Soft Swimbaits and Glidebaits

Soft swimbaits and glidebaits at Charlie's Fishing: line thru glidebaits, floating soft swimbaits and big soft baits for pike

Soft swimbaits sit between a shad and a hard swimbait. They have the full, fish-shaped body and the realistic detail of a big bait, but the body is soft, so a pike closes its jaws on something that feels like food, and many models carry their hooks on a wire or a leader that runs through the body. This page brings together our soft swimbaits and soft glidebaits: line thru glidebaits that you work with the rod, line thru swimbaits with a kicking tail, floating soft swimbaits for shallow water, and compact soft swimbaits for weed and cover, from Savage Gear, Hispano Lures, Jackall and Madotachi. It is for anglers who fish for pike, catfish and big zander and want to know how these lures are rigged, how fast they sink, how to retrieve them and which hooks and leaders to use. Hard jointed swimbaits and hard glidebaits are on Swimbaits & Glidebaits, and shads, curl tails and V-tails for pike are on Pike Softbaits.

Line thru, leader-through or rig it yourself: how soft swimbaits are built

How the hook sits in a soft swimbait decides how you fish it, how many fish stay on and how long the lure lasts. There are three main designs on this page.
• Line thru: the line or a wire runs straight through the body to the trebles. When a fish takes, the lure slides up the line, so a head-shaking pike has no lever to throw the hooks, and the soft body is not torn apart fish after fish. The Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach, 3D Line Thru Whitefish and 3D Line Thru Trout come rigged this way on Carbon 49 wire with SGY 1X BN trebles, ready to fish. The Jackall Deraball and Magnum Deraball use a Line Thru system too, and on the Jackall Slick Bait the line through the body even sets which way the lure walks.
• Leader-through with a detachable hook: the Hispano Lures Polaris and Polaris Drifter take your leader through the body to a treble you can rig on the back or on the belly. On the back the point stays up and the lure comes over weed; on the belly it hooks better in open water.
• Rig it yourself or fixed hooks: the Savage Gear 3D Herring Shad 15 cm has a belly slot for your own head and stinger, the Madotachi Soft Hanitas Crank 3 comes with an offset hook and a supporting treble, and the Jackall Vividus has its hook on a rolling swivel that can be moved to the side.
Line thru is the choice for big pike and catfish, where hook pulls and torn bodies cost fish. A rig-it-yourself softbait gives you the most freedom with weight and hook size.

Soft glidebaits: line thru gliders for following pike

A soft glidebait works like a hard glider: short twitches and pulls send it gliding from side to side, and on the pause it hangs and slowly sinks. The soft body makes that turn quieter and the take more confident, which is why these are the lures to try when pike follow but do not commit. The Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach 17 cm (78 g, slow sinking, 0.1 to 0.7 m) is built from a 3D scan of a real roach and is the one for shallow water, weed beds and reed beds; read our Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach Review. The Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach 23 cm (170 g, slow sinking, two trebles) is the big profile for large lakes, reservoirs and the biggest pike, and its product page also names catfish. The Line Thru Whitefish family is based on a 3D scan of a whitefish and is moderate sinking, with a chin ring to adjust the sink rate on the water. The Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 17 cm (53 g) is the smallest and a size zander will eat too, the Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 22 cm (101 g) and Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 27 cm (217 g) are the pike sizes, and the Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish 36 cm XL (36 cm, 478 g, two trebles) is a true big bait for trophy pike and catfish. For calm, silent gliding near the surface, the Hispano Lures Polaris Drifter 177 (177 mm, about 57 g, floating) has a jointed two-section soft body and a forked tail, glides wide from side to side and slowly rises back up on every pause. Compact hard glidebaits for zander are on Zander Glidebaits.

