FS Gill

[jam170]

There's been a lot of talk about the FS Gill since the release but everyone has been tight lipped with the specifics. This review is my personal experience with the bait.

 

Action - This bait swims flawlessly, which has been my experience with all the freestyles. I will try to get a video of this posted in the near future to see for yourself. The action on a slow retrieve mimics a lazy, vulnerable fish perfectly. One of my favorite parts about this bait is when stopped, or twitched to create a direction change, the profile and flash of the bait are exactly what you see in the water when you see a gill turn and swim. This has been when I get 75% of my bites on this bait. Make the direction change and hold on.

 

Sink Rate - At this time I only have the sinking version. I like my baits to fall pretty slow and stay up in the water column. I changed out the stock hooks, to the st-41 same size (#2) for my personal preference. The places I fish are very shallow so this modification makes sense for me. I would say the bait falls at a perfect rate for most, but dont be afraid to play with changing the hooks or rings to alter the sink rate a little closer to your liking. You can always go back!

 

Color - So far I have only the female colored gill. For me I like to keep my baits as natural as possible and this bait does that. The colors are muted and when in the water seem to come alive. The added flash of purple really sets off this bait.

 

Durability - So far this bait has held up extremely well and shows no signs of weakness. The bait swims just as it did the day it showed up. The typical rash from the hooks is present, and more importantly the teeth marks on the bait are slightly visible.

 

Application - Unfortunately this bait came out kind of late in the fall when the shad bite was on around me. Even with fish keying on the shad I was able to get bit on this bait. This bait will be unstoppable in ponds. In lakes this should be a bait of choice in the spring when the bluegill spawn is on and the bass are keyed on them, and of course if the main forage in your lake is gills, this will be a bait that will work for you if you put in the time and learn how to use it properly.

[Luke V.]

Thanks for the detailed review, I hope I can get my hands on an FS Gill soon. Just need to find some money first .

[buttaluns]

Great review Jeff, does the gil have the "make the big girls panties wet" affect like the jr?

[aj slick]

 

Action - The action on a slow retrieve mimics a lazy, vulnerable fish perfectly. One of my favorite parts about this bait is when stopped, or twitched to create a direction change, the profile and flash of the bait are exactly what you see in the water when you see a gill turn and swim.

Application - Unfortunately this bait came out kind of late in the fall. This bait will be unstoppable in ponds. In lakes this should be a bait of choice in the spring when the bluegill spawn is on.

 

Nice review from another IL resident with some FS gills as well-

I have only fished the ss female a few times as well, due to getting it at the end of the season .This will be my goto bait in the prespawn when those bass are getting hungry after the long winter and ready to spawn. The size and profile are perfect match to the real thing. I noticed the same thing with the "flash" when the bait is twitched in a different direction. The ss is perfect for a little faster retreive, breaking the surface occasionally and also working extremely slow with small twitches and then pausing.

[reelreport]

I’m going to piggy back on  Jam’s review here, because 1) he did a fantastic job and really inspired me to kick this out, and 2) the FS Gill has quickly developed into my favorite bait in the short time I’ve had it.

 

Pardon my lack of in-depth review or production value (no pics/video) of the baits in action on/in the water. It’s cold as balls here right now,  my wetsuit has a hole in it, and my buddy is stingy with his boat (wouldn’t most people be?), so that will have to come on a follow up. I’ll try to cover as much as I can in my experience with the bait on about a dozen trips with a few pics and some illustrations in lieu of some pics and vids with me yelling some random shiz on every hookset.

 

Quick disclaimer – I haven’t stuck a monster on these yet so I’m a little envious of you guys putting up some fat girls regularly, but hopefully that changes QUICK.

 

On to the review....

 

Quick Bait Specs:

• Models: Floating and Slow Sink Swimbaits
  
• Colors: 2 Currently (Male/Female Bluegill)
  
• Size: Listed at ~5â€
  
• Retail: $79.95

 

Size

The Freestyle Gill is listed at approximately 5†inches in length on the 3:16 Lure Company website. It’s actually much closer to 6†long as you can see in the pics (that’s what she said?).

From fin to line tie, it’s right at 6†long.

 

The body of the bait is about 2.5†tall, ~3.5†with hooks attached. Perfect bass snack size IMO.

 

For comparison, the gill next to few other baits. The 3:16 freestyle shad, and the black dog G2 Shellcracker (Injected).

 

Today’s catch weighs in at .15lbs – so exactly 2.4oz.

 

I was actually really excited to get this bait in because of the smaller size compared to some of the larger baits on the market (including others in the “freestyle†class of baits), as I feel that this bait will not only lure in trophy fish if worked properly, but has a much greater chance of being numbers bait as well because of it’s size. I don’t think it’s quite what most people consider a tourney bait (where quick numbers are key before chasing kicker fish), but it’s close.

 

Sink Rates

The FS Gill currently comes in two models – Slow Sinking and Floating. Each has it’s own applications (discussed further down), but are both extremely effective. A couple quick notes on each model from my experience...

 

Floating:

• Perfect bait for pond or shallow water fishing if you’re unsure of what’s in the water to get hungskies on.
  
• Doesn’t dive down, no matter how fast you burn it.
  
• Awesome blowups are always a plus in my book. Topwater fishing is the tits.

 

Slow Sinking:

• Not sure it qualifies as a true "slow sink". Sinks @ 1.5-1.75 fps.
  
• Water temps slightly effects sink rate (not a ton, but keep this in mind).
  
• More versatile than the floater. Can be sped up to the surface, or slow rolled at preferred depth.
  
• Heart attack waiting to happen. Terrified you hang up your $80+ bait, or a monster kills it. Not for the faint of heart.

