Strike King’s Hog Father Jr. is among the latest budget-friendly glidebaits to hit the market. Introduced at ICAST 2025, this collaboration between Strike King (one of the world’s leading lure manufacturers) and Tater Hog (a highly respected glidebait builder) is an affordable adaptation of Hog’s classic custom bait, the Hog Father.
With a great mind at work and the backing of a massive manufacturer bringing it to market, the Hog Father Jr. has some high expectations to meet. Let’s see how it did.
First Impressions
For any glidebait fan on a budget, the price point of the Hog Father Jr. is immediately attractive. Many custom baits cost hundreds of dollars; at $45, this one is a good deal — as long as it works.
Just in pulling this bait from its package, I noticed a few things right away. For starters, the high-end packaging alone is a big deal since storing big baits can be tough. I like that the foam cutout can keep this bait in pristine condition for years to come.
When rolling the bait over in my hands, I also noticed the rotating hook hangers. These matter a lot when fighting big fish on big baits. Since the hook hangers aren’t fixed and can rotate, the fish can’t gain as much leverage to throw the bait.
I went with the translucent Spot Remover color for testing. That meant I could see all the inner workings of the bait, namely the half dozen weights in its belly.
The stiffer tail also caught my eye. I really like baits with a soft plastic or brush tail, but they are easy to mess up. So there is some benefit to having a more rigid tail.
On the Water
When I put this bait to the test on the water, I found it easy to work. I had no problem generating a fairly wide side-to-side glide, and I could chop the bait back and forth at a quicker pace. Of all the glides I’ve fished with, I wouldn’t say this bait is the best at doing either of those. But it was easy to get it to do many things fairly well.
The bait is slow-sinking rated, which is accurate. It’s easy to keep this bait up along the surface if you like, and you can get it down a foot or two underwater, too. This isn’t a glide you’ll cast out and let sink 15 feet to pair with forward-facing sonar around cover or structure. But it is a good all-around glide for fishing in shallow situations or near the surface out deeper.
I had a hard time getting bites early in testing this bait. But I think that had more to do with the season, since I started testing it in cold water. As temps warmed, I caught a couple of really nice fish in public water. One barely got hooked; the other bass, however, was over four pounds and inhaled this glide so hard that the bait went halfway down its throat.
That was a pretty exciting fish catch for sure, and proved to me that this bait can catch high-pressured fish in real-world scenarios.
Wear and Tear
I put this one through the wringer. The hooks did bend a couple times, likely when I pulled it from the cover it got hung on. And I did bang it off some rocks, docks, and seawalls along the way. This bait’s durability did impress me, especially since it still swam well after all that.
But I did notice a little moisture inside the bait on one of my last outings. The glide had been sitting in the sun awhile, and I could see the humidity showing up as a little condensation on its inside walls.
Again, I think this is more a result of my eagerness to get deep into and close to cover than it is the bait’s fault, but durability is something to keep in mind when considering a composite glidebait or one like this made of ABS Hard Plastic. You may crack one on an errant cast as it careens off cover. But, if you do, you’re out 50 bucks — not a few hundred dollars like if you’d snapped a wood or resin bait in two.
Final Thoughts
At seven inches, 2.5 ounces, and $44.99, the Hog Father Jr. is a pretty solid buy for someone who wants to try glidebait fishing. This bait is reasonably durable, has detailed features like the swiveling hook hangers, and it comes in seven pretty fantastic color schemes.
Add in the benefit of packaging that can be used to store the bait and the fact that this one is easy to work, the Hog Father Jr. is a pretty easy bait for me to recommend to newcomers to the glidebait, or even advanced swimbait fishermen looking to economically expand their arsenals.
