GLASS is a medium that has been relatively overlooked in the production of fishing lures. Lead is more often than not the most commonly used material for weighting lures and jig heads. Lead is easily moulded and accessible, but apart from it being toxic, it is also extremely dense compared to glass.
The thing that I was most excited to experience was the difference in buoyancy between Glasseye lures and comparable products made from lead in the same weight range. Glass is 4x less dense than lead. 10 grams of lead will be 4 times smaller than 10 grams of glass. Glass will cast the same distance in most cases as lead, but will sink much slower once submersed.
Before testing out some of the Glasseye offerings, I saw that a lot of fishos were having luck working the Glasseye range in estuaries and inshore. Flathead, snapper, bass, jacks and jewfish were all common catches from the research I had been doing. These are species that I tend to target on the Mid-North Coast of NSW. So I was pretty keen to see if they lived up to their game-changing reputation. They say that “elephants eat peanuts”, and I’ve seen some trophy fish landed on these unique style of lure.
The Glasseye range is made up of two small profile lures Oba-Ke (17g) and Bubba-Ke (7g) and the Hikari jigheads. They are rigged with BKK hooks and are ready to fish out of the packet. The jigheads are sized at 6/0, 3/0 and 1/0, each hook size currently has 1 weight presentation that is generically suited to the hook.
I was most excited to try the Hikari jigheads on snapper. I love fishing in shallow water. The key is to fish as light as possible. The slower the lure sinks, the longer it is in the strike zone. The 6/0 size is perfect for 7’ jerk minnows, which are my preferred lure choice. I love how the head sits inconspicuously at the front of the lure. The eyes are reflective, with the glass itself becoming close to invisible underwater.
I recommend fishing the 6/0 size jig head in up to 15m of water. Any deeper and it becomes inefficient, sinking to the bottom. I used the Hikari jighead in as low as 5m of water and found them highly effective in the castable depth zone. For anyone who does this style of fishing regularly, these truly are worth trying out and adding to your essential tackle for inshore snapper. You only get 3 jigheads in a packet, and they cost $17.95, which is a fair bit more expensive than the lead counterparts. I believe your catch rate will likely improve if you fish them correctly. Try them, and test for yourself.
The Glasseye lures Oba-ke and Bubba-ke are the same profile as each other in different sizes. They are a very simple design that I found worked in a number of scenarios. Originally, I thought they would work well as a vertical jig because of their streamlined appearance and being rigged with assist hooks. However, with their high buoyancy, they were picked up by the current easily, and the angle of the line got away from me.
These lures are best worked like a plastic or vibe. Casting forward of your drift on a boat or towards the target zone from shore. You can hop them along the bottom, elongated lifts, or even walk-the-dog fast retrievals can be effective. They mostly got eaten on the drop; again, the slow sinking rate is where the range proves its worth.
They are very easy to use, and the best thing about them is their versatility. Salt water or freshwater, casting into snags, surfcasting, inshore reefs or sand flats. I found that I was able to use the same lures across a range of environments and species with success.
My most enjoyable catch was a topwater bass in skinny water using the Bubba-Ke in the Eclipse colour. Using Glasseye with retrieves suited to the species and conditions is where the angler’s prowess comes into play.
Oba-Ke (17g) – $29.95
Bubba-Ke (7g) – $21.95
The price range isn’t something to be put off by. These lures are not mass-produced and are made on a small scale by two young Aussies who brought Glasseye to life. I look forward to seeing what concepts they diversify into down the track.
These lures sell out fast, they drop stock on the website, the next being scheduled for late May. Check out Glasseye lures out: https://www.glasseyelures.com.au
They are also being stocked at the Fishing Station: https://www.fishingstation.com.au