 

Materials / Components

Coming in at a hefty $80 retail, the FS Gill comes equipped with the quality components you would expect in a big money bait. It’s made of extremely durable molded resin, with quality terminal tackle. Owner stainless split rings and #2 hooks adorn the front and back of the bait, and the hooks shouldn’t have any problems sticking  even the toughest fish. The owner rings and hooks have a great reputation of standing up to tons of stress, so there’s no real need to replace any of the components unless it’s a personal preference. While the hooks/rings are stainless, you should always wipe down after use to prevent any oxidation buildup.

 

The 3D eyes of the bait add an additional touch of realism to the bait, as they are 3 toned and not your typical prism tape/black dot combo.

 

Paint Jobs / Quality Control

These baits have EXCELLENT paint jobs. The quality of the paints and clear coat put on each bait are fantastic, with hardly any trace that these baits are in fact hand painted and not run down a line in a factory. Though not the most realistic scheme on the market, the paint jobs are a work of art, is one of the main “cool†factors behind all the 3:16 hard baits and give the baits some serious street cred. Visually, the baits will most definitely catch fish, but might do an even better on catching fishermen. The details in the paint are subtle, and the soft glitters and hues often don’t fully come out until the bait is submerged and twitched or flashed – revealing an entirely different tone – just like a real fish. Quality stuff.

 

Equipment

Line

 

I personally prefer to throw most of my swimbaits on 50lb Suffix 832 braid. I like the sensitivity and stiffness (helps keep the line out of the front hooks), and I haven’t had it fail me on a bait yet (have yanked lots of baits free on this bait, and haven’t had any cast-offs on backlashes either). For the slow sink, if you’re concerned about the visibility of the braid, I haven’t had any problems getting bit on the braid straight up, and have done just about as well with a 2ft, 25lb flouro leader tied with a uni to uni knot. I can’t comment on the bait’s perfomance on mono, as I personally haven’t thrown it, but I know a lot of guys prefer mono for their hardbaits.

 

Rod

I’m not the one to give lessons on parabolic bends and micro guides (there’s definitely guys on here with more knowledge in this department, so I’ll defer to them). I’ve throw this bait on a 7’ Abu Garcia Vendetta Medium without problems, but typically throw it on a Kistler 7’XH Broomstick. I think it’s a bit overkill on the action of the bait, but it helps to have the stiffer rod to manhandle the bigger fish.

 

Reel

At 2.4ozs, this bait doesn’t require a 1000 yard capacity reel, but it comes to down to preference. It casts great, even into the wind (low is the way to go – don’t lob it up where wind will catch anything) so if you feel you need the line or have a larger reel on your rod of choice, don’t be afraid to use it. I’ve put this bait out 75+ yards with the broomstick that has no bend, so you guys throwing LDCs or Dobyns should be able to do more – so consider that when pairing a reel with this bait.

I currently throw it with an Abu C3, and an Abu Revo SX. No problems either way.

 

Applications

The gills have been a blast to fish with in the limited time I’ve had them, and have caught me several decent sized fish all over the water column. I thought I’d highlight a few of the scenarios where I’ve been successful with them (and other swimbaits) - please forgive the quick sketches, it’s been a while...

 

Vegetation Mats (Hydrilla, etc)

I love fishing big grass mats. They have always been extremely productive for me from a boat or from the bank. Here’s how I typically approach - I always look for anything that sets one part of the mat apart from the rest to try and narrow down my focus. Bass love the grass, and they love structure, so naturally, if I can find both of those together in one place, I feel pretty good about pulling a fish off it. If it’s near deep water (creek channel, ditch, ledge, etc), then even better. If I pulled up on the mat in the illustration above, I would make my casts in the following order, targeting the following:

 

• test
  
• test 2
  

[CombatWombat]

Good job guys! That picture of you weighing the gill cracks me up!

[buttaluns]

Holy ish man!

[reelreport]

I’m going to piggy back on  Jam’s review here, because 1) he did a fantastic job and really inspired me to kick this out, and 2) the FS Gill has quickly developed into my favorite bait in the short time I’ve had it.

 

Pardon my lack of in-depth review or production value (no pics/video) of the baits in action on/in the water. It’s cold as balls here right now,  my wetsuit has a hole in it, and my buddy is stingy with his boat (wouldn’t most people be?), so that will have to come on a follow up. I’ll try to cover as much as I can in my experience with the bait on about a dozen trips with a few pics and some illustrations in lieu of some pics and vids with me yelling some random shiz on every hookset.

 

Quick disclaimer – I haven’t stuck a monster on these yet so I’m a little envious of you guys putting up some fat girls regularly, but hopefully that changes QUICK.

 

On to the review....

 

Quick Bait Specs:

• Models: Floating and Slow Sink Swimbaits
  
• Colors: 2 Currently (Male/Female Bluegill)
  
• Size: Listed at ~5â€
  
• Retail: $79.95

 

Size

The Freestyle Gill is listed at approximately 5†inches in length on the 3:16 Lure Company website. It’s actually much closer to 6†long as you can see in the pics (that’s what she said?).

From fin to line tie, it’s right at 6†long.

 

The body of the bait is about 2.5†tall, ~3.5†with hooks attached. Perfect bass snack size IMO.

 

For comparison, the gill next to few other baits. The 3:16 freestyle shad, and the black dog G2 Shellcracker (Injected).

 

Today’s catch weighs in at .15lbs – so exactly 2.4oz.

 

I was actually really excited to get this bait in because of the smaller size compared to some of the larger baits on the market (including others in the “freestyle†class of baits), as I feel that this bait will not only lure in trophy fish if worked properly, but has a much greater chance of being numbers bait as well because of it’s size. I don’t think it’s quite what most people consider a tourney bait (where quick numbers are key before chasing kicker fish), but it’s close.

 

Sink Rates

The FS Gill currently comes in two models – Slow Sinking and Floating. Each has it’s own applications (discussed further down), but are both extremely effective. A couple quick notes on each model from my experience...

