The joints are just the start, and each gill plate, fin and even the angle of the eyes on these lures adds to the illusion. Each Real Gillz lure is finished with a fiber strand brush tail which is also painted to match the individual pattern. These injected baits weigh in at 2.1oz. and our initial impressions from the first few casts is that they are easy to throw with either a conventional flipping stick or a light swimbait rod.

The bait features four sections

The bait also sinks pretty quickly once in the water but is easy to hold steady under moderate to brisk retrieves. In the water the lure exhibits a very tight swimming pattern which also looks very realistic. When retrieved quickly the bait really does look like a fish swimming as hard as it can to evade predators, and looks more realistic than some competing baits that return in a wider “S” pattern. Things also seem to get really interesting when you jerk the rod tip, and this sudden action causes the bait to surge and settle erratically.

Even the fiber tail is painted for a seamless transition

When it comes to armaments the Real Gillz come equipped with two Owner ST4 #1 treble hooks and the rear hook is loaded onto an embedded swivel so that it can swing 360 degrees and prevent the hooked fish from using the bait’s own body as leverage when attempting to shake the bait. Once again the attention to detail is impressive and even the exposed section of the swivel is painted to match the body of the lure!

A look under the water

The 6” Snack Size Real Gillz come in one standard profile but with a wide range of patterns including, Albino White Bluegill, Blue Gill, Crappie, Female Gill, Green Gill, Red Ear Gill and even a baby Peacock Gill. With this level of detail I was expecting the Real Gillz to retail close to 70 dollars each and was pleasantly surprised to find that they cost $49.99 per copy.

The "Green Gill" pattern next to the company's packaging and logo

If this new bait fishes as good as it looks it will be a real winner

As we embark on a more comprehensive field test I can already attest to how good these baits look in, and out, of the water and Got’Em Coach deserves kudos for the detail in design. If they fish as good as they look the company might just have a real winner here.