Does the world need another bluegill bait? Probably not. There are already plenty of very good bluegill baits on the market to pick from (the Jackall Gantarel being my personal favorite), however most of these retail from $30 to $110 dollars each, depending on the brand. At the time of FishLab's launch there were very few offerings below the $20 dollar mark, and the market was really devoid of quality offerings closer to the $15 dollar mark. So does the world need a truly affordable quality bluegill bait? Maybe.

While they do have a somewhat mass produced look they also exhibit some custom bait elements including 3D fins, matching painted tails, and branded hardware (VMC). Even though the bodied are made out of plastic the finishes on some of the baits also makes them look like more costly custom baits which are often made out of resin, by effectively mixing 3D textures and base paint with use of vertical patterns or spots to give the lures more depth, and more lifelike appearances.

While the baits pass the eye-test I was even more impressed when I started fishing the baits, and the swimbait and wakebait models behaved exactly how you would expect them to, with smooth swimming actions that can be made more erratic with pauses and twitches with the tip of your rod. 

The Bio Gill Glide Bait is the one that I felt offers anglers the most unique retrieve. Like other glide baits the Bio Gill Glide slides back and forth with a predictable cadence on slow retrieves, and I found that it leans slightly creating just a little more visible flash. Increase your retrieves to a moderate rate and the bait really starts to come to life, and by mixing up retrieves I was able to get it to swim very erratically which immediately drew attention from bass. I'm not sure if the fish were keying in on the water displacement, increased flash, or what they perceive as injured prey, but the ability to mix things up with this bait enables anglers to effectively work fish that are at various aggression levels, and at varying depths.

The slow sink models are designed to target fish in three to ten foot depths, while the suspending version is made for working fish at the top of the water column, and down to a maximum of five feet. I had difficulty getting the slow sink model all the way down to the maximum depth, mostly because the bait does need some retrieve speed to move properly, and I personally tend to fish hard-bodied bluegill baits faster than softbodies. There were days that the fish were so aggressive that I could burn, or rip, the baits and fish would still crush the baits, and it was on these days that I wished that FishLab offered a fast sink model so I could work them even faster.

Price & Applications: While I caught fish on all three variants my favorite was the Glide Bait for triggering strikes, followed by the Swim Bait, which proved to be the most effective search bait. The Wake Bait model is good, and performs much like you would expect from a lipped wakebait, but I found it more application specific, and most effective in during hot Summer conditions, whereas the other two were more effective throughout the year.

The fact that FishLab released all three versions of the Bio-Gill in parallel with the launch of their brand is impressive. It demonstrated the new brand's ability to design and produce baits that are both effective and affordable. Starting new brands is tough, but making baits that are affordable enough for all types anglers is a great start.

Though these baits are affordable I was also impressed how well they held up over time. There was the usual hook rash, and a few bent hooks, but in general the baits continued to swim and perform much as they did straight out of the packaging. Most importantly the joints on these baits held up to abuse, and I didn't have a single bait blow apart the entire season. Do I think that these are the best bluegill swimbaits on the market? No... but I do think that they are among the very best for the great prices at which they are offered. $14.99 to $16.99 is nearly half the price of the average competitor, and many times less than custom offerings. These baits are an exceptional value.