5 Glide Bait Tips to Catch More Bass

Glide baits can be very intimidating if you don’t have much experience with them. They are big, aggressive lures that are meant to catch huge bass.

But they don’t come without their own difficulties and strategies to have the most success.

Over the years, I’ve found that these 5 glide bait tips will make a huge difference and help you catch way more bass when getting started.

Tips:

1. Start Small(er)

All though glide baits are very big baits, there are some smaller options out there. Glide baits in the 4-6 inch range are much lighter and easier to get the hang of than the full sized glide baits.

Also, with these smaller glide baits, you don’t have to buy a whole new rod, reel, and line setup to be able to use them.

Whatever standard baitcasting setup you already have will generally get the job done.

Once you start catching some bass and gaining confidence in the smaller sized glides, then you can move up to the more standard or even large sized baits without being completely out of your element.

2. Change Your Retrieve

Glide baits have an incredible action as they glide or chop back and forth. Sometimes that consistent side to side action is all that it takes to get bass to bite.

But other times, bass become a bit mesmerized by that action and don’t actually commit to eating the bait.

Changing up your retrieve can often get the bass that are just watching your glide bait to actually attack it.

Sometimes you need to speed it up, sometimes you need to slow it down, and sometimes you just need to make the glide bait do something erratic.

Sadly there isn’t really any way to know exactly what the bass want you to do with the glide bait.

But by trying out a bunch of different retrieve variations, you can start learning for yourself what works best.

3. Keep the Glide in Sight

While you are retrieving your glide bait, you want to keep it in sight and not let it sink too deep. There are a couple reasons for this.

First, being able to seep the glide bait ensures that you are working it properly and giving it the right action.

Second, by keeping an eye on the glide bait, you will often be able to see that bass trailing right behind the glide.

This tells you whether you need to change up your retrieve to make the bass commit, or if you should just keep the bait moving just how it is.

Third, bass prefer to feed up, especially when feeding on large prey like the glide bait is imitating.

So by keep in the glide bait high in the water column where you can still see it, you are also keeping the glide bait right where the bass want to attack it.

4. Use a Snap

Using a snap instead of tying your knot directly to the glide bait helps a lot to give the glide bait the correct action.

First, it adds much more freedom of movement, allowing the glide to freely swim back and forth without your line pulling it back straight.

And second, the loose attachment of the snap helps keep the glide bait horizontal in the water. If you tie directly to the glide bait, it can sometimes cause the nose of the glide bait to point upwards a bit and look much less natural.

5. Keep At It

This is probably the most important tip of the list. Glide baits can be very frustrating when you first start fishing them.

They are big, heavy, and get less bites than other lures. So it might take hours or even days before you get a single bass to bite.

A lot of guys completely lose hope in the glide bait before they ever have any real success with it.

But he reason you are fishing a glide bait is not to catch a bunch of bass, it’s to catch a few huge bass.

And as long as yo keep at it and put in the hours, you will eventually catch some giants.

Are Glide Baits Worth It?

So while they definitely do catch bass, are glide baits actually worth using over other lures that catch more bass and are much easier to use? In my opinion, the answer is “Yes” for the following two reasons.

Yes, Quality over Quantity

Like I mentioned earlier, the point of a glide bait is to catch huge bass. And yes, they do a great job of that.

If your mission is to catch some huge bass, and you are okay with not catching as many bass, the glide bait is probably the absolute best technique to accomplish that.

Yes, They are Fun

At the end of the day, fishing is all about having fun. And glide baits are super, super fun to fish with. So while they definitely do catch those huge bass and fulfill their role, glide baits are also just a ton of fun.

Even during those hours of fishing without any bites or catches, I still find myself having a blast fishing with a glide bait on the end of my line.

Reeling this In

While glide baits might seem daunting at first, incorporating these five tips—starting with smaller baits, varying your retrieve, keeping the bait in sight, using a snap, and persevering—will significantly improve your success.

Glide baits are more than just another lure; they offer a unique and incredibly fun way to target trophy-sized bass.

If you’re willing to put in the time and embrace the challenge, you’ll find that the quality of fish and the excitement of the retrieve make glide bait fishing truly worth it. So, tie one on and get ready to experience the thrill of landing some giants!