You might recognize Pulse Fish for its scrounger-style Pulse Jig, but I’ve recently been fishing another one of their baits — the Side Piece. This vibrating, bladed bait is different from others on the market, and I’ve had a blast fishing it on dark-water St. Johns River of Central Florida. Along this stretch of river, I was fishing mostly stained water and it was almost windy. This waterscape is full of alligators and manatees, and the gar rolling at the surface serve as background noise.
The bait is not a vibrating jig like the well-known chatterbaits with a blade in front of a jig, then a skirt. And it’s not a spinnerbait, although there are a few similarities with the Side Piece. A spinnerbait has a wire frame, lead head, and a blade such as a willow, Colorado or Indiana. The Side Piece incorporates a smaller, compact wire frame to separate the blade from the lead head. Plus, it utilizes a blade design unique to the lure that doesn’t spin in circles, but rather vibrates back and forth. So I think it’s fair to say the Side Piece takes characteristics from bladed jigs and spinnerbaits to create a unique action and distinct-looking bait.
I spoke with Todd Goade, owner of the Tennessee-based Pulse Fish Lures, where he oversees the production and distribution of the Pulse Fish lures. He pointed out that the Side Piece is made in the U.S., with each rectangular blade individually attached to the wire frame, and the skirts handmade. Goade himself has a respectable professional bass tournament resume with Major League Fishing (MLF) and the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL). He wanted to create action in a lure that was different from an underspin, bladed jig, or spinnerbait.
How I Fished It
My experiences fishing the Side Piece this spring (I’m in Florida, we’ve had warm enough weather since late February) showed me this bait excelled in three different scenarios. In every instance, I always included a trailer like a shad tail or dart tail that fit snugly to the keeper on the 3/0 Mustad hook. With the blade and vibration, I treated this lure as a baitfish imitator.
The first scenario was fishing open water near schools of shad moving up the river. In one instance, I actually had the bait dangling near my boat as I moved around to keep up with the shad, and a largemouth bass shot out after my lure. The action on this lure is a tight wobble and it always tracked straight, not spinning or fowling. I’d throw the bait to the edges of the shad schools, getting hit pretty quickly after the blade started to move. Sometimes, I’d let the bait fall below the school and get eaten deeper.
The next spot were the bends at creekmouths with water flow. I always work my lures with the current, as I don’t think baitfish willfully swim against it. But I’d cast this bait along the edges, where water had carved out deeper bends, and the bass were camped in spots, waiting for a free meal.
Lastly, I wasn’t scared to throw the bait near hard structures like trees, limbs, pilings, or even hard-bottom with clams. The hook is mostly protected from getting hung up and I’d roll the bait through some pretty tight spots. Near logs, I wasn’t making long casts, but the thump of the blade still got me plenty of reaction strikes. The bait pushes out a ton of vibration, but its compact size allowed me to cast around fallen trees, muddy shorelines eroded into walls, and sunken cypress knees too.
Getting Specific
I’m a bit late to the Side Piece party, as pro bass anglers have been quietly using the lure to fill limits in tournaments. Pro angler Bryan New won the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series at the Mississippi River using a Pulse Fish Lures jig. South Carolina pro Patrick Walters won February’s 2026 Epic Baits NPFL Championship on Smith Lake pitching around a Pulse Fish jig.
Features
- Weight Options: 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz
- Hook Type: 3/0 Mustad Hook
- Blade: Custom blade attached via unique wire frame
- Head Design: Anti-roll head
- Keeper: Integrated trailer keeper
- Skirt: Custom hand-tied or specialized silicone skirt
- Color: Seven options (white shad, green pumpkin and bluegill were my favorites)
Spinnerbaits have their place, even though I feel like bladed jigs have taken away some of their limelight. Personally, I think spinnerbaits and bladed jigs should both be used in different scenarios, and now I’d like to add the Side Piece into the equation too.
I’ll use the Side Piece when I’m targeting aggressive fish around stumps and trees, and I need a bit of a weed guard to protect from snags. This bait is easy to both cast and place in tight windows when covering shorelines. It’s also a simple retrieve, but you can add stop-and-gos, or sporadical falls and jerks at certain times too. I wouldn’t think twice about recommending this bait to newcomers, or just about anyone who uses other bladed baits in their arsenal.
