Glide bait fishing has exploded over the last half-decade. The technique leans into the phrase "big baits equal big fish," and the tactic has migrated from the West Coast across the country. Traditionally, the big bait game has been an expensive way to target bass, with some baits costing hundreds of dollars. However, the growing popularity of the technique has influenced lure manufacturers to produce more affordable options, and in turn, give more anglers the ability to fish giant baits.
To be clear, affordable glide baits are still expensive, but with the increase in demand for cheaper options, there are now several excellent glide baits that can be had for under $100. And since many anglers will find it hard to justify buying a $250 bait (myself included), I started researching more reasonably priced glide baits. First, I reached out to several manufacturers and asked them to send their best glide baits for under $100. Then I ordered a few more baits that I thought could catch fish. Finally, I took them out on the water to see if these cheaper options could entice giant bucketmouths just as well as the premium baits. The short answer: They sure can. Here are the seven best glide baits you can buy for under $100.
Best Overall: Clutch ECO Glide
Best Value: SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180
Best Budget: Savage Gear Glide Swimmer 6.5”
New for 2025: Shimano Gravitator 200 SS
How We Tested the Best Glide Baits Under $100
There's only one way to test glide baits: Get them on the water and see how they perform. After collecting a lineup of big baits priced under $100, I hit the water. I fished with these lures for months on different lakes and ponds in various conditions and times of year. Below are the criteria I based my results on:
How easy is the bait to work?
What type of action does the bait produce?
Is the lure versatile?
Does the bait catch fish?
For the final leg of the test, I took all of the baits out onto a buddy’s stocked pond, where I felt confident I could get several bites and really determine how each bait performed against the others. Across the board, I found that there are several great options. Here are the best.
Best Overall: Clutch ECO Glide
Specs
Length: 6.25”
Weight: 1.75 ounces
Colors: 6 options
Price: $95.00
Pros
Great choppy action
Easy to work
High quality
Rotating hook hangers
Stalls and restarts easily
Good size for beginners
Cons
Not as effective at fishing slowly
Expensive
There are a few key features that make the Eco Glide stand out. For starters, this is an extremely easy bait to work. Developing a simple cadence of reel handle bursts is all you need to do to get this bait chopping back and forth smoothly and quickly. This was also one of the best baits for stalling or adding a pause to the cadence. When you pause the Eco Glide, it hovers for a second, then with the next turn of the handle, it’s right back on its way.
This is a great bait if you’re looking for a fast swimming, choppy-style glide. It’s not good for big, slow, wide glides. And that makes sense based on its size and shape. Generally, lengthier baits typically generate wider glides. On the other hand, shorter baits with more surface area are usually easier to chop. That rule of thumb holds true with the Eco Glide.
Measuring at 6 ¼-inches, the Eco Glide was one of the smaller baits in the test. This also makes it the best option for beginners who are new to big bait fishing. Overall, it is easy to throw and work. More importantly, it catches fish.
Best Value: SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180
Specs
Length: 7”
Weight: 2.4 ounces
Colors: 6 options
Price: $59.49
Pros
Easy to work
Great choppy action
High quality
Effective
Cons
Not as good for wide, slow glides
I’ve been fishing with the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180 for a little over a year now. It is one of the easiest to fish glide baits, and you can almost get two for the price of one Eco Glide. Taking price out of the equation, the Eco Glide barely bumped the Chad Shad in the Best Overall category. But for 60 bucks, there is no better value in the glide bait market than the Chad Shad.
Quality components like rotating hook hangers and a brush tail help make this a great bait, but the action and effectiveness of this lure are what really elevate it. You can generate a fantastic chopping action with a simple turn of the reel handle, where several of the other baits in this test required pumping of the rod tip to get a consistent action. This bait also proved itself to be a fish catcher. And effectiveness is often the primary factor when choosing a bait. Some glides have great actions, colors, and components, but, for whatever reason, they don’t get eaten. Not the Chad Shad. It has all the components and features you want out of a good glide bait, and it crushes fish.
Best Budget: Savage Gear Glide Swimmer 6.5”
Specs
Length: 6.5”
Weight: 1.75 ounces
Colors: 8 options
Price: $29.99
Pros
Easy to work
Great action, both fast and slow
Cons
Fixed hook hangers, rigid tail
The Savage Gear Glide Swimmer 6.5” is a great budget-friendly option if you’re considering getting into glide bait fishing. There are a few minor differences that demote the Glide Swimmer to a slightly lower class of bait, like fixed hook hangers and a rigid tail. But overall, this is a solid bait, especially for the money.
