Swimbait Republic

Swimbait Republic at Charlie's Fishing: the Glideway glidebait for pike and zander

Swimbait Republic is a Spanish brand that specialises in glidebaits and swimbaits, developed over several years with top anglers such as Roberto Martinez Monton. Its Glideway has become one of the best-known glidebaits in Europe, because it does one thing exceptionally well: a slow, realistic glide that settles into a natural posture the moment you pause, which is exactly when cautious fish take. At Charlie's Fishing we stock the Glideway in all three sizes, 126, 176 and 236, with the spare tails and weight stickers for each, so you can set the depth and colour for every session. Below you find which size to choose and how to tune it.

How the Glideway works: one bait, every depth

Every Glideway has two weight cavities in the belly. With no weight it fishes slow floating, with one cavity filled it suspends in mid-water, and with both filled it becomes a slow sinker. That way one bait covers shallow weed beds, mid-depths and deeper water. It holds its action at any speed and with any retrieve: a fast steady wind, super slow glides, walking the dog, twitches or heavy sweeps. Fish it as a plain cast and retrieve or freestyle it, and work the pause over weed beds and along reed beds, where most of the takes come.

Swimbait Republic Glideway 126, 176 and 236

The Swimbait Republic Glideway 126 (12.6 cm, 29.5 g) is the compact size for pike and zander on a lighter baitcaster and for pressured fish that have seen the big lures. It comes with two BKK 6066 trebles, two weight stickers and a spare tail in the box. Read more in our blog Swimbait Republic Glideway 126. The Swimbait Republic Glideway 176 (17.6 cm, 80 g) is the flagship for pike on a baitcaster, running from the surface down to about 3.7 m with the cavities loaded, rigged with BKK trebles. See how it fished for us in the Swimbait Republic Glideway 176 test and review. The Swimbait Republic Glideway 236 (23.6 cm) is the biggest Glideway, for big pike on a heavy baitcaster, with a profile and displacement that draw fish that ignore smaller lures.

Glideway spare tails and weight stickers

The tough silicone tails resist pike teeth and come in different colours to change the look of your Glideway: Glideway 126 Spare Tails, Glideway 176 Spare Tails and Glideway 236 Spare Tails. Take the tail off before you put the lure back in your box, so it keeps its shape. The lead weight stickers set the buoyancy and depth: deeper fishing, wind that lifts your line, fishing from a high bank or bridge, cold water that makes the lure more buoyant, or a few extra metres on the cast. They pull out easily with a treble through the notch: Glideway 126 Weight Stickers, Glideway 176 Weight Stickers (10 per pack, 1.5 g each) and Glideway 236 Weight Stickers. See all Spare Parts.

Which Glideway for which situation

• Pike and zander on a lighter baitcaster: Glideway 126.
• Pressured fish that follow but do not take: Glideway 126 or 176, fished slowly with long pauses.
• All-round pike glidebait: Glideway 176.
• Big pike that ignore smaller lures: Glideway 236.
• Shallow weed beds: no weight sticker, slow floating.
• Mid-water and deeper edges: one or two weight stickers. See Pike, Zander, Swimbaits & Glidebaits and Zander Glidebaits.

Why buy Swimbait Republic at Charlie's Fishing

We fish the Glideway ourselves and stock every size together with the spare tails and weight stickers, so you can tune your glidebait and keep it fishing. Every product ships from our own stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we can tell you which size and weight setup fits your water. More glidebaits for pike in Pike Hardbaits.

Where does Swimbait Republic come from?

Swimbait Republic is a Spanish brand that specialises in glidebaits and swimbaits. The Glideway was developed over several years with top anglers such as Roberto Martinez Monton.

How do I make the Glideway sink?

Add weight stickers to the cavities in the belly. No sticker is slow floating, one filled cavity is suspending, two is slow sinking.

Glideway 126, 176 or 236?

The 126 for zander, pressured pike and lighter tackle, the 176 as the all-round pike glidebait, and the 236 for big pike on heavy tackle.