MegaBass Vision 110 Broken Bill fix

[earthworm77]

The Megabass Ito Vision 110 broken bill fix
by C. DeFronzo

I'm not reinventing the wheel here, but for anyone who didn't think a broken 110 could be fixed, it absolutely can be.

Let's get past the notion that a hard bait that costs 24.00 a pop should not have the all too common problem of its bill breaking off.........under any circumstances. I know it happens a lot and I know that guys are furious because it happens. I have fished the 110 but never had this issue. I became interested in a fix because I acquired a broken bill Vision 110 as an "extra" in an Ebay deal in which the seller took an unusually long time to deliver and he threw in a couple of them to keep me happy. I felt I could fix it and it would help someone down the road who didn't want to throw out such an expensive bait. I used my time machine to take on two baits at the same for this writing. I wanted to be sure I could do it more than once.

The patients:



Upon receiving the broken (blue)bait I figured I'd try to experiment a little. Seeing that gap of missing plastic, I decided to epoxy the whole area to give me a little "meat" to work with. I re-sculpted the area as close to what I felt "normal" would be and set the bait aside for a few days. When I picked it up again, I did a little sanding to even things out. Then I picked up the dremel and carefully made as straight and level a cut as possible. Had I decided to simply lay the bill in the hole left by the "incident", I certainly would have had to put a lot of effort into getting it straight. I think rebuilding and then cutting the slot was the best way to do it. As long as the cut is straight and level, it should be GTG.

Cutting and angling the slot for the bill


Sanding and smoothing in prep for cutting a slot for a circuit board bill


In making the slot for the bill it has to be angled correctly and straight....as it applies to being perpendicular to the fixed line tie. It seems easy enough but I am sure this is where many would be repairs go awry and dreams and egos are broken. It looks to be very easy to botch this. I might have gotten a little lucky and it worked for me the first time out.(2 times actually)

The slot cut straight and the circuit board replacement bill prior to trimming



Once the bait has been excavated, I found a solid circuit board bill that I trimmed into a square bill for this bait. I wasn't sure if I would keep it as a square bill for this particular bait or if I would trim it further at the reconstruction to get it as close to the original bill. I have since decided to keep the square bill but I took off the sharp edges on the corners.

This is the trimmed circuit board bill, notice the top bait with the split belly. It is a 110 that apparently has heat damage.
It imploded, shrunk approximately 10mm and the belly split. I don't think I can fix that one. Upon shrinking, if the bait curved even slightly, it might not run straight.


Once you determine the slot is correct and the replacement bill is suitable, epoxy it with Devcon 2. Again, I'm never in a rush to get these baits wet, I let them sit and set for a couple of days.

This is the finished product:




I hope this helps someone in preventing them from jumping off a ledge due to a broken Vision 110.

[Munkin]

You could start a business fixing these as often as they break.

Allen

[Real Pudd legend]

That’s awesome ! I’ll send you all of mine to do !!

[basscat28]

I've repaired around 30,a few of my own doing but almost all were purchased off of one guy for a buck a piece. I have a guys contact (if hes still alive) that did the best and megabass referred me to him. He uses smithwick lips so you got $5 invested in another bait to junk. I've had great results using these lips off LPO though: http://www.lurepartsonline.com/Onlin...Lure-Lips.html