SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180 Glide Bait: An In-Depth Review

May 31, 2025 0

The SPRO KGB Series Chad Shad 180 Glide Bait is designed for targeting trophy-class bass with extreme efficiency and precision. Its performance and appearance rival that of custom hand-built baits without the hefty price tag. With absolute control over depth and direction, anglers can effectively target record breaking bass in a variety of conditions and scenarios. The Chad Shad's versatility is impressive, delivering deadly action with every cadence from super slow retrieves to the fastest burn, lazy wide glides, or quick choppy cuts.

Glide baits have been growing rapidly in popularity in recent months, largely due to the new Spro KGB Chad Shad 180 that made high-end glide baits more accessible to fishermen. It is a collaboration bait made between Spro and the legendary glide bait maker Kevin Brightwell and his team at KGB Swimbaits. This lure was designed using many of the features present in the original Chad Shad Glide Bait. The original version of this bait is now known as the 7-inch TSG Glide.

Let's take a closer look at the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180.

Design and Features

Not only does the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180 Glide Bait offer an impressively versatile action, but it also features premium hardware and detailing.

The oversized eye up front, set atop raised gill rakers.
Molded pectoral fins.
3D scale patterning.
A natural-looking tail provide a complete, bass-tempting package.

The Spro KGB Chad Shad 180 is a 7-inch bait that weighs 2.4 ounces. This bait sinks with an ROF of 3 to 4 feet per 10 seconds and is great for fishing a variety of shallow and offshore cover. The Chad Shad also has an oversized eye and a brush style tail. This allows for a natural shad presentation that will be sure to fool some of the biggest bass in the area.

The Chad Shad 180 is also equipped with all the goodies like rotating hook hangers, genuine Gamakatsu branded hooks, and a mass production variant of the popular brush fiber tail. It's a semi-soft plastic tail shredded to resemble brush fibers, but all one unit and slid into the back of the bait. This tail unit is glued in and no spare is provided in the packaging, but if SPRO were to offer spares - especially in different colors - that component may prove more popular than the bait itself!

Otherwise, the one big advantage this bait has over its original resin counterpart (besides availability) is the fact it can be produced with translucent or "ghost" patterns. Resin is a solid colored material where as ABS plastic is clear, making such patterns possible.

How to catch big bass this fall with the Spro KGB shad! Everything you need to know!

Performance and Retrieve Techniques

A fast chopping retrieve gives the bait a harsh darting action, while a slow steady retrieve gives it a smooth gliding action. Both are great for tricking shallow and deep bass into committing. The lighter weight of this bait makes it a great option for making accurate casts around thick cover.

There are numerous ways to fish the Spro KGB Chad Shad 180, however, my favorite is around shallow cover. This can be a great way to catch trophy bass that are keyed on larger baitfish. My favorite place to throw this bait is around shallow cover with deep water access. In the fall, fish are often positioned both shallow and offshore. Shallow water ditches are another great location to catch giant fish on the Spro KGB Chad Shad 180. As the fall progresses, bass chase baitfish into the backs of creeks. They will often use these ditches as ambush points to feed on this bait. Shallow ditches that protrude off of main river or creek channels are great locations to look for this scenario. Throwing this larger profile bait can lead to some giant bites, so having the right setup is crucial for landing these fish.

Rod, Reel, and Line Setup

Choosing the right gear is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180. Here’s a recommended setup:

Rod Choice

I like to throw this bait on a longer, more parabolic rod with a medium gear-ratio reel. One of my favorite rods to throw this bait on is the SPRO KGB Signature Series Casting Rod. Fortunately, in this case, SPRO and KGB have come together on another project to help take the guess work out of your choice in rod - the SPRO KGB Signature Series B79H. This is a seven foot, nine inch casting rod with just the right specification to fish the Chad Shad 180. This is a 7-foot 9-inch Heavy action rod that was designed specifically to throw the Spro KGB Chad Shad. This rod is strong enough to cast the bait accurately, and parabolic enough to properly load up on fish during a hook set. This rod also features an extra long handle that makes casting these larger sized baits much more manageable.

This rod is light, long, strong and has a moderate action. This makes it great for fishing the 7-inch Chad Shad and other similarly-sized baits. The moderate action of the rod also makes it easier to work the bait. Instead of having to twitch the tip like you would with a stiffer rod, little chops of the reel are all that’s needed to get the bait walking back and forth.

The SPRO KGB Swimbait Rod is made in the great old US of A using a 40-ton carbon fiber high modulus graphite blank, Fuji guides and a Fuji exposed-blank reel seat. The long handle is one of the keys to this rod working so well.

Reel Choice

For a reel, I like one with a larger spool and 7:1 gear ratio. For a reel, you don't really need anything too large. Any 150 sized reel that can hold enough length of your preferred fishing line is fine. In my case, I kept it all in the SPRO family making use of their new Vortex-E casting reel in a 7.3:1 retrieve ratio. I like the larger spool because you are typically throwing this bait on thick diameter line. A larger sized reel also has bigger components such as the handles, making these bigger baits much easier to control. A 7:1 gear ratio reel allows you to work the bait aggressively as well as quickly catch up with fish after a hookset.

Line Choice

I am comfortable with a braid to leader connection and in the case of these tests, spooled the Vortex-E with a healthy supply of Sunline's FX2 braid in 50lb topping the braid off with a leader of 18lb Sunline Shooter.

Real World Tests And Observations

Rigged up and ready to go, the Chad Shad 180 is a very easy bait to cast especially with the rod and reel combo I was using. Those unfamiliar with baits of this size will require an adjustment period, but this bait is far easier to sling and cast all day than a more traditional sized big baits. Note that although the Chad Shad 180 is made of ABS plastic, the internal weights are fixed, so there is no sliding weight mechanism to aid in casting. A nice, easy, smooth casting motion is recommended to avoid instances of your bait tumbling through the air and potentially fouling your line during the cast.

The ABS Chad Shad 180 is weighted to fall perfectly parallel at a rate of about one to one and a half seconds per foot. A slow sink resin bait is usually somewhere around one foot per two seconds.

Click our reel over to begin your retrieve and you'll be happy to know you can make this bait dance any number of ways. If you prefer to chop your retrieve, the Chad Shad 180 can do the erratic. If you like to wind and stop, the Chad Shad 180 can do the glide off to the side. If you prefer to just wind at varying speeds, the Chad Shad 180 will swim slow or fast.

Here is a table outlining the key specifications of the SPRO KGB Chad Shad 180:

Specification	Details
Length	7 inches
Weight	2.4 ounces
Sink Rate	3-4 feet per 10 seconds
Hooks	Gamakatsu
Material	ABS Plastic

Final Thoughts

The Spro KGB Chad Shad 180 is a great option for both glide bait professionals and those who are just getting started. This swimbait’s lifelike action and unmatched drawing power make it a deadly weapon around trophy sized bass.