Welcome to the Glowbite Grumpy Fish Review by FishingMad. Grumpy Fish sliding lures by Glowbite are one of the most unique and strangest looking lures that I have ever come across. These lures were designed in New Zealand by Wes Braddock taking a simple concept and turning it into an exciting product with snapper and kingfish in mind. However, after my test locally I can confirm that they are very effective on a whole range of species.
This eye-catching lure’s most unique feature is its integrated LED light which flashes red, white, and green every second once it makes contact with water. There has been extensive testing that shows that lures with flashing lights can increase catch rates. I was very curious and a little sceptical about this concept and wanted to test this out myself. This article will spend significant time talking about the lure’s features, my experiences on the water with it and how I think it can be best used for success in your local waters.
Grumpy Fish Features – Clever play of the senses to catch fish
Watch Al getting started with Glowbite grumpy fish lures
The grumpy fish lures tap into 3 senses ( sight, smell and sound ) to attract fish and make them very different to other products on the market. They make use of smart design concepts that help to attract fish. Flashing lights, rattles, bright skirts, and floating assist hooks for best hook placement. Let’s break down the features and senses this lure taps into.
SIGHT ( get the fish’s attention )
- A flashing light activates when it makes contact with water. The battery has 70 hours of runtime which is amazing. A lot of research on fish responding more to lures with lights ).
- This is further enhanced with dual long skirts which drifts and flutter in the water column. One long straight tail and an additional curly tail which work well in different actions. These look fantastic as the lure sinks and also as the lure drifts.
SMELL ( brings the fish in )
- The head of the lure has an integrated Scent dispenser which allows you to add your favourite scents such as ProCure, S-factor, or Aqua-X. I used ProCure in my testing and found that the bottle was a lot easier to apply.
SOUND ( plays on predatory behaviour)
- Rattles ( referred to as dinner bells ) add sound and vibration. Many fish have predatory behaviour and a loud rattle will often create a reaction strike.
This video shows a short sample of testing non-light lures vs light lures and the results are very surprising
My testing and catches with the Glowbite Grumpy fish lure
To test these lures I bought a new jigging outfit and headed to Portland Victoria to really put the grumpy fish lure through their paces. The combo I bought for testing was a TT SlowJigR rod SJRC 631ML rated PE 2 paired with a Shimano Genpu XT 200PG and 20lb Tasline braid which is rated PE 1.7 finished with 20 lb fluorocarbon leader. Now you could certainly fish a bit heavier with this however I love fishing ultra light and these rods have a casting weight capacity of 60-150 grams which suits these lures perfectly. For our test, we used the 60-gram grumpy fish in the orange colour and the 100-gram grump fish in the chartreuse colour which looks amazing.
We fished in many areas between Portland, Cape Nelson and Point Fairy. Fishing in various depths from 6 meters through to 70 meters deep. I found the 60-gram version of the grumpy fish lure worked great from depths of 12 meters through to 30 meters and the 80/100 gram versions were best from 30 meters to 70 meters deep.
You can fish these lures in a variety of ways however I found it best to find reefs and spoil grounds in deeper waters ( using Navionics to do this ) and vertically jig the lures slowly very similar to slow pitch jigging without the erratic lifts but more subtle gentle lifts. The major benefit of using an overhead reel here is that the line peels off the spool in a straight line whereas with a spin reel, the line will circle and coil slowing down the sinking rate. Often we got bites as the lure got close to the bottom, otherwise, we would let it hit the bottom and then do a few gentle lifts and pauses which often got catches doing that.
We caught snapper, kingfish, Nanigai, ocean perch, wrasse, and trevally. Unfortunately, our filming didn’t come out great as we battled with rough seas, high swells, wind and rain. So, we will need to venture back out soon in hopefully calmer conditions to get some watchable footage.
The million dollar question is does flashing LED lights increase catch rates? Well, I couldn’t say with complete certainty but I can only talk about my experiences. For me they worked great and I caught plenty of good fish using these lures which were easy to use. When you think about some of the logic the deeper you fish the darker the environment, think of how low visibility is once you go beyond 50 meters deep, anything that can create light, vibration and sound must help to get the fish’s attention. The lure was very durable, after quite a few catches I didn’t notice any paint removed from the head unit and the stinger hooks were still in good working order. That being said you can order spare assist hooks on their own which I think would be a good idea to have a few spares on hand.
How to rig the Glowbite Grumpy Fish Lure
Watch the video above which shows the best way to rig the Grumpy Fish lure
It’s a very simple process but the lure needs to be assembled once opened from the packaging. First, you simply slide your fluorocarbon leader through the small hole in the head, followed by the skirts and rattles. Then slide on and tie the assist hooks using your preferred knot. Once that’s done you fill the scent dispenser with your favourite scent and you are all set to go. It’s a simple process that takes less than a minute. Once you put the lure in the water the flashing LED light activates itself. Then simply drop the lure down to your desired depth and hold on.
Grumpy Lures Sizes, Colours and Options
The grumpy fish lures come in 4 different sizes/weights,
- 60 grams
- 80 grams
- 100 grams
- 140 grams
Making these lures I’m sure must be complicated but it would be amazing to see a 30-gram version of these lures for shallower waters as they would be deadly in our local bays.
They come available in 6 different colours
- Black mamba
- Caramello
- Chartreuse
- Orange
- Orange/pink
- Pink
Cost and where to buy
You can buy these lures from many tackle stores around Australia and New Zealand. My local tackle store Melbourne Marine Centre stocks a good volume of them and I can see several online retailers now selling these.
The prices vary from $18.99 to $21.99 depending on the size/weight you buy. I think that great value when you consider how well these lures are designed and the fact that the internal lights last up to 70 hours.
- 60 gram versions cost $18.99
- 80 gram versions cost $19.99
- 100 gram versions cost $20.99
- 140 gram versions cost $21.99
Final word
These truly are unique lures, that do catch a lot of fish. They can be vertically jigged, or even set as a drifter. Im fascinated by the technological advancements we see in fishing and this is a lure that you should at very least try especially if you fish in deeper waters.
Thanks for reading the Glowbite Grumpy Fish Review. You can see more about Glowbite Grumpy Fish on the Glowbite website. You can follow FishingMad using this product and many others by following our weekly fishing videos here.