 

Floating:

• Perfect bait for pond or shallow water fishing if you’re unsure of what’s in the water to get hungskies on.
  
• Doesn’t dive down, no matter how fast you burn it.
  
• Awesome blowups are always a plus in my book. Topwater fishing is the tits.

 

Slow Sinking:

• Not sure it qualifies as a true "slow sink". Sinks @ 1.5-1.75 fps.
  
• Water temps slightly effects sink rate (not a ton, but keep this in mind).
  
• More versatile than the floater. Can be sped up to the surface, or slow rolled at preferred depth.
  
• Heart attack waiting to happen. Terrified you hang up your $80+ bait, or a monster kills it. Not for the faint of heart.

 

Materials / Components

Coming in at a hefty $80 retail, the FS Gill comes equipped with the quality components you would expect in a big money bait. It’s made of extremely durable molded resin, with quality terminal tackle. Owner stainless split rings and #2 hooks adorn the front and back of the bait, and the hooks shouldn’t have any problems sticking  even the toughest fish. The owner rings and hooks have a great reputation of standing up to tons of stress, so there’s no real need to replace any of the components unless it’s a personal preference. While the hooks/rings are stainless, you should always wipe down after use to prevent any oxidation buildup.

 

The 3D eyes of the bait add an additional touch of realism to the bait, as they are 3 toned and not your typical prism tape/black dot combo.

 

Paint Jobs / Quality Control

These baits have EXCELLENT paint jobs. The quality of the paints and clear coat put on each bait are fantastic, with hardly any trace that these baits are in fact hand painted and not run down a line in a factory. Though not the most realistic scheme on the market, the paint jobs are a work of art, is one of the main “cool†factors behind all the 3:16 hard baits and give the baits some serious street cred. Visually, the baits will most definitely catch fish, but might do an even better on catching fishermen. The details in the paint are subtle, and the soft glitters and hues often don’t fully come out until the bait is submerged and twitched or flashed – revealing an entirely different tone – just like a real fish. Quality stuff.

 

Equipment

Line

 

I personally prefer to throw most of my swimbaits on 50lb Suffix 832 braid. I like the sensitivity and stiffness (helps keep the line out of the front hooks), and I haven’t had it fail me on a bait yet (have yanked lots of baits free on this bait, and haven’t had any cast-offs on backlashes either). For the slow sink, if you’re concerned about the visibility of the braid, I haven’t had any problems getting bit on the braid straight up, and have done just about as well with a 2ft, 25lb flouro leader tied with a uni to uni knot. I can’t comment on the bait’s perfomance on mono, as I personally haven’t thrown it, but I know a lot of guys prefer mono for their hardbaits.

 

Rod

I’m not the one to give lessons on parabolic bends and micro guides (there’s definitely guys on here with more knowledge in this department, so I’ll defer to them). I’ve throw this bait on a 7’ Abu Garcia Vendetta Medium without problems, but typically throw it on a Kistler 7’XH Broomstick. I think it’s a bit overkill on the action of the bait, but it helps to have the stiffer rod to manhandle the bigger fish.

 

Reel

At 2.4ozs, this bait doesn’t require a 1000 yard capacity reel, but it comes to down to preference. It casts great, even into the wind (low is the way to go – don’t lob it up where wind will catch anything) so if you feel you need the line or have a larger reel on your rod of choice, don’t be afraid to use it. I’ve put this bait out 75+ yards with the broomstick that has no bend, so you guys throwing LDCs or Dobyns should be able to do more – so consider that when pairing a reel with this bait.

I currently throw it with an Abu C3, and an Abu Revo SX. No problems either way.

 

Applications

The gills have been a blast to fish with in the limited time I’ve had them, and have caught me several decent sized fish all over the water column. I thought I’d highlight a few of the scenarios where I’ve been successful with them (and other swimbaits) - please forgive the quick sketches, it’s been a while...

 

Vegetation Mats (Hydrilla, etc)

I love fishing big grass mats. They have always been extremely productive for me from a boat or from the bank. Here’s how I typically approach - I always look for anything that sets one part of the mat apart from the rest to try and narrow down my focus. Bass love the grass, and they love structure, so naturally, if I can find both of those together in one place, I feel pretty good about pulling a fish off it. If it’s near deep water (creek channel, ditch, ledge, etc), then even better. If I pulled up on the mat in the illustration above, I would make my casts in the following order, targeting the following:

 

• 1. Going with the structure+grass approach, the first cast would be past the tree/limbs at the edge of the grass. I’d try to cast past so as not to spook any fish sitting on it, and deadstick the bait where it lands after a couple twitches. I’m not a big deadstick guy as I don’t have the patience others do, so I usually get the bait moving after 10-15 seconds. I SLOWLY crank it towards me in a path that will bring it right along the tree. As I approach the tree, I like to slow my retrieve and slap the rod, killing the bait with some commotion right next to/past the tree (obviously don’t want to do this with a slow sink – but you can twitch or kill it for a count or two to see if it gets scooped up) and let it sit. Usually this is when it gets hit. If it’s sat there for 15-20 with no takers, I will slowly start to crank it away from the tree. I’ve had several fish hit the gill and other swimbaits on the first couple turns after a deadstick, so be ready. Once I’m about 5 feet away, I like to pop the bait on slack line and get it to turn 180 to face the tree, and any curious followers. If no takers, I’ll slowly reel back to boat. You can make multiple casts past the tree. Sometimes you’ll have followers you can’t see that will get pissed off or become convinced on the second or third (or more) casts.
  
• 2. This little patch of isolated grass is great. It’s near a point in the mat, near structure (tree), and is a great ambush point for bass. Work this similar to the tree, following a casting path similar to the illustration.
  
