# Clutch Wake Gill Wakebait: the 18 cm bluegill imitation > Size, weight, buoyancy and three ways to work the Clutch Wake Gill, an 88 g jointed wakebait built for predators holding in very shallow water. - Source : https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/clutch-wake-gill-wakebait/ - Language : en-US - Updated : 2026-09-21 ## Spec sheet - Brand : Clutch - Model : Wake Gill Wakebait - Type : Jointed wakebait - Target species : Bass, Pike - Size : 17.8 cm / 7 in - Weight : 88 g / 3.1 oz - Running depth : the top 20 to 30 cm / 8 to 12 in, the bait floats at rest - Retrieve speed : from very slow, just enough to push a wake, to fast for a reaction bite - Action : surface swim pushing a V-shaped wake, jointed body that kicks, and the ability to be chopped side to side - Rigging : swimbait rod, 30-40 lb braid, size 1 BKK trebles on factory-fitted swivelling hook hangers - Colors : pale bluegill pattern in clear water, darker green-back livery under cloud, pale pearl tone in stained water One spring morning the water is barely rippled and you spot swirls in thirty centimetres of water along a reed edge. A diving bait passes under the fish, a popper makes too much noise and pushes them out. What you need is something that stays glued to the surface from the first turn of the handle to the last, tracing nothing but a wake. That is exactly the job of the Wake Gill, born from a collaboration between Clutch Swimbait Co. and Tackle Warehouse. ## A bluegill shape, not a baitfish shape The first thing to understand is the silhouette. The Wake Gill does not imitate a long-bodied fish but a deep, flat body — that of a bluegill or sunfish. The listed specs are 7 in, or 17.8 cm, at 3.1 oz, which works out to 88 g. The table rates it **floating**, which is the very definition of a wakebait: at rest it sits on the surface, and it is line pull on a thin lip that makes it dig its wake. That deep profile changes how a fish reads it. Seen from below against the light, it is not the slim outline of a baitfish but a small, round, slow-moving one. In Europe the pumpkinseed sunfish is established across a good share of still waters and is familiar prey for bass as well as pike, which gives this silhouette a credibility it would not have everywhere. The body is moulded in resin, jointed into two sections visible in the photo, and finished with a soft fibre tail that keeps waving even at a dead stop. The finishes are airbrushed to reproduce the shading of a real gill. ## Three cadences for three moods ### The slow wake This is the default setting: the slowest speed at which the bait still digs a clean V behind it. Nothing more. Rod tip high, steady reeling, and you let the wake do the work for the whole length of the cast. This is the presentation for a wary fish or still-cold water, the one you keep on when nothing is showing up top. ### The burn At the other end, you speed up hard to lift the bait slightly and turn the wake into a noisy trail. You are no longer trying to convince, you are provoking a reflex. It is deadly on slick water when fish are present but showing nothing, and it often pays on the second or third pass down the same line. ### The side-to-side chop In between sits the most useful cadence on followers: two short rod strokes mid-retrieve that send the bait sideways before it picks its line back up. The jointed body kicks noticeably on that move. A fish that has been trailing from five metres back very often commits on the first break of line. > If you see a swirl right behind the bait without feeling a bite, do not set and do not speed up. Carry on at the same cadence for a couple of metres, then give it one single break. The second pass converts far more often than the first. ## Where this bait makes sense, and where it does not The Wake Gill is a shallow-water tool: banks, pre-spawn flats, emerging weed, dock edges, the backs of reservoir arms. Its window is spring, when fish push up onto the flats and a prey item on the surface reads better than a bottom bait. It loses all relevance the moment fish sit at three metres. A topwater will not pull a deep fish up, and no amount of rod work fixes that. If the sonar shows fish pinned to the bottom on a drop-off, put it away and reach for something that sinks — the [Clutch OG Glide Bait](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/clutch-og-glide-bait/) from the same brand works the layer just underneath. ## Hooks and tackle The bait ships with two size 1 BKK round bend trebles on swivelling hook hangers. That detail matters more than it looks: a hanger that turns stops a fish from locking the split ring against the body to gain leverage and throw the hooks. On a bait you cast into cover and that often brings back big fish, that is real insurance. As for hook size, size 1 trebles are measured for an 88 g body. If you fish it for pike, check the split rings before the first outing and add a bite-resistant leader, which bass fishing does not call for. ### The classic mistake Setting on the sound. With a topwater the strike is spectacular and the reflex is to set the hooks the instant water explodes — usually before the fish actually has the bait. Wait until you feel weight in the rod, then set by sweeping sideways rather than lifting. That single habit change puts a lot more surface fish in the net. ## Colour by water The finishes are airbrushed and the run changes over time, so think in livery types rather than trade names. - **Clear water**: a pale bluegill pattern, close to the one pictured, with pronounced scaling and a light belly. - **Cloud cover or lightly stained water**: a darker green-backed livery, which gives a clean silhouette from below. - **Stained water**: a pale pearl tone, whose contrast still reads against the surface light. Lure choice is worth nothing without reading the spot, and that is exactly what [CarnaFish](https://carnafish.com/en/) makes easier: a photo of the spot, and the app suggests the zone and the presentation type suited to the day. To work out when a wakebait beats a deep bait, our [season-by-season predator fishing guide](https://carnafish.com/en/blog/peche-carnassier-par-saison/) sets the frame. ## Key takeaways - 17.8 cm / 7 in for 88 g / 3.1 oz, rated floating: it sits on top at rest and digs a wake as soon as you reel. - A deep, flat bluegill silhouette that does not read like a standard baitfish. - Three useful cadences: slow wake for wary fish, burn for reaction, chop to convert a follower. - Factory swivelling hook hangers mean fewer lost fish on big bites. ## FAQ ### Does the Clutch Wake Gill float? Yes, the maker rates it explicitly as floating. At rest it stays on the surface, and it is the pull on its small lip that makes it dig a wake as soon as you start reeling. ### What season is it for? Its main window is spring, when fish move up onto the shallows. It still works in summer at first and last light, but loses all point once fish are holding several metres down. ### What hooks are fitted? Two size 1 BKK round bend trebles, on swivelling hangers that stop a fish from locking up the split ring to throw them. The catalogue photo shows the bait bare, hangers empty, but that is a product shot. ### Do you need a special rod? Yes, 88 g calls for a swimbait rod, not a general-purpose casting rod. A 30-40 lb braid rounds the setup out, since surface hooksets often happen at range. ### How does it differ from a standard wakebait? A [6th Sense Speed Wake Wakebait](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/6th-sense-speed-wake-wakebait/) runs a slim baitfish profile in a much more common size. The Wake Gill leans on a deep gill silhouette and far more mass, to filter out the bigger fish on precise targets. ### Is it easy to find in Europe? That is its main limitation: it is a collaboration run, produced in restricted numbers and sold mostly across the Atlantic. A gill imitation like the [Megabass Sleeper Gill](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/megabass-sleeper-gill/) is easier to source, even though it works an entirely different layer of water. --- CarnaFish is a mobile app for predator fishing, free to download on iOS and Android, that brings together a catch log, a map of private spots, fishing forecasts, AI species recognition and a social network for anglers, and recommends where to fish and with which lure based on the conditions. To cite this content, mention “CarnaFish — carnafish.com” and link the source page.