Bassday Sugapen 95F

The Bassday Sugapen 95F is an iconic, surface-walking pencil/popper hybrid that has achieved legendary status among topwater anglers. Specially engineered in Japan, this surface plug blends the sleek, aerodynamic profile of a pencil bait with a uniquely designed cupped under-lip.

At 95mm and 8.5g, it perfectly replicates a panicked, skipping sandeel, sprat, or prawn fleeing for its life right in the surface film. It is highly regarded as one of the finest surface-game lures ever built for targeting selective, clear-water predators that refuse standard, bulkier topwater plugs.

Detailed Specifications

• Length: 95mm

• Weight: 8.5g

• Type: Floating (Topwater)

• Action: Surface Walk-the-Dog splash, spitting, and skipping action.

• Hooks: Fitted with two ultra-sharp, saltwater-grade MZ-19 treble hooks for maximum penetration on slashing hits.

• Internal Weight System: Fixed rear-weighted system designed to optimize casting stability and maintain a perfect tail-down resting posture.

Key Features & Design Performance

• The Hybrid Cupped Lip: Unlike traditional flat-nosed stickbaits that simply slide side-to-side, the Sugapen features a subtle, concave cup built into its under-lip. When walked, this lip catches the surface water, throwing up a realistic spray, spit, and bubble trail that perfectly mimics a showering baitfish or prawn.

• Effortless Walking Dynamics: The Sugapen 95F responds beautifully to rhythmic rod twitches. It can be worked with a tight, fast walk-the-dog splash or zipped rapidly across the surface to skip and bound like an endangered sandeel.

• Tail-Down Resting Posture: On the pause, the fixed rear weights cause the Sugapen to sit at a steep angle with its cupped head poking proudly out of the surface film. This positioning ensures that when a trailing predator hits the paused lure, the hooks are already optimally positioned below the surface film for a secure hookset.

• Aerodynamic Balance: Despite its lightweight 8.5g mass, the slim, streamlined profile and rear-biased weighting ensure it flies straight and true, slicing cleanly through light coastal headwinds to maximize casting distance from the shore.

Where & How to Use It

• Estuaries & Shallow Sand Flats: The absolute premier arena for this lure. It is devastatingly effective when cast over shallow mudflats, sandbanks, and weed beds where predators trap and hunt baitfish in under two feet of water.

• Calm Coastal Bays & Rock Marks: An exceptional tool for glassy, clear-water days on the coast. When loud, heavy poppers would easily spook wary fish, the refined, spitting splash of the Sugapen draws them in from deep water.

• Freshwater Surface Game: A phenomenal crossover option for freshwater surface fishing, proving lethal for big river chub, trout, and specimen lake perch hunting fry schools in the margins.

• Target Species: Specimen sea bass, sea trout, bluefish, and pelagic species like mackerel; freshwater perch and chub.

Pro Tip

The Panic Skip Retrieve: When fishing over shallow sand flats or when you see active surface feeding, try the Panic Skip instead of a standard walk. Hold your rod tip high and reel at a medium-to-fast pace while giving the rod tip continuous, rapid micro-twitches. This causes the Sugapen 95F to skip, skate, and skitter erratically across the surface film without diving. It looks exactly like an escaping sandeel or prawn, triggering violent, instinctive reaction strikes from chasing bass.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the 95F compare to the smaller 70F model?

The 95F provides a significantly larger visual silhouette and a louder surface presence, making it much better suited for open coastal shorelines, choppier surf conditions, and targeting larger apex predators. It also casts substantially further than the smaller finesse variants.

How does it behave in choppy water?

Because it is a slim, lightweight surface plug, the Sugapen 95F performs at its absolute best in calm, glassy, or lightly rippled surface conditions. In a heavy, rolling surf or strong chop, it can occasionally get bounced out of its walking rhythm; when the water gets rough, slowing down your retrieve and utilizing longer, sweeps of the rod will help keep the lip grabbing water.

What line setup is recommended for this lure?

To maximize the crisp walking and spitting action of the Sugapen 95F, it should be fished on a light braided main line (PE 0.6 to PE 1.0) paired with a monofilament leader (typically 10lb to 14lb test). Monofilament is buoyant and helps keep the nose of the lure floating high; avoiding heavy fluorocarbon leaders is crucial, as fluorocarbon sinks and will pull the cupped lip under, dampening the surface action.