So whos fishing swim baits? (glides specifically)

Just sitting here drinking some shiners and checking out my new mid/high end swimbait.....and wondering why the hell I decided to go down this rabbit hole!!!

anyone else chucking these big [censored] baits? Post some catches....I need some motivation! Ive only fished a swimbait about 10 hours or so....but no 10 pounders, which is [censored]! For the money I spent on this piece of plastic I really expected the 10s to seek it out! LOL

Any tips for a glide bait beginner? who are your favorite builders? I know its a niche and i learn about new builders every day! lots of guys out there...but producing at smaller volumes.

Go read on Swimbait underground.

Ok. Ill hang out here though.

I'm a giant KGB fan. The Chad Shad is 7 inches and won't blow it, it's simply an amazing bait. The Legend Reborn is 9 inches and I fish it slower and the drawing power it has on fish will blow your mind. I've seen packs of a dozen fish follow the bait, I've seen fish shoot off the bottom in 15 feet of water to crush it on Livescope etc. They are awesome baits!

you must be spying on me!!! thats the bait i got in today! LOL

so far my mid/high end arsenal is a donut and this chad shad. and I love the donut.....but im always worried im gonna snap it off for how heavy it is. but man....that chad shad is right about the size and weight you wanna see when youre a newbie! im really impressed just "unboxing" aka ripping open the mailer and checking it out...and saw a swim video with them burning it, so that got me real fired up to try it!

a fish shooting off the bottom is what sold me on the glides! I was fishing a swaver 168 over rock piles/points and had a decent (4 or 5ish) fish come up and flash on it. I really lucked out cuz my water is mostly dirty as hell.....like 4 feet of clairity is clear water to me type of dirty. But water was clearer....and I swear at the angle the fish was at when it flashed on it, it looked like a straight 90 degree! Ive seen it in a tacticalbassin video....but I personally have never seen a bass do that for a bait. mightve happened plenty under water out of my sight...but thats the first time id seen a bass come from what seemed pretty deep, straight up and fast to (almost) hit a bait. Not a catch....but that got me willing to grind the swims...plus my lakes a grinder already!!! LOL might as well grind for a big 🤷‍♂️

my son throws s waver glide bait and he loves it... when fishing a tournament he will throw the S waver and I will do my thing.. It works out and he had caught some really big bass on it.

thats why i hate this damn rabbit hole Ive gone down to light my money on fire! the mid/higher end swimbaits are good and all.....but man, i swear ive read more s waver stories than anything! The higher end stuff works good and all....but it really does seem like the swavers are really on their own level as far as getting bit consistently! you know what....im at that point where im buzzed enough im fixing to hit the hay.....so im gonna go ahead and order a 200 swaver blank at TW since they are in stock and regret it tomorrow morning! Thanks TFF....you specifically coach! ill invoice you tomorrow when i wind down from running around without any shiners in me and got that sober mind

Do you guys buy direct?

i literally just got back on instagram about 2 weeks ago to try and get in on drops. so no is the answer but im trying.

not sure if youre asking cuz youre just getting into it too...but be prepared to pay a mark up...but if you find the good dudes/non flippers you can probaly get away with just paying a $10 or $20 bill over retail...which is very fair all things considered. some of these flipper/collector pricks just drive up these prices. glad im patient cuz ill wait out a good price

So where are you guys buying them and how long do you have to wait? I’m not on IG

I’m just getting into it.

ok so im just starting and the community is kinda tight lipped so some google searches wont get you the insights you need into the swimbait game. but generally speaking...expect to pay stupid prices. If you dont mind paying stupid prices you can likely get what you want and when you want from the flippers via a post on swimbait universe or swimbait nation on facebook. Im not on IG, but its my understanding thats where drop info is found and where places like Pizz announce their stuff (pizz is the most hyped, but the dude tries to get the out to regular folk...his groupies are just ferocious! LOL i kinda want one, no lie LOL).

so facebook groups for resales, IG for drop announcements from the builders at retail...or you can join swimbait underground where lots of buy/sell/trade goes on like it does on this forum too.

