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Lure Review

 

Crazy Glide? The Baitsanity Explorer Swimbaits (continued)

 

Retrieve: As with any glide bait the magic is all in the retrieve. I feel like this is where Baitsanity put the vast majority of their focus, because this bait retrieves provocatively. Though marketed as a slow singing bait I found the rate of sink to be on the faster side, and it takes is a few casts to start getting a feel for where the bait is in the water column. As the Explorer is retrieved it glides widely and the head design starts to displace water causing it to edge out on each swing, the result is tantalizing.

 


Though the Baitsanity trout is the less realistic looking finish it was the better performing pattern by far for us


At first I felt that the Baitsanity Explorer didn’t swim as consistently as some of the other much more expensive glide baits, but the more I fished the bait the more that distinct lean on each side to side swing seemed to have an interesting effect on fish.

 

While I didn’t really like the Baitsanity Explorer's distinct glide at first that opinion quickly changed after I saw how both stripers and largemouth reacted to the bait during slow retrieves.

 


The Baitsanity Explorer delivers strikes and it doesn't take long to build confidence in this bait as long as you fish it slow


I’m not sure if the bait looks natural, unnatural, injured or just different, but fish seem curious and the Explorer definitely draws a lot of followers. Twitch the bait and the bait turns, which is usually enough to draw strikes.

 

Witnessing the entire follow to strike is what big bait fishing is all about, and sight fishing with the Explorer is both effective and fun.
I often change out a lot of the hooks on my swimbaits to Owner Singers, simply because I want to maximize the strike to catch ratio but for the purposes of this test I wanted to see how the stock hooks on the Explorer performed, and to my surprise they were more than decent. I found the stock hooks to be sharp and durable enough for largemouth bass fishing, though I definitely would recommend switching out the hardware if you’re gunning for big Stripers.

 


The ABS body and joint design held up well through months of fishing


The only retrieve that I didn’t find the Baitsanity excelled at is high speed burns. You can crank this bait normally with an 8:1 gear ratio reel just fine, but if you start really burning the bait back that lean and glide suddenly looks really unnatural, and when doing this I didn’t get any fish to strike, or even follow. This bait is best worked at slow to moderate speeds, and varying your retrieves adds to the Explorer’s effectiveness.

 


The Baitsanity proves the old moniker, Big Bait - Big Fish


Price & Applications: Over the last few month’s I’ve caught over a dozen fish over 6lbs. with the Baitsanity Explorer swimbaits, and while I logged equal time with both versions the trout pattern has out fished the carp pattern 3 to 1 which was interesting since I didn’t spend time fishing in lakes where trout were on the menu. While the carp pattern is more realistic looking it just goes to show that often what we see as anglers is so very different than what fish see. I’d like to customize the Trout Explorer with a more realistic finish to see if that impacts performance, but straight out of the box if I could only invest in one version it would be the airbrushed Trout Explorer.

 


The weakest point of the design are the soft fins and tail that do take damage and can some off. I started resorting to gluing the replacement tails on


Which brings us to the subject of price. The Baitsanity Trout and Carp Explorer retail for $69.99 which compared to many other full sized swimbaits is an absolute steal. This bait looks and feels like a custom swimbait, holds up well over time, comes with decent hardware, and all at a price that is less than half the price of some competing glide baits.

 


The Baitsanity is one of the best glide bait values when you consider the design, quality, and performance


The only weak point of this bait is probably the tail and fins. I found that after extended use I would lose fins and I even lost one tail on a cast. Luckily you can purchase the tails separately ($12.99 each), and I ended up gluing my replacement tails on the body just to ensure it stayed in place. Interestingly since I started testing the bait the company has also changed out their packaging. Gone is the beautiful display box, and each bait now comes in a more traditional molded foam package, but on the plus side each bait also includes a replacement PVC tail, which while not as cool as the display box, is certainly more useful.

 

Ratings: (We've re-calibrated our ratings standard for 2008 and have included a key at the bottom of the following matrix as a guide):

Baitsanity Trout and Carp Glide Bait Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Overall the Baitsanity is built well and the main body holds up well to viscous strikes. The one area that could be improved is the tail and soft fins that can take damage and come off after extended use or from fish strikes 8
Performance Though I wasn't sure about the side to side action at first I was soon made a believer after I saw how many fish followed and committed to this bait during slow or varied retrieves 9
Price A very reasonable price for a bait that looks and feels custom. Wish every bait still came with that awesome display box packaging but the extra tail is a nice compromise 9
Features The bait is straightforward but features a profile that is unique. The head and face design are unique and I like how defiant the bait looks. The stock hardware is actually decent as well, but I'd still upgrade the rings and hooks for anything bigger than largemouth 8
Design (Ergonomics) This is a big heavy bait and requires a dedicated swimbait rod to comfortably cast all day 8
Application The Baitsanity Trout and Carp Explorer are great for bass but can also be utilized for targeting stripers, pike, and musky 8.5

Total Score

8.41
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

                 Plus                                    Minus

+ A smooth and distinct glide that draws followers - Trout finish could be more detailed/realistic (But fish seem to like it)
+ ABS resin body is durable - Tail and fins take damage and can come off
+ Decent hardware out of the box  
+ Fun to throw and put in the time and it delivers big fish  
+ Good for targeting multiple species  
+ Reasonable price for a high quality glidebait  

 

Conclusion: The Baitsanity Trout and Carp Explorers are cool baits. The glide action is a little different than that of a Deps Slide Swimmer or River2Sea S-Waver, and while the lean takes a little getting used to it certainly seems perfectly natural to fish, and adds to the character of the bait and likely the effectiveness as well. The Baitsanity Explorer flat out gets bit. Put your time into this bait and it delivers quality fish, and it really only takes one or two followers to start building up the confidence that all those casts is going to be worth it.

 


The Baitsanity Trout Explorer is definitely a worthy addition to your arsenal if you love fishing glide baits and best of all it comes at a very sane price


As far as full sized custom glide baits go the Baitsanity offering is also reasonably priced, and can be employed to target a variety of species ranging from largemouth and stripers to pike and musky. Just stock up on those tails, because with the exception of the PVC bits this lure can certainly stand up to viscous strikes, and we never had any joint failures whatsoever throughout testing. If you are crazy about big baits, big strikes, and big fish the Baitsanity Explorer swimbaits are a worthy addition to your glidebait arsenal, and unlike many other premium glides can be had at a price that is actually sane.

 

Looking for the Baitsanity Explorer Glide Baits?

Try Tackle Warehouse
(note: Baitsanity has since updated this bait with a Gen 2 version with an improved locking tail design)

 

 

   

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