Line thru swimbaits with a kicking tail

When you want to cover water on a steady retrieve, a soft swimbait with a tail that kicks is easier than a glider: it swims by itself. The Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Trout 15 cm and Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Trout 20 cm are trout imitations with a 3D photo print and built-in scent, rigged on a Carbon 49 wire with a Y-treble. Both come in two versions: Slow Sink (35 g in 15 cm, 93 g in 20 cm) for shallow water, cold water and slow fish, and Medium Sink (40 g in 15 cm, 98 g in 20 cm) for deeper water and current. The Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Whitefish Shad XL Limited Edition (38 cm, 450 g, sinking) is the biggest kicking swimbait we stock: a soft body that rolls and kicks, a mesh reinforced tail with a rattle chamber and a chin ring to set the sink rate, made for slow retrieves in 2 to 7 m of water and for pike that hunt big prey late in the season. It is a limited edition, so stock is small. More big lures from the same brand are on Savage Gear Lures, and our Savage Gear Lures: The Best Baits Explained guide explains the range.

Floating soft swimbaits for shallow water and weed

A floating soft swimbait comes up on the pause, so you can work it slowly over weed, stop it over a snag and let it rise away from cover. The handmade Hispano Lures Polaris 147 (147 mm, 37 g) and Hispano Lures Polaris 167 (167 mm, 51 g) from Spain are floating paddle tail swimbaits for pike, zander and perch: the paddle tail thumps on a steady retrieve, the weight casts a long way, and an eye in front takes extra weight when you want to fish deeper. Read our Hispano Lures Polaris guide. Choose the Polaris for vibration and searching, and the Polaris Drifter above for a calmer glide. The Jackall Vividus (14.5 cm, 51 g, floating, 0.05 to 1 m and deeper) wobbles even at very low speed. Its tungsten inserts can be placed anywhere from tail to head along the belly to change the balance, and its product page pairs it with the Illex John Weight to fish it deeper. More shallow lures for pike are on Pike.

Compact soft swimbaits and hybrids for cover

Not every soft swimbait is big. The Jackall Deraball (8.1 cm, 26 g, sinking, 0.05 to 0.3 m) is a hybrid between a crankbait and a shad, with a rounded body that wobbles just under the surface over weed, lily pads and snags. The Jackall Magnum Deraball (102 mm, 51 g, sinking, 0.1 to 1 m) is the bigger version, and its product page names pike, big perch and catfish; a tungsten bullet weight lets you fish it a little deeper. The Madotachi Soft Hanitas Crank 3 (about 7.6 cm, about 8.5 g) is a hollow, floating soft crankbait from Japan with a wide wobble, Qwing fins to change the action and an IN system for internal weights; remove the supporting treble and it fishes more weedless on its 3/0 offset hook. The Jackall Slick Bait (12 cm, 15 g, floating) is a soft-tailed surface lure that slide-walks left or right, depending on how the line runs through the body, with glass beads for a soft rattle; more surface lures are on Topwaters. The Savage Gear 3D Herring Shad 15 cm (23 g, two per pack) is a herring imitation with a rolling and kicking tail, a glass rattle and a belly slot, and the Savage Gear 3D Hybrid Pike 17 cm (47 g, slow sinking) is a hybrid with a hard body and a soft tail that kicks at any speed.

Weights and sink rates: setting the depth

Most soft swimbaits here can be tuned without changing the lure, and getting the depth right matters more than the colour.
• Fixed sink rate: the Line Thru Trout in Slow Sink or Medium Sink, the Glide Roach (slow sinking) and the Whitefish Shad XL (sinking, 2 to 7 m).
• Chin ring: the Line Thru Whitefish and Whitefish Shad XL have a ring under the chin to change the sink rate on the water.
• Eye for extra weight: the Polaris has an eye in front and the Polaris Drifter one under the chin, so both float on their own and go deeper with a clip-on weight.
• Internal weights: the Vividus comes with tungsten inserts, the Magnum Deraball takes a tungsten bullet and the Soft Hanitas Crank 3 uses its IN system.
To find the depth, count the lure down on the first casts: if it touches weed or the bottom, start winding a second or two sooner. Add weight in small steps, and check next to the bank that a glider still hangs level on the pause; if the nose drops, it is too heavy. Weights are on Weights.

