Savage Gear Lures

Savage Gear Lures for Pike, Zander and Perch

Savage Gear builds its lures from 3D scans of real prey fish, so the body shape, fins and colour patterns match what predators actually eat. At Charlie's Fishing we stock the parts of the range that earn their place on the water: Line Thru swimbaits and glidebaits for pike, pre-rigged and loose shads for zander and perch, and a handful of spinnerbaits, rats and metal lures for the situations in between.

Below you will find what each part of the range is for, so you can pick by species and by the water you fish rather than by the picture on the packet.

Savage Gear Wide Glide Scandal

The Wide Glide Scandal is the newest glidebait in our Savage Gear range, and it does one thing better than almost anything else in the box: it shows a following pike its whole flank. Every twitch throws it a long way out to the side, so the fish keeps getting a full broadside view instead of a tail, and that is what finally makes a shadowing pike commit. On the pause it balances flat and then sinks slowly, which gives you real hang time over a drop-off.

Inside is a hard body in two sections, outside a tough silicone skin infused with scent. It comes pre-rigged with sharp trebles on ball-bearing swivels, so it is ready to tie on.

• Wide Glide Scandal 20 cm: 107 g, 2 x #1/0 trebles, runs 0.5 to 2 m. The size most anglers fish all season on a standard big bait setup.
• Wide Glide Scandal 25 cm: 190 g, 2 x #3/0 trebles, runs 1 to 2.5 m. More water push and more depth, for trophy pike on big, open water.

Fish it with a hard chop and a long pause along drop-offs, harbour walls and deeper weed edges. It shines in clear water, where the wide glide shows the whole lure, and in cold water, where a slow sink and long hang time beat speed. Both sizes come in Dirty Roach, Firetiger, Green Pearl, Lemon Trout, Perch and Roach.

How the Line Thru system works

On a Line Thru lure the line runs straight through the soft body to the rig. When a fish takes, the body slides up the line and away from the hooks. That leaves the fish nothing heavy to shake against, so it cannot use the lure as a lever to throw the hook, and you lose far fewer fish during the fight. It also means the body survives: after a pike you slide it back down and keep fishing, instead of retiring a torn lure.

Savage Gear for pike

Soft swimbaits and glidebaits. The 3D Glide Roach in 17 cm (78 g) and 23 cm (170 g) is the headline lure: a soft glidebait that swings wide from side to side and sinks slowly on the pause, which is where most takes come. The 3D Line Thru Whitefish in 17, 22 and 27 cm and the 3D Line Thru Trout in 15 and 20 cm cover the same job with a different prey fish. For a paddle tail that pushes more water, the 3D Herring Shad in 15 and 21.5 cm is the one to reach for.

Hard jerkbaits and hybrids. Next to the Wide Glide Scandal, the Low Glider Jerk in 14.5 and 17 cm is the lighter, easier option on a standard rod. The Deviator Swim, the Deviator Tail in 16.5 and 20 cm and the 3D Hybrid Pike combine a hard body with a soft tail, and the Sucker Flanker 200 is a big crankbait with a replaceable lip for trolling and covering water.

Weed. Where trebles foul on every cast, the Mono Spinnerbait slides through on a single upturned hook, and Da Lil Bush gives the same idea in a smaller profile.

Savage Gear Mutant Rat and soft loose bodies

The Mutant Rat is a hybrid: a hard head with a polyester skirt and a rattle, a soft rat body behind it, and two trebles on a stainless steel stinger. It comes fully rigged and stays alive at walking pace, so you can crawl it over weed and along reed beds where pike sit, and that slow, bulky profile is often what turns a follower into a bite. It sinks slowly, and a chin ring on the head lets you add weight when you want it deeper.

• Mutant Rat 24 cm: 68 g, #1/0 trebles, runs 0.5 to 1.5 m. The easier all-day cast, and the better choice on shallow, clear water.
• Mutant Rat 30 cm: 125 g, #3/0 trebles, runs 1 to 2 m. The bigger profile and more water push, for big open water and big pike.

The soft loose bodies are the soft rat on its own, in 24 cm and 30 cm, and they do two jobs. They are the spare tail for the hard head version, so a chewed body does not retire the whole lure. And you can rig them yourself: weedless on a big EWG hook, on a screw-in head, or back on the Mutant Rat head. Rigged weedless, the rat goes straight into lily pads, weed and the reed line and comes back clean, which is where a lure with trebles simply cannot go.

Both come in the same six colours, Black Red, Brown, Chart Brown, Blue Pearl, Hot Olive and Pink Pearl, so a spare body always matches the head you already have. More rats and mice for pike are in our Mouse & Bucktail Lures collection.

Savage Gear for zander and perch

For zander and perch the range is all about shads on a jig head. The Cannibal Shad comes pre-rigged, so it is ready to tie on. The Craft Shad in 7.2, 8.8 and 10 cm has a slim body that sinks quickly, which makes it the one for deeper water and current. The Craft Bleak is another slim baitfish profile, the Fat Minnow T-Tail gives you a fuller body when the fish want something to bite into, and the 3D Herring Shad comes in the same mixed packs.

Fish them close to the bottom and let the lure fall back on a semi-slack line after each lift: with zander in particular, the take usually comes on the drop.

Dark Water Mix or Clear Water Mix?

Most of the Savage Gear shads come in two mixed packs, and the choice is simple. Clear Water Mix is made for clear water, where predators feed by sight and get a good look at the lure. Dark Water Mix is made for dark and coloured water. Pick the pack that matches the water you fish most; if you fish both, one pack of each covers most days.

Fishing the Glide Roach

The Glide Roach rewards a bit of thought about pace. A slow retrieve with the odd tap of the rod tip gives wide glides that look like an injured fish. Short twitches with a pause make it dart and then sink, and that sink is where most bites come. A steady retrieve gives a subtle tail kick when fish are actively feeding. The 23 cm version also tracks well on the troll. For the full breakdown and our own test on the water, read the Savage Gear 3D Glide Roach Review.

Beyond pike, zander and perch

For asp in the river and sea bass on the coast, the 3D Jig Minnow 20 g is a compact metal lure that casts a long way and holds its depth at speed.

Where to start

• Pike following but not committing: Wide Glide Scandal
• Pike in open water or along drop-offs: 3D Glide Roach
• Pike in weed: Mono Spinnerbait
• Pike tight in reed and lily pads: Mutant Rat, or a loose body rigged weedless
• Zander on the bottom: Cannibal Shad or Craft Shad on a jig head
• Perch in clear water: Craft Bleak

Want the wider picture first? Read Savage Gear Lures: The Best Baits Explained, then browse the full range below.