I have loved the long-casting, grippy as hell IMA Hound 125F Glide lure since 2012 when I got hold of my first one and caught a bass around 6lbs on it over in Ireland the first session I ever clipped it on. The fact that I hooked that bass close to a rock that I had never got as close to really got me noticing just how well a 125mm/20g long hard lure could cast when you found the right one. As a hard lure I don’t think the Hound Glide is doing anything particularly special in the water, and I don’t turn to it for really shallow ground, but as a regular size hard lure in that all important 120-140mm size, I am not personally aware of anything else out there that casts so well and “bites” so hard into some seriously rough seas or raging currents if needs be, and over a lot of time and bass with it, I obviously trust that it catches me fish.

The longest measured bass I have photographed (82cms) was taken on a Hound Glide in a really strong bit of current over in Kerry. I did it so naturally the other day that I didn’t actually notice it until I went out fishing - we were heading out for some bouncy conditions on the rocks and I had filled up one side of a medium size washable lure box with Hound Glides and copies of Hound Glides, as per below. The IMA Hound 125F Glide as of June 2020 is still my go-to hard lure for a bunch of different situations…………..

But there was a time not that long ago when the Hound Glide became as good as unavailable here in the UK, so I went looking for decent copies. Thanks to some good people here in the UK the Hound Glide is now very much back on the market and available again so that’s me sorted, but copies of many lures do exist out there and as per this blog post here from a few months ago, sometimes these copies do seem to be as good as the original. I don’t like the fact that stuff gets copied, but it happens, and as regards the Hound Glide not being available for a fair while, I simply was not going to be without this style of 125mm lure that could do so much for me. I might or might not have panic-bought enough Hound Glides to last me for a few lifetimes now that they are available again, but let’s gloss over my lure related issues and instead examine whether the copies I found were any good. I will go with the originals whenever possible but some anglers can’t or won’t spend that sort of dosh and who on earth am I to judge? If a lure gets you out fishing and catches you fish, then so be it.

I can’t recall how I stumbled across the “Payo Perca 125 Mac Tune Floating Jerkbait” here on Ebay, but I took a punt on a couple a few years ago and to be perfectly honest I was amazed at how good they are. Not only do these Hound Glide copies have good hooks on them which do not need to be replaced for our bass fishing, but over a decent amount of time with them in all the kinds of conditions I would fish an original Hound Glide, I can’t see any difference at all in how the two lures cast and swim. I don’t do conspiracy theories and I am pretty sure the world is in fact round, but damn this Payo Perca 125 Mac Tune Floating Jerkbait could well be the exact same lure, only cheaper. Now that the original IMA Hound 125F Glide is back on the market in some very nice colours and rigged with what seems to be some seriously good trebles, I will buy the original now, but it would be remiss of me not to tell you about such a good copy.

The HTO or AXIA Search, NOT the original hooks

The other copy I came across was the HTO Search, now called the AXIA Search. I like the colours on these copies, and whilst they seem to swim at the same sort of depth and so on as the original Hound Glide, on the casting front and into a bit of wind especially I reckon these copies do not go out as well as the original and are reaching what looks to be about ⅔ as far. £7.99 is buying you a lure that catches fish and casts well enough in a bunch of situations, but I would implore you to bin the hooks and split rings straight away. The treble hooks on these HTO or AXIA Search lures especially are not good, but it’s a simple job to put a couple of #4 treble hooks and new split rings on, and with the lure costing what it does I see no reason to complain.

My Hound Glides tend to get a good battering around the rocks

And that is how I rig any of my Hound Glides - either I remove the middle treble and crush all the barbs out of the box (these lures do not need three treble hooks, end of), or when the time comes to replace damaged or seriously rusted hooks I go for a couple of #4 trebles. I have done okay with a single hook on the rear of a Hound Glide, but as per this blog post here, I have given single hooks on regular hard lures a lot of time now and I remain unconvinced. Quite why I then feel 100% confident with a decent size 2/0 or 3/0 single hook on something like the Savage Gear Seeker or Sandeel Pencil 125 in the surf is something I can’t really explain, but hey ho we are never going to come close to knowing it all and the older I get, the more comfortable I am with that simple fishing fact. You all have a good weekend………………

The first bass I ever caught on a Hound Glide

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My beloved IMA Hound 125F Glide lure (officially in the UK again, yippee!) and two direct copies - what are the differences?

© Henry Gilbey 2023