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 |
|