• 3. Three is a similar scenario. A lot of times fish will move out of the mat to feed and will move to ambush points on the outside to hit baitfish schools cruising the edges of the mat. The bass will sit in pockets on these “islands†and zoom out to strike ambush these schools. I like to hit the outside edge first, because if fish are coming up to the mat from depth, they’ll stage there first.
  
• 4. Awesome setup here. In between two ambush points. The isolated grass “islandâ€, and a point and pocket in the main mat. These “points†that offer irregular spots in the mat are where bass sit and be opportunitistic with feeding. They can hide in the pocket and eat anything unsuspecting swimming around the corner of the point. Cast the gill past the target area, and begin a retrieve that will bring you right down the little channel created. Pop, splash, or twitch a floater at each irregularity, and swirl it 180 once you’re past the structure to entice any followers. These types of scenarios are also EXTREMELY productive for the slow sink models. If you catch grass you can rip it free, often times inducing strikes – similar to a rattle trap.
  
• 5. As a last resort I’ll splash the bait right up against the edge of the mat and hope for a reaction strike. If I’ve worked this area thoroughly without any strikes, I’ll often times try a last ditch effort to piss fish off or appeal to their instincts. I’ll crash it in there and twitch, rip, pause, and swirl the bait close to where I think fish will be hiding. You can also crash it in, and just deadstick to see if you have any takers.

 

Dock Fishing

Docks are great places to find big fish hanging out. They offer plenty of baitfish, cover, and structure for fish to relate to. I tend to lean to fishing shallower docks as they hold numbers, but the bigger fish will always relate to docks that are closer (or in) deeper water – in Texas anyway.

• 1. My first cast would actually have me a little farther out than in the pic, but I had alread drawn it that way and didn’t feel like starting over. Stay at 15-25 feet away depending on water clarity and position at the end of the dock. My first cast will almost always be parallel along the long side of the dock on the shadow or down current side. Don’t waste any real estate here, cast right up into the base of the dock, I’ve had several fish come out and smash the gill that were sitting in 6-12 inches of water right where the dock hits land. It’s shady, and they feel well protected. Also, bass will cruise from dock to dock up shallow and use these bases as staging points between cruising. Cast, splash, twitch, deadstick. Start swimming slowly.
  
• 2. I always like to make some sort of extra movement on pilings. If a floater, I twitch or slap, then pause. If it’s a slow sink, I’ll swirl, or pause, or speed up my retrieve on the pilings. There’s usually fish there, let them tell you what they want.
  
• 3. After I’ve passed the last piling coming away from the dock, I’ll try to turn my bait 180 whether it’s a SS of floater. If there’s followers out from under the dock that haven’t committed yet, this is a great way to entice a strike.
  
• 4. I skipped 4, so we’ll skip it too.
  
• 5. I have this kind of backwards since I did this late, but 5 is along the same lines as number 2. Pilings are great places to get bites.
  
• 6 Part One (obviously I can’t count when sleepy) I LOVE finding docks with grass mats growing on the pilings. Lake Austin has a TON of these in 12-15ft of water. I like to cast past them several times, and slowly crank past, or impart a different action on the bait (twitch, deadstick, etc). These are also a blast to punch into with punch setups.
  
• 6 Part Two. Sometimes it’s easy skip over because you can focus on the docks – but the flats between them hold a lot of fishing opportunities. I’ve seen a lot of beds during the spawn just off docks. I like to cast past them, and drop a slow sink right onto the bed (haven’t tried this yet with the gill, but I bet the SS will be a killer bed bait). Also, the retaining walls between docks (metal or concrete) have been productive as well. Cast and retrieve parallel and watch out for cables you can hang your bait on.

 

Grass Beds

Grass beds hold a lot of fish – period. I usually like to work the outsides of the bed first, and see if any fish are aggressive enough to come out and hit my baits without me having to get them dirty. If no takers, look for pockets without grass in the bed, and cast past, and work your bait past them. Slow sinks excel as a grass bed bait, because you can sink them to a height just about the bed in the water column and swim them slowly along, nicking the tallest of the grass. I like to fish them like HUGE rattle traps, and occasionally catch some grass, and tear it free, which bass love for some reason (looks like a freeing fish). A lot of times when fishing a bed, you can see the dark backs of fish sitting in pockets, and can make multiple approaches to the same fish. Change the action of the gill till you find what they like, and most importantly, try to stay in the strike zone as long as you can.

 

Rocky Point

In Texas, most of our lakes are deep reservoirs that have steep rocky banks with long points leading into the main lake and creek channels. These almost always hold fish at different depths, and if they’re active, you can pull several fish off each point. Points are the perfect setup for the gill, in both the SS sink (carefully – rocks grab snatch baits almost as well as trees) and especially the floater. Techniques:

• 1. My first cast will typically be to the edge of the visible point. This is usually a rock or outcropping that is mostly underwater, but has some part of it sticking out or close to the surface. I like to make multiple presentations to this outer edge, and often times even out past it (towards deeper water).
  
• 2. The second area will be the “saddle†or bridge created between the main point and that outer structure. A lot of times casting a slow sink out past this saddle, and bringing it just over the top of it will result in a strike just on the inside edge of it as the bait comes over. A floater will bring fish up to get it as well, as it’s usually pretty shallow here (less than 10ft or so).
  
• 3. My next cast would be past the main point. I like to cast at a 45 degree angle, so I can really work the bank and rip rap/rocks that are in the water leading out the point (#4). Twitch, pause, deadstick, etc.
  
• 4. Switch up your retrieve or impart action at the inside of the main point. Hold on.
  
• 5. If you pass the visible structure of the point without any takers, swirl or twitch your bait and deadstick to make a last ditch effort to entice any followers.
  
• 6. Another great area is on the backside or inside of the point. Crash your floater in the water just shy of the drop off into the water and see if you can get any fish suspended there.
  