if you dont mind waiting (my understanding is shortcakes are 6 months, and donuts a little less) Legrady Lures...i think its legrady lures....well if you are willing to get on a waitlist you can do that for a Legrady shortcake and Legrady donut. I know there HAS to be more builders who do preorders/presales on builds, but right now legrady is the only one i know of. You should be able to find what im talking about if you google "legrady donut" or "legrady shortcake" the shortcake is the "small" version and the donut is the bigger version. the donuts 4+ oz....forgot the exact weight when i threw it on the scale, but it was 4+ oz for sure

God gawd that sound like a lot of BS.

tater hog used to build as you order. let the classic/zaldain hype die in a few months (if we're lucky LOL) and i bet he'll get back to order and build. hes a cool dude...but works if i remember correctly. Hes in some fb groups im in and basically told me he's not about all the hype type stuff and to just go to his site, order and he'd build it! that was a while ago and about his cranks.....but yea, good dude who seemed no nonsense. And if you see on his site that you can order, place your order and wait for his confirmation email. Hes a good dude so if you get in on that type of order it should be to you in the timeframe he tells you.

oh yea, it for sure is.

if you dont wanna deal with the BS. Go to facebook or the swimbait underground forum, state what you want and pay what they are asking for what you want. simple as that.

Otherwise, like wooden cranks (not sure if youre into that), its a game! Im used to it....i buy shallow catching concepts just so I can trade for jawjackers 🤷‍♂️

Dont wanna deal with it...just get ready to play double or triple for the luxury of a more click and buy type experience instead of having to pay attention to social media and maybe make swimbait friends. I dont feel like I over paid for my chad shad....sure, i paid over retail, but I was patient and met a good dude and got what i felt was a fair price 🤷‍♂️

Your alls favorite youtuber. In case you dont think its a lot of BS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uc...hingMillikenFishingOfficialArtistChannel

My head hurts. I’m going to go smoke a spliff and go to bed.

Considering you fish in an average of 4ft of visibility, take a look at the lipped swimbaits that create more of a commotion in the water.

Some reasonably priced options
Wake—MS slammer
Will run a little deeper— Mike Bucca 4x4

My son bought one off their website but they sent the wrong one.. The said keep the one and sent out the right one... Bone color is the one son likes best,, Heck I even had to couple because of the big fish he has caught... I had bought from tackle warehouse but you have to wait to it. My sure you tie it one good.. I slung off at Belton.. I threw it so far up the bank I could not find it.. Also you will get alot of followers that you can see but sometimes that will not hit that thing. It will break your heart because they are nice fish.

I hate throwing them but they catch fish.. Best is clear water...

I went down the rathole awhile back.....

This is what blows my mind, I would love to know how many of these are really sold.

$1147 for 1 Glide bait!! https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Manifold_Deniro_Yugo_Frame_550_Glide_Bait/descpage-MDGBS.html

Baitsanity, Savage Gear, River2Sea and G Ratt all make readily available/affordable glide baits that are extremely effective if you take the time to learn the bait category.

Hey its only 43 ounces too! Good luck trying to throw that on anything less than a XXX Heavy Musky rod.

Thats cool that you mentioned the lipped ones. I was actually gifted a bait from the dude who sold my donut. Its blocky, and not the prettiest...but the dude that gifted it to me said he was a legit builder just not the prettiest....and that the bait was a crankdown! So im guessing the bait is the swimbait version of something like a rapala countdown. definitely gonna test that out.....scared to lose it tho! I swear letting a $100 bill sink to the depth you think they are at hoping you dont snag isnt for me! LOL i guess ill get used to it



so far my collection is a sneaky pete, an swaver 168 arashi glide...and my donut, kgb and that crankdown. Im really only buying stuff I will 100% throw. Easy to buy a bag of zoom that you never use.....tough to spend swimbait money on something you wont fish! LOL im not into collecting fishing tackle

but yea you nailed it....learning the category! im really trying to figure out these glides...and the specific baits characteristics. I love my Gratt arash and swave.....but i swear that donut just had its own motion out there that I didnt see in any of my mass produced stuff. Wish it didnt...because once I saw that i really got interested in the pricier stuff!

hell yea!

