Record Smallmouth Bass Tournament Catch

Learn the story behind the 32-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth bass tournament limit that established a new record for the legendary St. Lawrence River.

All five smallmouth bass that Dan Miguel and Matt Dobson brought to the tournament scales on July 1 weighed more than 6 pounds, and they AVERAGED 6.4 pounds. The duo outpaced a field of 48 teams in the Douglass Bass Opens St. Lawrence event by nearly 5 pounds! Their amazing bag set a tournament limit record for the St Lawrence River even though the tournament disallowed running into Lake Ontario, where many tournaments based out of the river are won.

We got the tournament scoop directly from Miguel, who is brand manager for Great Lakes Finesse and one of the founders of the brand, which focuses exclusively on finesse soft plastic lures and terminal tackle designed specifically for targeting big, heavily pressured smallmouth bass.

Finding the Right Fish

With extensive experience on the St. Lawrence, Miguel and Dobson expected a mix of spawners and post-spawn cruisers, so in practice they searched numerous areas where they knew smallmouths spawned to gauge the stage, find key depths, and learn how the biggest smallmouths were set up. Only the United States side of the river was open prior to the tournament day so they could only cast on that side during practice.

They used a Great Lakes Finesse Sneaky Underspin and Drop Minnow, casting to fish they found to gauge reactions and fan casting areas around beds.

As expected, they found many fish on beds, including some that were actively spawning. Fan casting confirmed that many spawn fish were cruising. They also found several empty beds and located big fish that seemed to be cruising back and forth around empty beds. The key depth range was 8 to 15 feet.

Armed with findings from searching and casting the Sneaky Underspins, Miguel and Dobson then stowed their rods, crossed to the Canadian side, and searched areas that set up similarly to the best stuff they had found on the U.S. side, using eyes and electronics to search for beds and bass.

Tournament Day

On tournament day, Miguel and Dobson fished several different areas where they had located large fish during practice and mixed their approach, targeting specific fish on beds and fan casting for post-spawn bass. They caught roughly an even mix of spawners and cruisers over the course of the day. Catches came from as shallow as 5 feet and as deep as 15 feet.

For bedding bass, they were intentional about setting up well back from the fish. Universally, presentations were very slow.

For spawners and post-spawn cruisers, they used three different Great Lakes Finesse lures: the 2.75-inch Drop Minnow, 2.1-inch Snack Craw and 2.2-inch Flat Cat.

The Drop Minnows, which they fished on drop-shot rigs, produced the most fish. They presented the Snack Craws and Flat Cats on Stealth Ball Jig Heads, using slow dragging presentations. They fished everything on 8-pound test braid with 6-pound test fluorocarbon leaders.

Refined Baits & Ultra-Finesse Approach

The record tournament catch was neither the product of some spectacular spot nor an area Miguel and Dobson had to themselves. In fact, they covered quite a bit of water and were around other tournament boats most of the day.

“I was concerned at first that we’d reveal too much to competitors fishing in many of the same areas, but we noticed that boats around us weren’t really catching much. We could also see that we were fishing much slower,” Miguel said.

Miguel believes that specific attributes of their Great Lakes Finesse baits, including shape, size, matte finishes and neutral buoyancy – along with their total ultra-finesse approach – were the difference makers for the extra big smallmouths that set them apart.

“If a 4- or even 5-pound smallmouth is near or on a bed, you can throw almost any bait in there, and it’s probably going to bite. Six and 7-pound fish are different. They’re old, super smart, and hard to fool” Miguel said.

The bass they brought to the scales, each of which weighed more than 6 pounds, all came from near dead-stick presentations, whether with the Drop Minnow drops shots or the Snack Craw and Flat Cat dragging rigs. “We would barely move the rod tip when we moved it,” Miguel said.

The Sneaky Underspin, which was critical for locating the right fish in such a vast area during practice, never came out on tournament day because they could tell by the fish’s behavior that something even slower would be needed to coax bites from the size of fish they were targeting.

BIGGEST One Got Away!

As astounding as the day was for Miguel and Dobson, it could have been substantially better, and the day got off to a tough start. They lost the first two fish they hooked and then broke their landing net, which they then had to repair with zip ties!

The first one would have easily been the biggest of the day, Miguel noted, estimating it at more than 8 pounds.

“It was the biggest smallmouth I’ve ever seen,” he said. And that says a lot from someone who has been targeting big Great Lakes smallmouths for years and on a day when he and his partner brought five 6-pound-plus fish, (including one over 7), to the scales.

It took off like a racecar as soon as it was hooked, outrunning the drag and bending out the hook enough to come unhooked.

About Great Lakes Finesse

Created by passionate anglers to contend with big smallmouth bass that have become more difficult to catch due to modern fishing technology and better-educated anglers, Great Lake Finesse has kept a single focus of creating soft-plastic baits and terminal tackle specifically for large, heavily pressured smallmouths. 

Knowing smallmouth are visual feeders, Great Lakes Finesse focuses on fine details ignored by other brands that are critical for triggering bites from the largest and most pressured fish.

Important details that help set apart Great Lakes Finesse plastics include matte finishes with zero unnatural glare, true neutral buoyancy for the most natural bait posture, and attention to shaping details that allow for the most natural action. Terminal tackle uses only premium components, and every element of each design is for specific applications and super finesse plastics.

“From a brand standpoint, we’re completely finesse focused. Everything needs to be perfect and premium, and there are no compromises,” Miguel said.