LIVETARGET Goby Paddle Tail Swimbait Review

LIVETARGET makes some of the most realistic baits on the market. They make some great lures and always seem to win awards at shows like ICAST. With that being said, I owned maybe two of their baits until recently. I received one of their Sunfish Hollow Belly (another ICAST winner) and these two gobies at ICAST this year. The sunfish works as advertised and I have been using both the Goby Paddle Tail Swimbait and Goby Single Tail Swimbait over the past month.

My first impression of the goby swimbaits were that they looked great and would definitely catch smallmouth where I fish. I was right, they do catch fish and they are very realistic.

Before I get started, here are the details of the two baits.

Along the back, the LIVETARGET Goby Paddle Tail Swimbait features a hard-kicking paddle tail that comes to life on a slow drift. Offered in a range of lifelike goby patterns, the LIVETARGET Goby paddle Tail Swimbait provides multi-species attraction that is sure to become a staple among Northern anglers. LIVETARGET 

At the rear, the LIVETARGET Goby Single Tail Swimbait is fitted with an oversized J-shaped tail that flickers and thumps, even with a super-slow drift. Equipped with a razor-sharp top hook, the LIVETARGET Goby Single Tail Swimbait delivers an unsurpassed Goby imitation that Northern anglers are sure to love.

Length Weight 

3-1/4"   1/2oz 

3-5/8"   3/4oz 

4"         1oz

Fishing these two baits was kind of a cross between fishing a football head jig and a swimbait. Although we do not have gobies in our waters, we do have some sculpin which are very similar. Both of these species stay along the bottom most of their lives and often around rocks. This is what I targeted with the bait and I tried to keep it close to the bottom more like I fish a jig.  The paddle tail and single grub tail both have great action and do not require much effort to get started.

The baits were easy to fish and I got bit fairly quickly during testing. I was able to hook most of what bit and I would compare the hook-to-land ratio to a football head. Some fish short strike it, but most of the time they stayed hooked once you get them.

The color selection and sizes available were pretty impressive. All of the colors looked good and I like the 1/2oz size I was using. The bigger sizes may be good for deep water and rough conditions, but may be too big and too heavy for some situations.

I also like the fact that these come in packs of three. I didn't lose any but know that if you are fishing these in the right areas, you are bound to lose a few in the rocks The price also isn't outrageous. $11.99-$12.99 for a three pack is pretty good. It's more than a jighead and hula grub, but much less than most swimbaits, which again this bait is a cross between both of them.

Overall I like the baits. It worked for me and I think it will work anywhere smallmouth live even if there are no gobies in the water.