• 7. A lot of times these points have HUGE boulders just under the surface. Bring a slow sink across the top of these, then kill it as it passes over the edge. Fish sitting on the edge or underneath it will hammer it.

 

Bank Fishing

Personally, I bank fish more than I hit water on a boat just because of the distance and travel required. I know some guys like to rag on bank fisherman, but there’s no shame in my game – some of my best fish have come from golf course and city ponds, and I love the urban angling movement. Lots of big fish sitting in underrated spots. When I hit the bank, here’s what I’m looking for when working the gill:

• 1. Structure, Structure, Structure. I’ve caught maybe 10% of my bank fish cranking baits through open water. I always look for something to target and focus on, because so do the fish. In this instance, I’ll hit a laydown (tree fallen into the water). I’ll cast past it several times and work the bait back past it (usually the floater), and twitch, twitch, twitch, deadstick right next to the tree. If no takers, I’ll slow start to crank it out. My fist fish on a Wake Jr. and the Floating Gill both came with that exact retrieve on a laydown from the bank. They hit on the second or third crank after the deadstick.
  
• 2. If you don’t get any takers coming past the laydown, cast into a pocket or break in the branches and try to entice a reaction bite. Don’t let your slow sink get deep in this scenario or you might not get it back. Best to use a floater for this approach.
  
• 3. I like to cast parallel to banks (especially if they drop off into the water at a steep angle). Fish will suspend along them and ambush baitfish that swim the edges. If you can find a rock, bush, tree root, etc sticking out, try to cast past it, and bring your retrieve right along it. Have hit several fish just past a large rock with the gill.
  
• 4. If there’s an isolated pile of rocks leading into the water, work it as much as possible. Cast up against it and see if there’s any fishing hanging out underneath the rocks. If you have slow sink gill and there’s a rock overhang, cast next to it and twitch it gently as it floats down underneath the rock.
  
• 5. A lot of times in ponds you can see a hump or elevation in the bottom of the pond. Cast past it, and work your bait over the top of this hump, especially if you see weeds or rocks sitting on it. Start with the outside edges like in the illustration, and then come right over the middle a few times.
  
• 6. See above.
  
• 7. This technique is especially helpful for you urban guys. If there’s any manmade walls or rip rap that lead into the water, work these as much as possible. There’s a pond I frequent that has a picnic area that has a concrete wall in the water like the pic above, and there’s always a large school of gills and other panfish congregated near it because people drop food to fish while eating. I’ve seen large bass bust this school up several times, so I always target that area and try to mimic an injured or feeding fish. Easy prey for a large bass. Rip rap always holds bass, so get along side it and try to keep your bait there as long as possible.

 

Limitations

• Not Weedless.(obviously). With it’s big trebles hanging under it’s belly, this bait is definitely not a chuck it into the heavy stuff and hope it comes out clean type of bait. While it can be twitched through trees or out of light cover once you get the hang of it, it is definitely not a weedless bait – lure retriever is a must. I’ve though about using the slow sink somewhat like a trap and letting it settle on a grass bed and then rip it out, but the size of the hook doesn’t really lend itself well to that approach. It can be “ticked†along a weedline effectively, but it’s not coming out of much else without hanging up, so fish wisely. Best bet is to choose the model of bait (SS or Floating) based on the water you typically fish, and adjust your retrieve accordingly to new conditions you encounter.
  
• Paint schemes. While this is just the first run of these baits, there’s a ton of potential to expand the bait to meet the needs (wishes) of anglers around the country. Though it’s mainly a reaction bait (and the current scheme obviously catches fish), the profile is perfect to expand to other items on the bass menu (sunfish, crappie, barfish, and my personal favorite, tilapia – c’mon Falcon Lake!). The alternate colors already available in many of the 3:16 lineups would look awesome on this bait – chartreuse, ice, white, white w/ red, sissy, etc, in addition to these natural colors.  Can’t wait to see what’s cooked up in the next batch.

Some additional additional scheme options on my wish list...

 

Worth It?

Hell. Yes.

 

After fishing soft swimbaits for a while and just making the (expen$ive) move into hardbaits, I lucked out to jump in just in time for the release of these baits. I’ve gotten some great advice from guys on this forum – like Jam, swimbaitrookie, and several others, and as I mentioned this bait has quickly replaced most of my box, and is a first cast type bait for me. Not only does it look great, and catch smaller fish in numbers, but if applied properly, it has the chance to catch a monster on any given cast....and after all, isn’t that about all you can ask for in a bait?

[Darth Baiter]

Best Review so far!! WOW!

[reelreport]

Haha sorry guys for the post dump. I'm on my phone and it logged me out when I was typing in the last half....so I got sliced in half. This ^ is the full version. Feel free to delete the first one...

 

Thanks for the props guys. Was fun. I'll work on some video for the next one

[Luke V.]

I’m going to piggy back on  Jam’s review here, because 1) he did a fantastic job and really inspired me to kick this out, and 2) the FS Gill has quickly developed into my favorite bait in the short time I’ve had it.

 

Pardon my lack of in-depth review or production value (no pics/video) of the baits in action on/in the water. It’s cold as balls here right now,  my wetsuit has a hole in it, and my buddy is stingy with his boat (wouldn’t most people be?), so that will have to come on a follow up. I’ll try to cover as much as I can in my experience with the bait on about a dozen trips with a few pics and some illustrations in lieu of some pics and vids with me yelling some random shiz on every hookset.

 

Quick disclaimer – I haven’t stuck a monster on these yet so I’m a little envious of you guys putting up some fat girls regularly, but hopefully that changes QUICK.

 

On to the review....

 

Quick Bait Specs:

• Models: Floating and Slow Sink Swimbaits
  
• Colors: 2 Currently (Male/Female Bluegill)
  
• Size: Listed at ~5â€
  
• Retail: $79.95

 

Size

The Freestyle Gill is listed at approximately 5†inches in length on the 3:16 Lure Company website. It’s actually much closer to 6†long as you can see in the pics (that’s what she said?).

