Hard baits: Spybaits

A slim, slow-sinking body with a small propeller at each end: on a dead-slow straight reel the props spin and the body rolls, a shimmer with almost no vibration. The finesse hard bait for clear, pressured water and suspended fish, and a bait that punishes any rod action.

ItemDetail
DepthSinks about 30 cm (1 ft) per second: count down, then reel at the depth of the fish
Body6–9 cm (2.5–3.5"), 5–10 g (3/16–3/8 oz)
RetrieveAs slow as the reel will turn, rod still, line slack enough for the body to roll
WhereClear water, points, bluffs, over suspended fish and bait; summer and post-spawn
Rod / line6'8"–7' (2.03–2.13 m) ML spinning; 5–7 lb fluorocarbon, never braid to the bait
ModelsDuo Realis Spinbait 80 / 90, Jackall I-Prop, Megabass Prop Darter, Lucky Craft Screw Pointer, Storm Arashi Spinbait

Light line is the technique: 6 lb fluorocarbon lets the props spin and the body roll; 10 lb kills both.

Top 10 in four markets

United States

  1. Duo Realis Spinbait Spybait Series — $14.97 - $19.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #1; 2-7 ft (Spinbait 70/80 Shallow) to 8-17 ft (Spinbait 90/100), 2.75-4 in (70-100 mm), 5/16-5/8 oz (9-17.7 g), sinking; the original spybait: props both ends, sinking, flat-sided body that rolls on a slow crawl; 4.3/5 avg (3 reviews)
  2. Great Lakes Finesse Stay Pinned Spy Bait — $17.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #2; slow sink, tracks horizontal, 2.75 in (70 mm), 1/4 oz (7 g); twin-prop sinking spybait built to stay level on the retrieve; 5.0/5 avg (4 reviews)
  3. Duo Realis G-Fix Spinbait 80 Spybait — $18.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #3; 10-18 ft (3-5.5 m), 3-1/8 in (80 mm), 3/8 oz (10.5 g), sinking; heavier G-Fix with down-sized props for deep spybaiting
  4. Berkley SPY Spinbait — $13.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #4; sinking / slow-sinking versions, 2.75 in (70 mm), 1/3 oz or 1/4 oz (9.5 / 7 g); compact twin-prop spybait with a tight shimmy; 4.7/5 avg (3 reviews)
  5. Duo Realis Spinbait Alpha Spybait — $16.99 - $17.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #5; sinking, 2-1/2 to 2-7/8 in (62-72 mm), 3/8 to 1/2 oz (10.6-14 g); Alpha: fixed ballast, heavy roll and pulsation from front and rear props; 5.0/5 avg (1 reviews)
  6. SPRO Spin John 80 Spybait — $18.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #6; sinking, 3.14 in (80 mm), 5/16 oz (9 g); swivel-mounted props both ends; pressured and suspended fish; 5.0/5 avg (2 reviews)
  7. 6th Sense Party Prop Spy Bait — $10.00 - $10.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #7; sinking, 2.36 / 3.14 in (60 / 80 mm), 0.19 / 0.37 oz (5.4 / 10.5 g); head-and-tail props on a streamlined sinking body; 2.3/5 avg (3 reviews)
  8. Eurotackle Z-Spyer — $7.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #8; sinking, 2 in (51 mm), 1/8 oz (3.5 g); micro twin-prop sinking spybait
  9. Nishine Lure Works Baby Abino 70S Spybait — $20.49. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #11; slow sink (about 1 ft per count), 2.76 in (70 mm), 3/8 oz (10.6 g); dual props plus a belly blade; rolls and clicks on a steady retrieve; 5.0/5 avg (1 reviews)
  10. Jenko Fishing Shinobi Shad Spybait — $8.99. Tackle Warehouse 'Spybaits' (17 items) sorted by Popularity: #12; sinks about 1 ft per second, 2.1 in (53 mm), 1/4 oz (7 g), sinking; downsized twin-prop spybait; VMC trebles; 5.0/5 avg (1 reviews)

