Stopped by Fisheries… Is Your Livebait Legal? Do Bigger Lures Catch Bigger Bass?

Do bigger lures catch bigger bass—or simply fewer fish? We compare two sizes of Ebbrox Renaissance V2 and Sidewinder Skerries Pro, with bass to 55cm and a fisheries patrol visit that raises an important livebait question.

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Choose your size, colour and hook configuration. We used STANDARD versions in this test. Check the saving at checkout.

QUESTION
How did smaller and larger versions of these two soft-plastic lures compare for bass numbers and fish over 42cm?

SPECIES: Sea bass

METHOD
A boat-fishing comparison of two sizes within each lure model. Both Ebbrox sizes used the same colour and standard hook configuration; both Sidewinder sizes used Super Pearl. Catch numbers and fish lengths were recorded.

LURES
Ebbrox Renaissance V2 small — 10cm / 16g, standard, Real D-eel.
Ebbrox Renaissance V2 large — 13cm / 26g, standard, Real D-eel.
Sidewinder Skerries Pro small — 5 inch / 22g, Super Pearl.
Sidewinder Skerries Pro medium — 6 inch / 35g, Super Pearl.

COLOURS: Ebbrox Renaissance V2 — Real D-eel; Sidewinder Skerries Pro — Super Pearl.

LURE SIZE: Renaissance V2 — 10cm and 13cm; Skerries Pro — 5 inch and 6 inch.

LURE WEIGHT: Renaissance V2 — 16g and 26g; Skerries Pro — 22g and 35g.

RESULTS
Ebbrox Renaissance V2 small: 14 bass
Ebbrox Renaissance V2 large: 6 bass
Sidewinder Skerries Pro small: 9 bass
Sidewinder Skerries Pro large: 3 bass
The small Renaissance V2 caught 2 bass over 42cm.
The large Renaissance V2 caught 4 bass over 42cm, with the largest measuring 55cm.
The small Skerries Pro caught 1 bass over 42cm.
The large Skerries Pro caught 2 bass over 42cm, with the largest measuring 54cm.
Not every fish appears in the finished footage, but all catches were recorded for the data.

LARGEST FISH: 55cm

CONCLUSION
In the listed catches, the smaller version of each lure caught more bass. The larger version of each caught more bass over 42cm, despite catching fewer fish overall. An interesting numbers-versus-size pattern from this session—watch the fishing and decide what you would tie on.
WIND: North-westerly, 4–9 knots.
TIDE: Flooding.
TIDE SIZE: Neap.
WATER CLARITY: Not perfectly clear; some evidence of an algal bloom.

CONDITIONS
Light winds and a flooding neap tide, with reduced water clarity and signs of an algal bloom.
RODS: HTO Nebula Light Gamer 1–7g; HTO Lure Game.
REELS: Shimano Stella 2500; Shimano Stradic 2500.
BRAID: Sufix braid, 18lb.

LIMITATIONS
One session, with lure length and weight changing together. These are catch counts, not catch rates adjusted for fishing time. They do not establish that one size will always catch more or larger bass. Colour was consistent within each model but differed between brands.

FISHERIES PATROL & LIVEBAITING
A fisheries patrol vessel came alongside, checked we knew the rules and sparked a very interesting conversation about retaining fish in a livewell for livebaiting.
Before keeping mackerel, scad (horse mackerel), pouting or pollack as livebait, check the rules for that species and your area. Where a minimum size applies, keeping an undersized fish alive does not make it legal to retain. Watch the video for the discussion.
Southern IFCA minimum-size guidance

ADD YOUR EXPERIENCE
Do smaller lures catch you more bass? Have bigger lures helped you find bigger fish? Tell us what actually happened: lure, size, colour, retrieve, general area, tide, water clarity, fishing time and result. Blank sessions count too.
Our website automatically imports public YouTube comments into its growing fishing archive. Your experiences help other anglers compare different conditions. Please leave out personal information and precise fishing marks.

DISCLOSURE
BassLureFish is an Ebbrox affiliate partner. Qualifying purchases through our links support the channel, and Ebbrox supplies some tackle free. Sidwinder supplies lures to us free for testing purposes. Our results report the catches recorded.
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