From fin to line tie, it’s right at 6†long.

 

The body of the bait is about 2.5†tall, ~3.5†with hooks attached. Perfect bass snack size IMO.

 

For comparison, the gill next to few other baits. The 3:16 freestyle shad, and the black dog G2 Shellcracker (Injected).

 

Today’s catch weighs in at .15lbs – so exactly 2.4oz.

 

I was actually really excited to get this bait in because of the smaller size compared to some of the larger baits on the market (including others in the “freestyle†class of baits), as I feel that this bait will not only lure in trophy fish if worked properly, but has a much greater chance of being numbers bait as well because of it’s size. I don’t think it’s quite what most people consider a tourney bait (where quick numbers are key before chasing kicker fish), but it’s close.

 

Sink Rates

The FS Gill currently comes in two models – Slow Sinking and Floating. Each has it’s own applications (discussed further down), but are both extremely effective. A couple quick notes on each model from my experience...

 

Floating:

• Perfect bait for pond or shallow water fishing if you’re unsure of what’s in the water to get hungskies on.
  
• Doesn’t dive down, no matter how fast you burn it.
  
• Awesome blowups are always a plus in my book. Topwater fishing is the tits.

 

Slow Sinking:

• Not sure it qualifies as a true "slow sink". Sinks @ 1.5-1.75 fps.
  
• Water temps slightly effects sink rate (not a ton, but keep this in mind).
  
• More versatile than the floater. Can be sped up to the surface, or slow rolled at preferred depth.
  
• Heart attack waiting to happen. Terrified you hang up your $80+ bait, or a monster kills it. Not for the faint of heart.

 

Materials / Components

Coming in at a hefty $80 retail, the FS Gill comes equipped with the quality components you would expect in a big money bait. It’s made of extremely durable molded resin, with quality terminal tackle. Owner stainless split rings and #2 hooks adorn the front and back of the bait, and the hooks shouldn’t have any problems sticking  even the toughest fish. The owner rings and hooks have a great reputation of standing up to tons of stress, so there’s no real need to replace any of the components unless it’s a personal preference. While the hooks/rings are stainless, you should always wipe down after use to prevent any oxidation buildup.

 

The 3D eyes of the bait add an additional touch of realism to the bait, as they are 3 toned and not your typical prism tape/black dot combo.

 

Paint Jobs / Quality Control

These baits have EXCELLENT paint jobs. The quality of the paints and clear coat put on each bait are fantastic, with hardly any trace that these baits are in fact hand painted and not run down a line in a factory. Though not the most realistic scheme on the market, the paint jobs are a work of art, is one of the main “cool†factors behind all the 3:16 hard baits and give the baits some serious street cred. Visually, the baits will most definitely catch fish, but might do an even better on catching fishermen. The details in the paint are subtle, and the soft glitters and hues often don’t fully come out until the bait is submerged and twitched or flashed – revealing an entirely different tone – just like a real fish. Quality stuff.

 

Equipment

Line

 

I personally prefer to throw most of my swimbaits on 50lb Suffix 832 braid. I like the sensitivity and stiffness (helps keep the line out of the front hooks), and I haven’t had it fail me on a bait yet (have yanked lots of baits free on this bait, and haven’t had any cast-offs on backlashes either). For the slow sink, if you’re concerned about the visibility of the braid, I haven’t had any problems getting bit on the braid straight up, and have done just about as well with a 2ft, 25lb flouro leader tied with a uni to uni knot. I can’t comment on the bait’s perfomance on mono, as I personally haven’t thrown it, but I know a lot of guys prefer mono for their hardbaits.

 

Rod

I’m not the one to give lessons on parabolic bends and micro guides (there’s definitely guys on here with more knowledge in this department, so I’ll defer to them). I’ve throw this bait on a 7’ Abu Garcia Vendetta Medium without problems, but typically throw it on a Kistler 7’XH Broomstick. I think it’s a bit overkill on the action of the bait, but it helps to have the stiffer rod to manhandle the bigger fish.

 

Reel

At 2.4ozs, this bait doesn’t require a 1000 yard capacity reel, but it comes to down to preference. It casts great, even into the wind (low is the way to go – don’t lob it up where wind will catch anything) so if you feel you need the line or have a larger reel on your rod of choice, don’t be afraid to use it. I’ve put this bait out 75+ yards with the broomstick that has no bend, so you guys throwing LDCs or Dobyns should be able to do more – so consider that when pairing a reel with this bait.

I currently throw it with an Abu C3, and an Abu Revo SX. No problems either way.

 

Applications

The gills have been a blast to fish with in the limited time I’ve had them, and have caught me several decent sized fish all over the water column. I thought I’d highlight a few of the scenarios where I’ve been successful with them (and other swimbaits) - please forgive the quick sketches, it’s been a while...

 

Vegetation Mats (Hydrilla, etc)

I love fishing big grass mats. They have always been extremely productive for me from a boat or from the bank. Here’s how I typically approach - I always look for anything that sets one part of the mat apart from the rest to try and narrow down my focus. Bass love the grass, and they love structure, so naturally, if I can find both of those together in one place, I feel pretty good about pulling a fish off it. If it’s near deep water (creek channel, ditch, ledge, etc), then even better. If I pulled up on the mat in the illustration above, I would make my casts in the following order, targeting the following:

 

• 1. Going with the structure+grass approach, the first cast would be past the tree/limbs at the edge of the grass. I’d try to cast past so as not to spook any fish sitting on it, and deadstick the bait where it lands after a couple twitches. I’m not a big deadstick guy as I don’t have the patience others do, so I usually get the bait moving after 10-15 seconds. I SLOWLY crank it towards me in a path that will bring it right along the tree. As I approach the tree, I like to slow my retrieve and slap the rod, killing the bait with some commotion right next to/past the tree (obviously don’t want to do this with a slow sink – but you can twitch or kill it for a count or two to see if it gets scooped up) and let it sit. Usually this is when it gets hit. If it’s sat there for 15-20 with no takers, I will slowly start to crank it away from the tree. I’ve had several fish hit the gill and other swimbaits on the first couple turns after a deadstick, so be ready. Once I’m about 5 feet away, I like to pop the bait on slack line and get it to turn 180 to face the tree, and any curious followers. If no takers, I’ll slowly reel back to boat. You can make multiple casts past the tree. Sometimes you’ll have followers you can’t see that will get pissed off or become convinced on the second or third (or more) casts.
  