At $30, you get a pretty good entry-level bait that is easy to work. The Glide Swimmer is also versatile, in that you can work this bait slow (creating relatively wide glides) as well as fast (producing sharp chops back and forth). It’s rare to find a bait that can do both actions well, especially one that costs as much as a couple of packs of soft plastics.
New for 2025: Shimano Gravitator 200 SS
Specs
Length: 8.66”
Weight: 3 and 3/8 ounces
Colors: 6 options
Price: $49.99
Pros
Great attention to detail
Versatile
Effective
Cons
No bluegill or bream colors
The Shimano Gravitator 200 SS is one of the newest glide baits to hit the market. In fact, it’s so new that it’s not even available to the public yet. I was able to get my hands on a couple of the Gravitators a few months ago, and these baits have really impressed me.
The Gravitator was a close runner-up to the Clutch Eco Glide for the Best Overall category. Ultimately, the Eco Glide beat it out in part due to its more manageable size and its ability to stall really well. As for the Gravitator, though, there’s no other bait in the test that offers the versatility of this lure. Not only does this bait have a solid slow and fast action, but it also has two line ties. If you want to keep your bait right along the surface like a wakebait, tie to the bottom eyelet. If you want to work it a few feet below the surface, or even count it down deeper, tie to the top eye.
In addition to the ability of this bait to work this bait high, low, fast, and slow, there’s also some really cool tech inside. The transparent color patterns have Flash Boost technology built in, which amounts to a piece of reflective foil connected to a very sensitive spring. When the bait is twitched, the foil shivers, reflecting light. And this foil continues to quiver even when the bait stops moving between twitches. I’ve caught some good fish on the Gravitator and had one really great day of catching quality bass on this bait.
6th Sense Draw 9”
Specs
Length: 9”
Weight: 3.8 ounces
Colors: 20 options
Price: $49.99
Pros
Great bait for slow, wide glides
Rotating hook hangers
Vast color selection
Cons
Doesn’t perform well when retrieved quickly
I’ve been fishing with the 9-inch 6th Sense Draw for a little over a year. In that time, I’ve caught a number of fish with it, including some big bites. But the best part about this bait is the type of eats it produces. The Draw has a mesmerizing, slow, wide glide to it. And you often get the opportunity to watch a fish fall under its spell, as the Draw draws them in 9 (hence the name).
The only real drawback is the lack of versatility. You can’t chop this bait as easily as you can with others on this list. Therefore, it’s more of a one-trick pony, but still a pony you should consider adding to the stable, because that one trick is a good one.
G-Ratt Sneaky Pete
Specs
Length: 7.5”
Weight: 2.4 ounces
Colors: 15 options
Price: $38.99
Pros
Smooth “S” action
Good rattle
Nice middle-of-the-road glide
Cons
Not great for super wide glides or tight chops
The G-Ratt Sneaky Pete is a great glide bait if you’re looking for a nice and smooth middle-of-the-road action. This bait is the Goldilocks of our test. The glides aren’t really wide, but they’re not really tight either. Instead, they’re just right. Of the 10 baits I tested, none had as smooth a swaying, fluid glide as the G-Ratt. Whether walking the other baits wide or chopping them tight, they all had more of a stop-and-go action. The Sneaky Pete has a smoother transition from coasting left to turning back right and then back left again. The bait produces more of a continuous series of S movements as opposed to a hard cut left and a hard cut right.
River2Sea S-Waver 200
Specs
Length: 8”
Weight: 3.5 ounces
Colors: 18
Price: $45.99
Pros
Slow, wide glides
Best knocking sound
Cons
Hard to work it
Not good at working fast
Rolls a little
The River2Sea S-Waver 200 is a fan favorite and a West Coast staple, but I wasn’t terribly impressed with it. I had a harder time working this bait; it tended to roll a little, and I wasn’t able to chop it. But, it does do a couple of things well—and has one feature in particular that’s better than all the others: A loud, one-knocker sound.
The loud knocking sound of the S Waver reminded me a lot of the big wood rats and other wakebaits that are known to draw giants in. So, I have no doubt that there are times when the knocking sound of the S Waver will make this the perfect glide for the job. If you like that combination of slow, wide glides and a thudding knock, you should buy this bait. If you’re in the market for a choppier bait, look to the Chad Shad or Eco Glide.
Why Trust Us
For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. Our writers and editors eat, sleep, and breathe the outdoors, and that passion comes through in our product reviews. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.