Im guilty of flinging my sneaky pete off too...but lukily was fishing shallow points....and it released/snapped in just the right place on the cast to make it land about 1-2 foot off the shore! Scary stuff....but i was snap casting that thing like it was a balsa crank too! lesson learned...just glad it wasnt an expensive lesson and I did get my bait back.

As dumb as it sounds....the followers is one of the reasons i decided to jump into glides. Im cool with followers....cuz im not too proud to throw a senko at them, just like you do when you get followers on any other bait. So i do hope they tbone my glides....but im cool with followers, i was always under the impression that id be using glide baiting as a search tool from the vids i watched before jumping down this rabbit hole.

Glad to hear your alls success stories!!!

You think thats crazy...you should see the price people pay for working class zero citizens! im sure its a killer bait.....but its a soft plastic bait!!! dudes are paying crazy prices for those things.....HAPPILY!!! To me thats crazier since that soft plastic cant last years like glides can! But yea.....this really is a rich mans game...maybe not rich but there is money floating around and the swimbait world knows it. Its those types that mess it up for the guys that just wanna fish the baits like me. But...to each their own. Im not in the business of telling another man how to spend their hard earned money! LOL

Everyones favorite Googan JonB bought this and made a video....pretty ridiculous bait! LOL worth a watch if just for the LOLz

Well said. Agree 100%.

Here's one that won't break the bank, well not as bad as some of them, is not too hard to obtain and resale is normally within $20-$30 retail. 86 baits Doomrider. He also makes a wakebait and a billed crankdown version called the CFH (a Pantera reference) that are damn good baits.

Bockscar - most crankdown baits are floater or heavy float, not sinkers like the rapala you referenced. The medium divers run around 3'-4', and only a couple of bait makers even make a deep diver and those might get to 6'.

The only countdown, billed bait I have seen is the Hiroshima Billrilla. Now THAT is a sick little bait!

I’m kind of digging the glides over swim baits “especially in East TX” because I feel even in dirty water the fish can key in on em. That’s a lot of motion, just my 2 cents.

oh yea...thats a big boy bait! i know its only $50 but im trying to stay at $150 and under.....cuz that extra $50 seems a lot more expensive when you hang up a $200 bait! LOL Im cheap and all...but im always gonna throw my baits where I think theyll get bit....and thats in nasty stuff some times....so yea, that $50 definitely feels bad watching go up in flames! Beautiful bait...just saw an instagram post with a side by side of an actual shad....if it wasnt for the hooks you couldnt tell them apart!!!

I gotta check out how that thing fishes....havent even got it wet yet unfortunately

yea. im in dirty water too...and saw something id personally never seen before from a bass that really sold me on glides. Plus I hear its a tool for sure since you get followers from them. im really all in on glides. basically my only soft swimbait is the matt arrey lunkerhunt swims on owner flashy swimmers.....really focusing on the glide. Havent caught but a couple bass and a few catfish LOL but I do have confidence that if I keep grinding the glide Ill get a big one to commit. And my lake is a damn grinder....but it for sure holds at least some DDs....so im in for the grind!

Deps are proven baits and worth the money. I ordered from here: https://www.ichibantackle.com/
Good pricing and fast shipping even though it says it will take longer when you check out.