• 2. This little patch of isolated grass is great. It’s near a point in the mat, near structure (tree), and is a great ambush point for bass. Work this similar to the tree, following a casting path similar to the illustration.
  
• 3. Three is a similar scenario. A lot of times fish will move out of the mat to feed and will move to ambush points on the outside to hit baitfish schools cruising the edges of the mat. The bass will sit in pockets on these “islands†and zoom out to strike ambush these schools. I like to hit the outside edge first, because if fish are coming up to the mat from depth, they’ll stage there first.
  
• 4. Awesome setup here. In between two ambush points. The isolated grass “islandâ€, and a point and pocket in the main mat. These “points†that offer irregular spots in the mat are where bass sit and be opportunitistic with feeding. They can hide in the pocket and eat anything unsuspecting swimming around the corner of the point. Cast the gill past the target area, and begin a retrieve that will bring you right down the little channel created. Pop, splash, or twitch a floater at each irregularity, and swirl it 180 once you’re past the structure to entice any followers. These types of scenarios are also EXTREMELY productive for the slow sink models. If you catch grass you can rip it free, often times inducing strikes – similar to a rattle trap.
  
• 5. As a last resort I’ll splash the bait right up against the edge of the mat and hope for a reaction strike. If I’ve worked this area thoroughly without any strikes, I’ll often times try a last ditch effort to piss fish off or appeal to their instincts. I’ll crash it in there and twitch, rip, pause, and swirl the bait close to where I think fish will be hiding. You can also crash it in, and just deadstick to see if you have any takers.

 

Dock Fishing

Docks are great places to find big fish hanging out. They offer plenty of baitfish, cover, and structure for fish to relate to. I tend to lean to fishing shallower docks as they hold numbers, but the bigger fish will always relate to docks that are closer (or in) deeper water – in Texas anyway.

• 1. My first cast would actually have me a little farther out than in the pic, but I had alread drawn it that way and didn’t feel like starting over. Stay at 15-25 feet away depending on water clarity and position at the end of the dock. My first cast will almost always be parallel along the long side of the dock on the shadow or down current side. Don’t waste any real estate here, cast right up into the base of the dock, I’ve had several fish come out and smash the gill that were sitting in 6-12 inches of water right where the dock hits land. It’s shady, and they feel well protected. Also, bass will cruise from dock to dock up shallow and use these bases as staging points between cruising. Cast, splash, twitch, deadstick. Start swimming slowly.
  
• 2. I always like to make some sort of extra movement on pilings. If a floater, I twitch or slap, then pause. If it’s a slow sink, I’ll swirl, or pause, or speed up my retrieve on the pilings. There’s usually fish there, let them tell you what they want.
  
• 3. After I’ve passed the last piling coming away from the dock, I’ll try to turn my bait 180 whether it’s a SS of floater. If there’s followers out from under the dock that haven’t committed yet, this is a great way to entice a strike.
  
• 4. I skipped 4, so we’ll skip it too.
  
• 5. I have this kind of backwards since I did this late, but 5 is along the same lines as number 2. Pilings are great places to get bites.
  
• 6 Part One (obviously I can’t count when sleepy) I LOVE finding docks with grass mats growing on the pilings. Lake Austin has a TON of these in 12-15ft of water. I like to cast past them several times, and slowly crank past, or impart a different action on the bait (twitch, deadstick, etc). These are also a blast to punch into with punch setups.
  
• 6 Part Two. Sometimes it’s easy skip over because you can focus on the docks – but the flats between them hold a lot of fishing opportunities. I’ve seen a lot of beds during the spawn just off docks. I like to cast past them, and drop a slow sink right onto the bed (haven’t tried this yet with the gill, but I bet the SS will be a killer bed bait). Also, the retaining walls between docks (metal or concrete) have been productive as well. Cast and retrieve parallel and watch out for cables you can hang your bait on.

 

Grass Beds

Grass beds hold a lot of fish – period. I usually like to work the outsides of the bed first, and see if any fish are aggressive enough to come out and hit my baits without me having to get them dirty. If no takers, look for pockets without grass in the bed, and cast past, and work your bait past them. Slow sinks excel as a grass bed bait, because you can sink them to a height just about the bed in the water column and swim them slowly along, nicking the tallest of the grass. I like to fish them like HUGE rattle traps, and occasionally catch some grass, and tear it free, which bass love for some reason (looks like a freeing fish). A lot of times when fishing a bed, you can see the dark backs of fish sitting in pockets, and can make multiple approaches to the same fish. Change the action of the gill till you find what they like, and most importantly, try to stay in the strike zone as long as you can.

 

Rocky Point

In Texas, most of our lakes are deep reservoirs that have steep rocky banks with long points leading into the main lake and creek channels. These almost always hold fish at different depths, and if they’re active, you can pull several fish off each point. Points are the perfect setup for the gill, in both the SS sink (carefully – rocks grab snatch baits almost as well as trees) and especially the floater. Techniques:

• 1. My first cast will typically be to the edge of the visible point. This is usually a rock or outcropping that is mostly underwater, but has some part of it sticking out or close to the surface. I like to make multiple presentations to this outer edge, and often times even out past it (towards deeper water).
  
