UFO 6” Gill Swimbait – Abducting Bass Night and Day 

Total Score: 8.41 - ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD

Introduction: UFO Bait Co. is a custom swimbait builder that creates some of the most sought-after gill baits in the game. These include the immense Mothership and the smaller 6” gill, both of which are coveted by swimbait enthusiasts that have witnessed, or heard about, the many bass abductions that these renowned baits are responsible for.

The UFO 6" Gill Wake is a handmade custom swimbait. Tilapia pattern on left and Sunkist Gill on right

Impressions: UFO Bait Co. was created by Eric Banuelos, who is still the company’s primary baitsmith and painter, and together with his wife design and manufacture all UFO swimbaits. The name UFO is an acronym for “Ultimate Fishing Objects,” and describes the company’s signature platter shaped bait, the coveted Mothership which Eric originally created for fishing highly pressured San Diego lakes. The Mothership is the very definition of a big swimbait and measures close to 9” long, is 4” high, and just over an inch and a half thick at the widest point. The waking version weighs in at over 7.5 ounces and retail on this bait is $299. Buying one can be a challenge as “Ships” are very limited and with demand so high for these baits they routinely sell for more in the secondhand market.

The bait that helped put UFO Bait Co. on the map, the massive Mothership, or "Ship" as some fondly call it

The Mothership has achieved legendary status for being a big fish catcher, but also for being one of the most unique looking and sounding baits on the market. Watching a Mothership sail through the air and splash land is a sight, but watch the bait move water as it is twitched and retrieved, and it is immediately obvious this bait is all business. I’ve wanted a Mothership for a long time but never caught a drop or found a reasonable deal on a secondhand one that I was comfortable pulling the trigger on.

The 6" Gill is basically a downsized Mothership. Both baits feature a platter style design that makes them instantly recognizable

I decided that I would have to work my way up to a Mothership and set my sights on a UFO Gill. The 6” Gill is basically a downsized Mothership and features the same platter style profile and three section design, just in a much smaller scale. Eric builds many more of the 6” gills, and they retail for $199 each. While the 6” Gill is much more accessible they can still be difficult to procure due to their high demand. But swimbait enthusiasts are resourceful, and this is par for the course with highly desirable “fire” garage-built custom baits.

Both the Mothership and 6" Gill have relatively thin bodies

All UFO 6” Gill swimbaits are made of resin, have two joints, and finished with a semi-soft permanently affixed tail. The Gill is made in a variety of configurations including a wake and crankdown with a clear lexan bill, and a non-billed extra slow sinking version.

The 6" Sunkist Gill weighed in at 2.81 ounces. The articulation of the joints can be seen here as well

Real World Tests: I was finally able to procure a 6” Gill directly from UFO in the wake configuration and Sunkist pattern this past summer. To say I was excited to fish the new wake would be an understatement. Within an hour of receiving the bait from Eric I already had it tied on and was in full send mode.

The 6" Gill is available in a variety of configurations including wake, crankdown, and a lipless extra slow sink