My favorites are made by Mike Bucca, a long-time guide on Altoona in Ga. You really have to wrap your mind around swimbaits. You also need a variety of styles and sizes. I look at it like crankbait fishing. There are just as many styles as crankbaits. You have hard baits and soft ones. I prefer the Bucca Bullshad 4x4, This is nothing more than The 7, 8 inch plastic baits made by SCOTTSBORO swimbaits square bill that is six inches long. They come thru a laydown like any other square bill. I also love soft baits, from the 4" Sunfish made by Little Creeper . I also like the 7" Scottsboro swimbaits. These baits can typically be fished deeper than most hard baits. I will warn you not to attempt to fish big swimbaits on Conventional Rods. You will need a swimbait rod. The Dobyns Rods company makes fine swimbait rods. Most swimbaiters prefer at least a 300 series reel. To learn about swimbaits I suggest you watch the videos on www.tacticalbassin.com. These guys honestly tell you the truth about lures and methods. They also have purchase guides that will keep you from buying lures that just don't work. If you are a beginner I also suppest you ease into it with some not so expensive lures. You want to see big bass caught on swimbaits join the swimbaiters in the groups on these Facebook Pages. Swimbait The South, Swimbait Universe, Swimbait Culture and Swimbait Nation. I only wish I was back in Texas where the lakes are full of Hawgs. You don't have tgo spend a fortune to get into swimbaits. Savage Gear and River2Sea make great lures that catch fish.

Sorry I didn't read the comment aboutGlides one of the most sought-after glides on the Market is the BULLSHAD 8" Glide./ To get a good idea about the swim of a glide check out "SWIMBAIT REVIEWS" on Youtube. Not all are created equal. These short video reviews will show you how one swims.

Places to buy swimbaits without a wait. Tackle Trap, Hooked up tackle. Bullshad, Hammonds Fishing, Tackle Warehouse, Carolina Fishing, There are too many to list if you don't want to wait for drops.

OP you can definitely spend a TON of money on swimbaits/glides once you go down that rabbit hole. I was in your shoes a couple years ago and went nuts buying stuff after watching countless Tactical Bassin videos and talking to a couple guys on here. I feel the same about higher end glides and it'll make you sick to see a $50 bait snap off during a cast, much less a $150 one lol. KGB Swimbaits have a cult like following and are damn near impossible to get unless you wanna drop some serious money. I bought a Chad Shad a couple weeks ago and sold it the next day in less than 15 mins. (sold it cuz it was smaller than I realized. Want a Legend Reborn).

Some glides that I really like are the Storm Arashi (favorite), Molix glide, S- Waver 168's, Bucca 4x4, Baitsanity Gen II Explorer, Sneaky Petes, Ganatarels and Baldy Baits. I never would've believed a bass would eat a trout colored glidebait but I broke my personal best twice within 2 months of throwing it here in East Tx in dirty watar. I caught an 8.99# on the Molix and a 9.17# on the Arashi.

A couple of soft swimbaits I really like are the 3:16 Rising Son 8" (favorite), Scottsboro 6 and 7" top hook version, Mattlures Hammertail Shad, and the Huddleston.

Don't forget about big topwaters either! Go buy yourself a Spro Rat and start throwing it. You'll get some massive blowups!

If you haven't done it, do yourself a favor and buy a couple of dedicated swimbait rods/reel combos. There's nothing worse than spending countless hours throwing these big baits and hooking a giant, only to have her throw the bait cuz you weren't using the right equipment. (Dobyn's Fury line makes a couple of awesome rods and Shimano reels like the Tranx 300, Curado K, and even the Cardiff version work great).

The hardest part of it all is making yourself throw these big baits all day and potentially not even getting a bite. But if your dead set on breaking your PB, this is the way to do it lol. Just leave all your other rods at the house and make yourself only throw your swimbait setups.

Corps2010...REALLY solid post.

Thank you sir. OP, I ran across a bait yesterday that looks SICK and should work awesome. Look up a Lanciotti Lures Psycho Gill. It's a big hybrid Wake/Squarebill that should get smashed! Hi Viz Crappie, Crappie, or Kryptonite would be killer

Those and UFO are the holy grail of wake baits these days, and very hard to come by without dropping a lot of cash.

the paint on this is crazy good ..... WOW

Many swimbaiters these days get their swimbaits repainted in their favorite patterns. If you'd be interested in seeing some of the best Shad, Bluegill and crappie patterns check this Facebook link out.

https://www.facebook.com/bblures.crankbaits/photos

I have some swaver 168s that I haven't caught anything on, has anyone run into an issue where they want to roll over when you try to twitch them aggressively?

swavers will blow out with aggressive twitches.
slow three turns of the handle, then a quick one is the the standard more stable retrieve.