• 2. The second area will be the “saddle†or bridge created between the main point and that outer structure. A lot of times casting a slow sink out past this saddle, and bringing it just over the top of it will result in a strike just on the inside edge of it as the bait comes over. A floater will bring fish up to get it as well, as it’s usually pretty shallow here (less than 10ft or so).
  
• 3. My next cast would be past the main point. I like to cast at a 45 degree angle, so I can really work the bank and rip rap/rocks that are in the water leading out the point (#4). Twitch, pause, deadstick, etc.
  
• 4. Switch up your retrieve or impart action at the inside of the main point. Hold on.
  
• 5. If you pass the visible structure of the point without any takers, swirl or twitch your bait and deadstick to make a last ditch effort to entice any followers.
  
• 6. Another great area is on the backside or inside of the point. Crash your floater in the water just shy of the drop off into the water and see if you can get any fish suspended there.
  
• 7. A lot of times these points have HUGE boulders just under the surface. Bring a slow sink across the top of these, then kill it as it passes over the edge. Fish sitting on the edge or underneath it will hammer it.

 

Bank Fishing

Personally, I bank fish more than I hit water on a boat just because of the distance and travel required. I know some guys like to rag on bank fisherman, but there’s no shame in my game – some of my best fish have come from golf course and city ponds, and I love the urban angling movement. Lots of big fish sitting in underrated spots. When I hit the bank, here’s what I’m looking for when working the gill:

• 1. Structure, Structure, Structure. I’ve caught maybe 10% of my bank fish cranking baits through open water. I always look for something to target and focus on, because so do the fish. In this instance, I’ll hit a laydown (tree fallen into the water). I’ll cast past it several times and work the bait back past it (usually the floater), and twitch, twitch, twitch, deadstick right next to the tree. If no takers, I’ll slow start to crank it out. My fist fish on a Wake Jr. and the Floating Gill both came with that exact retrieve on a laydown from the bank. They hit on the second or third crank after the deadstick.
  
• 2. If you don’t get any takers coming past the laydown, cast into a pocket or break in the branches and try to entice a reaction bite. Don’t let your slow sink get deep in this scenario or you might not get it back. Best to use a floater for this approach.
  
• 3. I like to cast parallel to banks (especially if they drop off into the water at a steep angle). Fish will suspend along them and ambush baitfish that swim the edges. If you can find a rock, bush, tree root, etc sticking out, try to cast past it, and bring your retrieve right along it. Have hit several fish just past a large rock with the gill.
  
• 4. If there’s an isolated pile of rocks leading into the water, work it as much as possible. Cast up against it and see if there’s any fishing hanging out underneath the rocks. If you have slow sink gill and there’s a rock overhang, cast next to it and twitch it gently as it floats down underneath the rock.
  
• 5. A lot of times in ponds you can see a hump or elevation in the bottom of the pond. Cast past it, and work your bait over the top of this hump, especially if you see weeds or rocks sitting on it. Start with the outside edges like in the illustration, and then come right over the middle a few times.
  
• 6. See above.
  
• 7. This technique is especially helpful for you urban guys. If there’s any manmade walls or rip rap that lead into the water, work these as much as possible. There’s a pond I frequent that has a picnic area that has a concrete wall in the water like the pic above, and there’s always a large school of gills and other panfish congregated near it because people drop food to fish while eating. I’ve seen large bass bust this school up several times, so I always target that area and try to mimic an injured or feeding fish. Easy prey for a large bass. Rip rap always holds bass, so get along side it and try to keep your bait there as long as possible.

 

Limitations

• Not Weedless.(obviously). With it’s big trebles hanging under it’s belly, this bait is definitely not a chuck it into the heavy stuff and hope it comes out clean type of bait. While it can be twitched through trees or out of light cover once you get the hang of it, it is definitely not a weedless bait – lure retriever is a must. I’ve though about using the slow sink somewhat like a trap and letting it settle on a grass bed and then rip it out, but the size of the hook doesn’t really lend itself well to that approach. It can be “ticked†along a weedline effectively, but it’s not coming out of much else without hanging up, so fish wisely. Best bet is to choose the model of bait (SS or Floating) based on the water you typically fish, and adjust your retrieve accordingly to new conditions you encounter.
  
• Paint schemes. While this is just the first run of these baits, there’s a ton of potential to expand the bait to meet the needs (wishes) of anglers around the country. Though it’s mainly a reaction bait (and the current scheme obviously catches fish), the profile is perfect to expand to other items on the bass menu (sunfish, crappie, barfish, and my personal favorite, tilapia – c’mon Falcon Lake!). The alternate colors already available in many of the 3:16 lineups would look awesome on this bait – chartreuse, ice, white, white w/ red, sissy, etc, in addition to these natural colors.  Can’t wait to see what’s cooked up in the next batch.

Some additional additional scheme options on my wish list...

 

Worth It?

Hell. Yes.

 

After fishing soft swimbaits for a while and just making the (expen$ive) move into hardbaits, I lucked out to jump in just in time for the release of these baits. I’ve gotten some great advice from guys on this forum – like Jam, swimbaitrookie, and several others, and as I mentioned this bait has quickly replaced most of my box, and is a first cast type bait for me. Not only does it look great, and catch smaller fish in numbers, but if applied properly, it has the chance to catch a monster on any given cast....and after all, isn’t that about all you can ask for in a bait?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that right there is a review . I need one of those bad boys/girls

[Vedak]

Great reviews! I really want one of these bad boys!

[kleung06]

Holy cow, can we have this published? This could be an actual article!

[TacklemanTybs]

thanks for the report...simply amazing write up

[jonathando23]