There’s no shortage of skirted lures on the Australian market, but every now and then a genuinely new player arrives with something worth paying attention to. McLures is one of those brands. It has come in fast with an enormous range of skirted lures, teasers and rigging options aimed squarely at the evolving game fishing scene, and the first thing that strikes you when you dig through the line-up is the value for money. The prices aren’t inflated, the components aren’t flimsy, and the designs aren’t knock-offs – McLures has clearly taken the time to produce a comprehensive range with features anglers actually want.
One model that immediately caught my attention was the Baja Jet 8in. It’s technically a 9.5in lure overall, with the skirt measuring 8in, weighing in at 100gm. It sits in that sweet spot where you can run it confidently for both marlin and tuna, but it’s small enough that yellowfin and school SBT will happily climb all over it. I opted for the Purple Haze colour, and the choice wasn’t accidental. The combination of black and purple skirt with that single red stripe gives it a strong, deliberate silhouette – one that stands up against sunlight and cuts through prop wash. Black has always been a favourite for this reason; it’s visible in nearly every condition and has a knack of standing out when the water is messy or heavily aerated.
McLures has put effort into the visual and structural elements of the lure, and the Baja Jet shows it. The head is a hard resin with a clean finish – maybe not as hyper-refined as the ultra-premium lures that cost double, but importantly, its simplicity isn’t a disadvantage. The design is purpose-built: a bullet-style profile for stability at speed, four jet holes for an enhanced bubble trail, and the ‘keel-weighted’ internal balance to keep the lure tracking straight. The large red 3D eyes add a reflective point that flashes through the bubbles, and most of the colour range includes UV overskirts with McLures’ exclusive ‘Luminite’ underskirt that glows in the dark. The Purple Haze has that luminous under-skirt pop when the light is low or the lure drops into the troughs of swell.
For this test, I rigged the lure myself with a stiff 10/0 J-hook and 400lb leader – the same rigging I’d typically run for marlin. That was the plan, at least. The ocean doesn’t always care about the plan. I put it out wide expecting stripes or blues, but instead found myself running across packs of yellowfin. Given the colour, profile and surface disturbance the lure was making, I left it in position. The result was seven yellowfin between 30 and 50kg, all taken cleanly on the Baja Jet.
Performance-wise, the lure impressed me from the first moment it hit the wake. It swims straight – and I mean properly straight – even when the sea isn’t co-operating. The keel weighting keeps it from rolling, and the jets help it grab just enough water to maintain a rhythmic pop and smoke. At speeds above six knots the behaviour really wakes up. It rises, grabs, breathes, throws a pulse of air and settles into a tight swim with a clear bubble trail. I pushed it to eight knots and it continued tracking perfectly. It gave every indication it could have gone faster still, making it highly suitable for covering ground when you need to hunt.
One of the more telling parts of the test was how the lure handled both calm and rough water. Some jets hate sloppy conditions and skip, especially in short-period swell, but this one didn’t. The combination of the bullet head and the four-hole jet pattern lays down a consistent bubble footprint. When the water flattened, it kept its timing; when it stood up, the lure continued to load and unload cleanly. There’s no dead zone in its cycle where it becomes lazy or erratic.
Durability was another stand-out. After seven yellowfin, the head and skirt were still in excellent condition. The skirts remained intact, no splits, no tearing around the band, and the head showed only the lightest cosmetic wear. For a resin lure at this price point, that’s a big tick. Many budget-to-mid lures develop hairline cracks or lose skirt strands after a few fish. This one didn’t. The skirts themselves feel particularly good – supple enough for movement, tough enough to last, and well secured.
There’s also the simple fact that the lure catches fish – not just the species it’s marketed for, but everything that sees it as a vulnerable baitfish. McLures sells the Baja Jet as being ideal for barrel-class tuna, marlin and other high-speed pelagics, and that’s accurate. But what really matters is how it behaves in the water and how readily fish respond to it. Seven yellowfin in a single session is a strong indication that the action, colour and bubble trail all work as intended.
Overall, the McLures Baja Jet 8in in Purple Haze left a seriously good impression. It swims well, handles speed, holds together after punishment, and doesn’t demand the premium price tag you’d expect for a lure that performs like this. If McLures continues producing lures of this quality across its range, it will carve out a solid place in the Australian game fishing market very quickly.
