commercials for hunting and fishing subscription services. You pay a monthly fee, and in return they send you what's usually a fairly broad variety of products for you to try out.
The concept has been exciting since its introduction, as no outdoorsman is too old to get giddy when a box full of surprises shows up at their front door.
However, there was one flaw in the subscription box model, and MONSTERBASS saw the opening.
When it comes to fishing subscription boxes, you're mostly looking at an assortment of baits and lures, with perhaps the occasional addition of line or hooks. But, anglers up in Minnesota are going to use completely different baits than the guys down in Alabama.
To make each package more unique to the subscriber, the folks at MONSTERBASS ask for more specific details, such as where you fish and what you like to fish for, and then send you the best baits for your conditions.
They also take into account things like your skill level, your preference of fishing from a boat or from the bank, and the type of baits you typically prefer to throw so that your box will include only baits that you'd actually use.
I was fortunate enough to receive a trial run of the Regional Pro Series, which costs $35.99 per month, so I can tell you exactly what you can expect from one of these boxes.
What's Inside
Right off the bat, it's worth noting it didn't actually show up in a box. It arrived in a soft shipping package with some branding out the outside, and inside is a clear plastic bag full of your baits, which doubles as a reusable bait bag; you typically see these priced around $10, so consider the bag an added bonus!
As a Texas resident with perhaps a slightly above-average level of bass fishing experience, I immediately saw baits I could use on local waters, but it wasn't until I opened up that I realized just how much they packed into such a small bag.
Wide Open Spaces readers can get their first MONSTERBASS box for as little as $10 when they use discount code WS15 at monsterbass.com.
Above is a photo of everything that was inside, and as you can see, there were several non-bait items. First, I received an info-packed brochure that explains all the benefits of a MONSTERBASS membership, which includes a joinable VIP list that offers unpublished discounts and free entry instructions for the competition they call the Big Bass Championship.
You also get a Golden Ticket for a chance to win one of their giveaways, a complimentary $10 gift card and a MONSTERBASS sticker.
As for the baits, here's what was included in my Texas-specific box:
- Thunder Hawk Buzz Toad - 1/4 oz.
- Fat Bastard Golden Child
- Z-Man Leap Frogz 2.25-Inch Hollow Body Frog
- Vicious Fishing V Pop 80 - 3/4 oz.
- MONSTERBASS Patriot 3.0 - 1/2 oz.
- Gene Larew Target Toad 5-Pack - Bone White Silver
- Strike King Super Toad 5-Pack - Black
- Mustad 3/0 Ultralock Soft Plastics Hook 4-Pack
The irony in this assortment of baits is how timely it is for me, personally. As someone who grew up fishing in Virginia, particularly in rivers, it was somewhat difficult to adjust to Texas lake fishing at first, especially gear-wise.
Even though I've been down here for five and a half years, I still find myself falling back into old habits that worked 1,300 miles away. I've had some decent success fishing soft plastics and topwater down here, but have yet to land anything that would flirt with personal-best quality.
The most common advice I hear is to try fishing frogs, and yet I haven't really known where to start. I'd argue this is precisely what makes MONSTERBASS such an effective way to stock up on baits, as I now have a great assortment of frogs that I can try out in the coming weeks.
According to the MONSTERBASS website (where you can learn more and subscribe to get your own gear), this $35.99 box has an approximate value of $48. Those savings will obviously vary some from box to box, but if you really sink your teeth into everything this subscription service has to offer, there's far more value in each box.
Overall the MONSTERBASS subscription box left me more than satisfied, and I've already caught a few fish using the new baits. I'd highly recommend any angler in America checking out the subscription service for themselves, especially now that they can zero in on gear they know they'll use in the area they fish most frequently.
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