Retrieves for soft swimbaits and soft glidebaits

• Twitch and pause: for the Glide Roach and Line Thru Whitefish. Give short, soft twitches or pulls, take up the slack and let the lure hang for a few seconds; many takes come on the pause.
• Steady retrieve: for the Line Thru Trout, Whitefish Shad XL, Polaris and Herring Shad. Wind just fast enough for the tail to kick, and slow down over features.
• Stop and rise: for the Polaris Drifter, Polaris and Vividus. Pull, stop and let the floating lure rise over weed or snags.
• Slow and shallow: for the Deraball, Magnum Deraball and Soft Hanitas Crank 3, just under the surface along weed edges, lily pads and bank cover.
• Slide walking on the surface: for the Slick Bait, with a slow, steady retrieve or light twitches.
Big soft lures cast best on a rod rated for the weight you actually throw; from about 100 g a baitcaster and a heavy swimbait rod make life easier.

Hooks, stingers and leaders for soft swimbaits

The rigged lures on this page come ready to fish, so check the trebles after every fish and replace them when the points go dull. On the Polaris and Polaris Drifter you choose where the treble goes: on the back for weed, on the belly for open water. A softbait like the 3D Herring Shad 15 cm is rigged with a head or bait screw in the nose and a stinger in the belly, because pike often grab a lure across the middle. Stinger rigs, screws and spare trebles are on Rigs & Stingers. Always fish a wire or titanium trace for pike, long enough for big lures that a pike takes deep, and check it for kinks; traces, braid and fluorocarbon are on Lines and Leaders.

Soft swimbaits for pike, catfish and big zander

Pike are the main target for every lure on this page, from the 8 cm Deraball in the lily pads to the 38 cm Whitefish Shad XL on a big lake. Catfish take big soft profiles readily: the Glide Roach 23 cm, Herring Shad and Magnum Deraball name catfish on their product pages, and the Line Thru Whitefish 36 cm XL is the biggest profile here for a large wels; see Catfish for heavy rigs and lines. For big zander, choose the smaller sizes and fish them slowly: the Line Thru Whitefish 17 cm, the Polaris 147 and 167 and the Polaris Drifter all name zander on their product pages. More for that species is on Zander.

Which soft swimbait for which situation

• Pike that follow but do not take: Glide Roach 17 cm or Line Thru Whitefish 17 cm, with long pauses.
• Big pike on big water in autumn and winter: Glide Roach 23 cm, Line Thru Whitefish 27 cm or 36 cm XL, or the Whitefish Shad XL.
• Covering open water: Line Thru Trout 15 or 20 cm, or the Polaris 147 or 167 on a steady retrieve.
• Shallow weed and snags: Polaris Drifter, Vividus or Polaris with the treble on the back.
• Lily pads and bank cover: Deraball, Magnum Deraball or Soft Hanitas Crank 3 without the treble.
• Surface takes on calm evenings: Slick Bait.
• Deep water and current: Line Thru Trout Medium Sink or a Whitefish with the chin ring.
• Catfish: Glide Roach 23 cm, Whitefish 36 cm XL or Magnum Deraball.
• Big zander: Whitefish 17 cm, Polaris 147 or Polaris Drifter, fished slowly. See also Pike, Catfish, Zander and Pike Hardbaits.

Why buy soft swimbaits at Charlie's Fishing

We picked soft swimbaits and soft glidebaits from Savage Gear Lures, Hispano Lures, Jackall and Madotachi, from compact lures for shallow cover to line thru big baits for trophy pike and catfish, with the stingers, weights and traces to fish them. Everything ships from our stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we are happy to help you choose the size and sink rate for your water and your rod.

What is a line thru swimbait?

A soft swimbait where the line or a wire runs through the body to the hooks. When a fish takes, the lure slides up the line, so the fish cannot use it as a lever to throw the hooks and the soft body lasts much longer. The Savage Gear Glide Roach, Line Thru Whitefish and Line Thru Trout are built this way.

What is the difference between a soft swimbait and a soft glidebait?

A soft swimbait has a tail that kicks, so it swims by itself on a steady retrieve. A soft glidebait is worked with the rod: twitches make it glide from side to side, and on the pause it hangs and sinks or rises. The Line Thru Trout and Polaris are swimbaits; the Glide Roach, Line Thru Whitefish and Polaris Drifter are glidebaits.

What size soft swimbait for pike?

Most soft swimbaits for pike are between 15 and 23 cm. Choose 15 to 17 cm in spring, in clear water and when pike follow without taking, and 20 cm or more in autumn and winter on big water, when big pike look for a large meal. The 27 cm and 36 cm models are for trophy pike and catfish on heavy tackle.