Absolute GIANT.
For just about any bass angler, the age-old question is… smallmouth or largemouth? And to be honest, it’s TOUGH. On the one hand, largemouth can grow much bigger, and in places like Texas and Florida, it’s not uncommon to catch a 10-pound buckethead. They also don’t have smallmouth down there, so it’s not much of a conversation. But smallmouth, on the other hand, can be aggressive as all hell and fight harder. You’re usually fishing them on lighter tackle, and if you’re up north, they can be pretty comparable in size to your biggest largies.
Up here in Wisconsin, I’ve put together some really nice bags of smallmouth, and it’s just hard to do that with largemouth. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE flipping down a grass line or frogging through some duckweed, but there’s just something about smallmouth fishing that gets me fired up… it narrowly takes the lead for me.
But as much as I love smallmouth fishing, I’ve never seen one like this.
Montana angler and bait maker Daniel Caricaburu-Lundin recently caught the smallmouth of a lifetime during a fishing trip in Idaho. Weighing 8 and a half pounds and measuring almost 23 inches long, the fish was good enough to break Daniel’s personal best, and… a world record. The only problem… he didn’t have the right measuring board.
As of right now, the current IGFA world record for smallmouth length is a six-way tie at 20.86 inches. Daniel’s fish was well over an inch longer, but since the measuring board he used was not an IGFA-certified board, he won’t get the official world record. You can clearly tell that the fish is well over the mark, but rules are rules.
The world record smallmouth weight came in at a whopping 11 pounds, 15 ounces, caught in Tennessee in 1955, so Daniel’s fish wasn’t close to the weight record. Many state-record smallmouth are over 9 pounds, and some are over 11, but nevertheless, this is an absolute TANK of a smallmouth bass.
According to a chat with Field and Stream, Daniel caught it on a custom-made Click-Bait Customs glide bait, a 6-inch model in a bone color. He says he was fishing along a steep drop-off where smallmouth were congregating to feed on schools of smaller salmon:
“This point is about 5-to-10-feet deep, but it quickly drops off to 100 feet or more. They’ll sit on the edge of it and just blow up schools of kokanee in the deeper water. It’s super cool to watch on the LiveScope.
“I could see other fish moving underneath it so I fired off the glide bait in that same spot. I have it set up with weight so I can sink it down to the right depth before retrieving it. Then a bigger bass came flying up from underneath and grabbed it.”
Daniel also told Field & Stream that he had an IGFA-certified board in the boat, but didn’t realize that he had a potential world record smallie so he didn’t bother to break it out. So while Daniel won’t be the official world record holder, he’ll know in his heart that his catch was well above the length he needed. He does however hold an official tiger musky record that he set on a lake in his home state of Montana in 2024.
If you’re in the market for a high quality, custom glide, check out Click Bait Customs... although they do appear to be sold-out right now.
Fishing Big Glide Baits
If your new to the glide bait world, and don’t want to drop over $100 bucks on a custom model like Daniel makes and uses, there are a few budget options to try and help you get the hang of it before you graduate to big ticket glides.
Unlike standard swimbaits that rely on a thumping rubber tail, a glide bait is often times a hard-bodied, single-jointed lure. It is designed to swim in a wide “S” pattern mimicking large, relaxed baitfish wandering through open water. Its massive profile and natural movement act can pull bass from 20 feet away just to investigate. They can be VERY expensive. Many of them start around 40 or 50 bucks and just go up into the triple digits from there.
So, I suggest starting out with these two rather unique, soft body offerings from Berkley…. if a toothy critter like a northern pike breaks you off, you won’t feel like you want to walk to the bottom of the lake after you lost a $75 bait.
1. Berkley Nessie Soft Glide Bait 7″ – $12.99
Colors: Burnt Bone, Perch, Shad
2. Berkley Chop Block Glide Bait 6″,8″ – $15.99-$24.99
Colors: Burnt Bone, MF Blue Gill, Shad
And here’s a few more that won’t break the bank if you want to really try a few different, hard body options:
3. Savage Gear Shine Glide Pro Glide Bait – $39.99
Colors: Gizzard, Bluegill, Ghost Bone,
4. Toad Thumper Sway Glide Bait – $34.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Bad Shad, Heavy Metal
Glide Bait Gear
I think the two big fears about fishing big swimbaits are 1) average-sized fish (1 and 2 pounders) won’t bite it, which they absolutely will, and 2) I need a big special rod to throw it… but that’s not the case. Most of these entry level swimbaits and glide baits, especially the ones in the 5-6 inch range, can be fished on your standard worm rod. If you have a 7’3″ – 7’5″ heavy rod… you’re probably in decent shape.
But if you want a dedicated swimbait/glide bait rod that can handle anything and everything you’re gonna throw at it… we got you covered. The new-ish Abu Garcia Beast combo is a great option. I have both the 7’5″ rod and the 7’9″ rod, and whether I’m throwing a 5-inch Magdraft, an Alabama rig, or an 8-inch glide bait, I’m covering the bases with a powerful reel to match.
Rod
Abu Garcia Beast Casting Rod 7’9″ Heavy Fast – $179.95
Reel
You want something that can hold a ton of line, something with a killer drag system, and personally, I like some big handles that I can wrench down on… The Abu Garcia Beast 300 (or even the 200 for smaller glides), is just the ticket. It also has a clickable drag, which personally, I’m a big fan of.
Abu Garcia Beast Casting 300 Reel – $299.95
