Are you considering utilizing glide baits to capture big bass? If you answered yes, you are on the correct route. Glide baits are a relatively recent addition to the armoury of bass fishing lures, but in the past ten years, they have captured more trophy-size bass than any other lure. However, because glide baits are among the largest bass fishing lures, they are more difficult to fish than other lures and need the proper equipment and technique to consistently produce fish.
This article will detail the introduction to glide bait fishing for beginners, the fundamentals of glide bait fishing, address some of the most often asked questions and offer our best advice on utilizing glide baits to capture large bass.
What Is A Glide Bait?
During retrieval, a glide bait is a hard-bodied swimbait with a single center joint that glides from side to side in a broad S-shaped arc. When a glide bait is moved through the water, its body bends at the joint, forcing it to slide sideways, creating an S-motion.
How Does A Glide Bait Work?
By altering the retrieval cadence of their fishing reel, many anglers like to enhance the S-shaped gliding movement of a glide bait. Hesitating the rotation of the reel handle for a fraction of a second at every turn or half turn is a fantastic technique to achieve this.
This little gap in lure retrieval allows the glide bait to slack somewhat after each glide, slipping farther to one side before gliding back to the other. The broad S-curves that develop tend to attract bass like a magnet.
What Is The Difference Between Glide Bait And Swimbait?
The fundamental difference between a glide bait and a swimbait is that a glide bait has a single joint and glides from side to side during retrieval. In contrast, swimbaits are either unjointed or multi-jointed and wiggle or vibrate more quickly.
On the other hand, a glide bait has a different retrieval action than a swimbait. During retrieval, a glide bait glides from side to side in an S-shaped line, whereas a swimbait transfers in a straight line with a wiggling movement.
While the difference in motion between glide baits and swimbaits may appear minor at first glance, it can significantly impact the ability to attract fish and induce bites.
Glide Bait Fishing For Beginners
Glide baits regularly yield the largest fish compared to other lures, yet they capture fewer fish overall. To take it another way, if you just want to catch the largest fish in your lake, you should utilize glide baits.
Glide baits are substantially larger than most other lure varieties. Thus this makes sense (except for large swimbaits). However, enticing larger fish can reduce the number of bites from smaller fish, which are more abundant in most lakes. Some bass pros prefer to switch to glide baits after a competition day when they’ve already caught their limit of keeper fish but still have a chance to take first place by capturing a trophy-sized fish using glide bait fishing.
What Is The Best Glide Bait Fishing For Beginners?
Many bass fishermen feel the Deps 250 Slide Swimmer is the best glide bait. It was the first glide bait lure on the market when it debuted in late 2011, and Deps has continued to enhance it since then. Butch Brown, a legendary bass angler, began utilizing the Deps 250 early on and has since caught over 1500 prize bass weighing over 10 pounds with glide baits. One of the best features of the Deps 250 is that its weight can be readily adjusted to make it sink quicker or slower. You may also fine-tune its balance to ensure it performs flawlessly in the water.
Finally, the Deps 250 includes a spring that vibrates within the lure’s body, which aids in attracting fish in murky water. Plenty of alternative glide baits aren’t as expensive as the Deps 250 and still catch a lot of fish. Some of the more economical glide baits are made by Savage Gear and Bassdash. So, especially if you’re a newbie, it’s usually best to begin your glide bait fishing adventure with less expensive glide baits and upgrade once you’ve completely committed to fishing.
What Is The Best Color Glide Bait?
The best colour glide baits in clear water are natural colors that match the forage species that bass (or other predators) are feasting on. In certain lakes, these might be shiners, bluegill, or hatchery trout in lakes where trout are frequently stocked.
If you’re fishing in stained water, brighter colored glide baits are frequently preferable, and the bone colour is one of the best-performing glide bait colors in murky water.
When To Throw Glide Baits?
Glide baits are most effective in the spring and fall. They can capture bass at all stages of the spawn in the spring, and they frequently produce trophy-size females full of roe during pre-spawn. If you want to improve your personal best, fishing a glide bait during pre-spawn is a terrific way.
When the bass is pursuing schools of baitfish in open water in the fall, glide bait fishing is a great way to catch them. Finding the forage and then throwing a glide bait around the perimeter of the baitfish schools is the best method to find the bass at this time.
Where Do You Use Glide Baits?
Glide baits work well close to structure and in transitions parallel to the shoreline. For example, you can target canals and drop-offs in more extensive flats. Glide baits may be fished in water as shallow as 3 feet when bass are searching in shallow water in the spring and autumn, but they’re best fished at 6 to 15 feet.
Many fishermen believe that glide baits can only be used in huge reservoirs with open-water bass numbers, but this is far from the case. Glide baits may be used anyplace that large bass can be found, including most of the country’s fisheries.
What Kind Of Rod Do You Use For Glide Baits?
An 8-foot swimbait rod with extreme power and rapid action is excellent for gliding baits. Glide baits require a rod that is appropriately hefty since they are significantly larger than most other lure types, and you should search for a rod with a fishing lure weight rating of roughly 6 ounces.
While it might be appealing to use a softer moderate action rod when targeting largemouth bass, a softer rod will not perform well when casting heavy glide baits, which can tangle up during the cast if you use a smooth rod. A decent glide bait rod should be 8 feet long, as shorter rods do not perform well for casting heavier glide bait.
Related post: Best Spinning Rods For Bass For Beginners
What Is The Best Gear Ratio For Glide Baits?
Gear ratios of 5.0:1 to 6.0:1 are ideal for glide baits. This low-speed baitcaster gear ratio makes it easier to retrieve your glide bait slowly, which is necessary for giving it the S-wave movement that attracts bass so well. If you select a gear ratio much higher than this, it will be challenging to slow down the retrieve speed sufficiently to allow the glide bait to veer off to the side, defeating the objective of utilizing a glide bait in the first place.
Also, the best baitcaster reel size for glide bait fishing is size 400, which is more significant than most other bass fishing applications. Depending on your desire, you may get a low profile or a round spool baitcaster.
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How Deep Do Glide Baits Go?
Glide baits may travel as deep as 30 feet, but quickly reaching that depth necessitates adding weights to the glide bait. Because most glide baits sink slowly in the water, they’re best fished at depths of 3 to 15 feet.
High-end glide baits (like the Deps 250) frequently come with many methods to add weight to the lure, ideal for catching fish in deeper water.
How Do You Fish Glide Baits For Bass?
One of the finest techniques for catching bass using glide baits is to fish parallel to structural changes, typically attracting large bass. Keep the retrieve speed modest to allow the glide bait to travel in its characteristic S-shaped pattern from side to side. Glide baits are outstanding in attracting bass, and if the water is clear enough, you’ll immediately see a bass following your glide bait as you retrieve it.
When that happens, you’ll know there is bass worth targeting in the vicinity, making glide baits one of the most excellent search baits for discovering new areas. If you observe fish following your glide bait but not eating it, add some twitches and pauses to your retrieve, as this can occasionally provoke a reaction strike even if the bass aren’t actively feeding.
Conclusion
This concludes information into the introduction to glide bait fishing for beginners. Hopefully, you gained some important information and techniques that will assist you in catching trophy fish with glide baits. Keep it tight, and we’ll see you on the water!