Canada

  1. Duo Realis Spinbait 80 — C$29.99. anglingsports.ca 'Spy Bait' collection, best-selling sort #1 of 5; fishingworld.ca 'SPYBAIT' collection, best-selling sort #5 of 7; runs sinking; 80 mm / 3/8 oz; the original spybait
  2. SPRO Spin John 80 — C$21.99. fishingworld.ca 'SPYBAIT' collection, best-selling sort #2 of 7; runs sinking; 80 mm; spybait with swivelled props
  3. Berkley Spy 70 — C$17.99. anglingsports.ca 'Spy Bait' collection, best-selling sort #2 of 5; runs sinking; 70 mm; spybait
  4. Duo Realis Spinbait 90 — C$25.99. fishingworld.ca 'SPYBAIT' collection, best-selling sort #4 of 7; anglingsports.ca 'Spy Bait' collection, best-selling sort #3 of 5; runs sinking; 90 mm / 1/2 oz; spybait
  5. Duo Realis Spinbait 80 G-Fix — C$25.99. fishingworld.ca 'SPYBAIT' collection, best-selling sort #3 of 7; runs sinking, heavier; 80 mm; heavier G-Fix version
  6. Duo Realis Spinbait 62 Alpha — C$20.99. anglingsports.ca 'Spy Bait' collection, best-selling sort #4 of 5; runs sinking; 62 mm; compact spybait
  7. Duo Realis Spinbait 100 — C$27.99. fishingworld.ca 'BASS FAVOURITES 2026' collection, best-selling sort #216 of 219; single store, position 216 — weak evidence; runs sinking; 100 mm; large spybait
  8. Duo Realis Spinbait 72 Alpha — C$20.99. anglingsports.ca 'Spy Bait' collection, best-selling sort #5 of 5; runs sinking; 72 mm; spybait

Japan

  1. Tiemco Stealth Pepper 110S — ¥1,851 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #4; 110 mm / 15 g; sinking twin-prop
  2. Daiwa Gillnado S — ¥980 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #15 (also keyword 'プロップベイト' #7); 70 mm / 16.8 g; sinking gill prop bait
  3. Daiwa Gastnado FS — ¥1,089 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #16 (also keyword 'プロップベイト' #8); 72 mm / 7.4 g; fast-sinking prop bait
  4. Daiwa Steez Prop 85FS — ¥1,650 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #19; 85 mm / 16.5 g; sinking prop bait
  5. sumlures Prop Drop Mini — ¥1,540 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #23; 34 mm / 3.5 g; micro sinking prop
  6. Jackall i-Prop 75SS Maruhata Custom — ¥1,693 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #24 (also keyword 'プロップベイト' #13); 75 mm / 6.5 g; double-prop i-motion, slow sinking
  7. DUO Realis Spinbait 60 — ¥1,436 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #25; 60 mm / 4.5 g; the original spybait
  8. Tiemco Stealth Pepper 55S — ¥1,980 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #26; 55 mm / 3.8 g; slow-sinking twin prop
  9. Daiwa Steez Prop 85S — ¥1,350 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #27; 85 mm / 13.8 g; sinking prop bait
  10. Daiwa Gastnado S — ¥910 (naturum list price). naturum 'スイッシャー' (Swishers / prop baits) category, best-selling sort #28 (also keyword 'プロップベイト' #16); 88 mm / 8.5 g; sinking prop bait

China

  1. 白苍 (shop) Spin John 80 间谍饵 双螺旋桨沉水米诺 7.7 g — ¥20 / item. Taobao list page 'propeller minnow' sorted by sales (fetched 2026-09-28): position 2 of 20; shop 白苍路亚. Genuine spybait: props at both ends, sinking; cropped, captions removed.
  2. Tsurinoya DW122 螺旋桨沉水米诺 40S — ¥19 / item. Taobao list page 'propeller minnow' sorted by sales (fetched 2026-09-28): position 10 of 20; shop 钓之屋旗舰店. Sinking prop minnow with props at both ends but also a diving lip — closest thing to a spybait on the list; photo used as is.

← Lipless crankbaits (VIB) · Choosing a hard bait: mechanism, depth, season →

Hard baits

Sub-surface hard baits by what makes them move: crankbaits with a lip (squarebill, medium, deep, flat-sided), lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits (suspending, floating, deep), hard swimbaits (glide baits with one joint, multi-jointed swimbaits), spybaits, and the topwater hard baits: poppers, walking baits, prop baits, wake baits.

  1. Crankbaits
  2. Deep-diving crankbaits
  3. Medium-diving crankbaits
  4. Squarebill crankbaits
  5. Flat-sided crankbaits
  6. Topwater hard baits
  7. Poppers
  8. Prop baits
  9. Walking baits (walk-the-dog)
  10. Wake baits
  11. Jerkbaits
  12. Suspending jerkbaits
  13. Water temperature and buoyancy tuning
  14. Nose split ring and loop knot
  15. Jump the slack and rod work
  16. Jerkbait colour and rattle selection
  17. Jerkbait rod, reel and line formula
  18. Jerkbait treble hook sizes and feathered tails
  19. Floating jerkbaits
  20. Slow-sinking jerkbaits
  21. Sinking jerkbaits
  22. Deep-diving jerkbaits
  23. Hard swimbaits
  24. Glide baits (single joint)
  25. Multi-jointed swimbaits
  26. Lipless crankbaits (VIB)
  27. Spybaits
  28. Choosing a hard bait: mechanism, depth, season

Hard baits