Have you ever heard of a fishing lure that you need to charge to use? Technology is constantly advancing, and so is the way people target fish. So, stay in the loop with all the new fishing gear coming out, and check out these five best robotic fishing lures out on the market today. These rechargeable electric lures simulate the swimming patterns of an injured live prey fish and are self-driven by the propeller in its mouth.
Don’t miss out on this new technology and learn more about these animated lures below.
Hook and Bullet Top 5 Best Robotic Fishing Lures
| PRODUCT | FEATURES | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Watalure Common Shad Robotic Fishing Lure |
| Check The Price! |
 | Watalure Upgraded Robotic Fishing Lure |
| Check The Price! |
 | N/C Robotic Fishing Lure |
| Check The Price! |
 | Ufish Baby Bass Robotic Fishing Lure |
| Check The Price! |
 | ODS Color C Robotic Fishing Lure |
| Check The Price! |
Why Can You Trust Us?
Here at Hook and Bullet, our writers are a team of experienced anglers who happen to be really into fishing gear. Seriously, we love fishing tackle. So, whenever something new comes out, of course, we want to research it and see if it works. As a result, we examined each available robotic fishing lure on the market today to find which electric tackles will attract fish.
Thus, I am excited to share which animated lures you should add to your tackle box.
Best Robotic Lure for Catfish
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Watalure’s animated lure is 5.12-inches in length and takes 3-4 hours to charge with a battery life of 1-1.5 hours. This Lure features size four treble hooks that are both sharp and corrosion-resistant.
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Why We Like It: This robotic fishing lure by Watalure has a beautiful design with four shad-like skins. Specifically, the common shad skin is very appealing to catfish, bass, muskie, and northern pike. Also, another feature of this electronic lure is its LED light, so you can see it when night fishing or in murky water.
Additionally, this lure has a unique swimming pattern that allows the bait to stop and go every 5-10 seconds. This swim pattern mimics a prey fish, making it more enticing to predators.
Who Should Buy It: Anglers actively targeting catfish.
Best Robotic Lure for Northern Pike
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This model of robotic lures is an upgraded version of Watalure’s other products. It features a shorter charging time of 2 hours with a battery life of 1.5 hours.
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Why We Like It: Just like Watalure’s original model, you can use the upgraded version in freshwater or saltwater. Also, when used with a float and the correct leader length, this electric lure is unlikely to tangle in underwater debris. This feature is excellent for pike fishing since they like to seek areas with dense vegetation.
In addition, the shorter charging time appeals to those anglers who have an onboard or portable power bank.
Who Should Buy It: Anglers actively targeting northern pike.
Best Robotic Lure for Muskellunge
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This electric lure by N/C has a realistic design and is 5.1-inches in length. In addition, the charging time on this lure is 2-3 hours and has a battery life of 1-2 hours.
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Why We Like It: N/C’s robotic lure is easy to operate, whether you’re fishing in ice, a river, a lake, or in the sea. Additionally, this lure’s 3-D eyes, realistic design, and swim pattern make it look like a live fish in the water. Plus, this lure is durable with solid metal connections and sharp hooks. These durability features will likely hold up against the strike of a muskellunge.
Who Should Buy It: Anglers targeting larger fish species like muskellunge or northern pike.
Best Robotic Lure for Smallmouth Bass
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Ufish’s 3.5-inch self-propelled robotic fishing lure is a great gift item for anglers. This robotic lure is available in multiple skins that could appeal to most bass species.
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Why We Like It: Conveniently, you can recharge the Ufish robotic lure using a USB cable that takes 2.5-3 hours to charge fully. Also, this electronic lure has a long usage time of 1.5-2 hours, so you won’t have to switch it out as often.
Additionally, it will come with a storage case, charging cable, float, and two extra propellers when you buy this lure. The included spare propellers are a nice bonus because it allows you to fix a damaged propeller in a cinch. Hence, using your animated lure with a damaged propeller will likely hinder your bait’s swimming ability.
Who Should Buy It: Anglers actively targeting smallmouth bass.
Best Robotic Lure for Largemouth Bass
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This electronic lure by ODS is 3.9-inches long and weighs 0.9oz, making it lightweight. This tackle is available in six skins and can target bass, northern pike, and trout.
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Why We Like It: ODS’s robotic fishing lure is an automatic swimbait that’s electronically programmed to mimic live prey fish. Additionally, this animated lure is simple to recharge via USB with a charging time of 2-3 hours. However, the run time is short, and you’re only likely to get 30 minutes of use out of it.
Furthermore, when choosing a skin for largemouth bass, we recommend selecting skin C, which resembles a perch. Perch are a natural live bait that largemouth bass is known to target.
Who Should Buy It: Angler’s actively targeting largemouth bass.
How To Use an Electric Fishing Lure?
Did you know using an electric fishing lure is just as easy as using crankbaits and swimbaits? If you want to learn how to use robotic bait, follow these steps below:
- First, connect your charging points to the negative and positive terminals on your lure. Then, charge your tackle in the recommended time labeled on its packaging.
- After your lure is fully charged, disconnect the cable.
- Next, take the included float and connect it to the end of your main line.
- Then, tie a leader line to the bottom of the float; leader lengths will vary in different water depths.
- Now connect your electric fishing lure to the end of your leader using one of the two hook up points. Note, the hook-up point on the dorsal fin will make your bait swim down, and connecting your leader towards the eyes will make it swim up.
- Next, drop your line in the water and start fishing. These robotic lures will automatically activate as soon as it hits the water.
- Lastly, to shut off the tackle, pull it up and out of the water. There is no on or off switch on most electric lures, so they cannot be manually turned off.
Benefits of Using a Robotic Fishing Lure
There are many advantages and some disadvantages of using a robotic fishing lure. So, let’s see how electric lures stack up against both live bait and multi-jointed swimbaits.
Robotic Lure vs. Live Bait
The main benefits of using a robotic lure over live bait are:
- You don’t need to carry a Livewell
- They’re readily accessible
Although a robotic lure will never truly replace live bait, its life-like programmed swimming pattern makes it a good substitute.
Robotic Lure vs. Multi-Jointed Swimbait
Image credits: Photo by Miranda Bleijenberg
The key differences between a robotic lure and a multi-jointed swimbait are:
- It’s self-propelled
- It doesn’t require cranking to swim
However, one drawback of an animated lure is it constantly needs to be recharged after each use, with most only having a battery life of 1-2 hours. Also, since a swimbait is manually powered, you can finesse it better than an electric bait.
How We Picked
We examined various robotic lures available on the market today, but only a handful of them made our list. Here are the criteria these electric lures had to meet to be the best robotic fishing lure:
- Durability
- Easy to recharge
- Long battery life
- Realistic swim pattern
Durability is an essential characteristic of a fishing lure because you could potentially lose fish with tackle with shoddy construction. Next, these electric lures had to be easy to recharge and possess a long battery life. Without a long battery life, then you would need to bring back up electric lures to change them out on the spot.
Lastly, we also viewed the swim pattern of each of these lures to ensure it mimicked a real fish. If the swim pattern doesn’t look natural, it could scare more fish away than it would attract.
What Is the Best Robotic Fishing Lure?
Although we categorized each robotic lure by what species they would most likely attract, it doesn’t mean they won’t catch other fish. For instance, our favorite electric lure is the upgraded Watalure for its short charging time and anti-entanglement technology. Not only is this lure fantastic for targeting Northern pike, but it’s also capable of landing bass and muskie.
Which of these robotic fishing lures are you excited to try? Please, let us know in the comments below. Would your friends be interested in learning about electric lures? Then, please share this article with them via social media.
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