The details that set apart the Great Lakes Finesse brand make a very real difference with the toughest fish to fool, and the record books help tell that story.
The Great Lakes are famous for the jumbo-sized smallmouth bass their expansive waters produce, but the fish themselves are famously tough customers, and the bigger they grow, the harder these bass become to fool. Great Lakes waters stay extremely clear most of the time, and with extensive pressure from anglers who possess ever-improving equipment and knowledge sets, the biggest bass in these waters have seen every trick repeatedly.
The entire Great Lakes Finesse brand has been built around catching these most-challenging fish in every type of condition – created by anglers dedicated to finding solutions to every problem big Great Lake smallmouth bass present. Two exceptional, record-setting tournament performances highlight the deep understanding those anglers possess and the importance of the details of every GLF product. Those distinctions are vital. Several brands’ baits and terminal tackle pieces look similar at a glance but are vastly different in real fishing situations.
In 2023, GLF brand manager Dan Miguel and Matt Dobson won the Douglass Bass Opens event on the St. Lawrence River with the largest five-fish bag ever brought to the scales from this world-class smallmouth bass fishery. This year, GLF pro staffer Evan Kung won the Bassmaster Elite Series season finale on the St. Lawernce/Lake Ontario with the largest smallmouth-exclusive catch in Bassmaster history.
Heaviest St. Lawrence River Tournament Day
Miguel’s and Dobson’s 32-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth bass limit came in event where anglers were not permitted to run to Lake Ontario, which is where the largest bags come from in most St. Lawrence River tournaments. They outpaced a field of many of the region’s best anglers by nearly 5 pounds, which is an extraordinary margin in a single-day tournament on smallmouth waters.
That weight represents nearly a 6 1/2-pound AVERAGE. All five fish weighed 6 pounds or more. Any angler who has spent time around the Great Lakes understands that while large smallmouth are plentiful, genuine 6-pound-plus fish are special and far more difficult get to bite (and to land) than 5-pound fish.
“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,” Miguel said. “Six- and 7-pound fish are different. They’re old, super smart, and hard to fool.”
The record catch came neither from a single spectacular spot nor from an area Miguel and Dobson had to themselves. They moved around throughout the day and were often in the same areas as competitors who were not finding the same success.
Miguel is certain that the shaping and specific attributes of their GLF baits and their total finesse approach were the difference makers. They caught their fish on GLF Drop Minnows fished on drop shot rigs, and on GLF Snack Craws and Flat Cats fished on Stealth Ball Head Jigs.
Notably, the heaviest St. Lawrence River tournament catch of all time could have been even larger! The first hooked fish that day, which Miguel said was the largest smallmouth he has ever seen hooked, made a huge initial surge, bent the hook out slightly and came unhooked. Miguel has no doubt it weighed more than 8 pounds.
GLF Drop Minnow
Record Bassmaster Smallmouth Catch
Evan Kung, who plays an active part in the GLF product development process, tallied a four-day weight of 109 pounds, 9 ounces in the Bassmaster Elite Series event. He won by a 2-pound margin in a tournament where nine of the anglers who qualified to fish the final day earned a “Century Belt” for a 100-pound-plus four-day catch.
Like Miguel and Dobson, Kung didn’t use a magical spot to dominate. He fished multiple areas in the river and on Lake Ontario, and a broad range of depths as conditions varied over four days. The difference was his deep understanding of the biggest fish’s behavior and the details of his baits and presentations.
Most of Kung’s weighed fish came on prototypes of the upcoming GLF Vibra Bug, fished on a drop shot rig with slow drags or dead-sticked, or a Great Lakes Finesse Stay-Pinned Spybait retrieved slowly and steadily. Having helped design the Vibra Bug, Kung was very familiar with how it fished, and he had gotten refined prototypes enough before the St. Lawrence event to have gained confidence that the Vibra Bug was the best choice for the tournament.
“I chose the Vibra Bug on a drop shot because it’s a little different bait than fish aren’t used to seeing,” Kung said. “The matte finish and neutral buoyancy of the bait made a huge difference in getting a few extra key bites a day on super pressured bass.”
Interestingly, because Kung needed a good finish at the St. Lawrence to requalify for the Elite Series the following year, he couldn’t really “swing for the fence” early in the event. By winning, he not only easily kept his Elite Series spot, but he earned a place in the 2027 Bassmaster Classic.
GLF Vibra Bug
Kung helped design the GLF Vibra Bug and then blew the lid off the plan with his first Elite Series win. Using it to help him take down the title and establish a new record catch was extra gratifying.
“It was super cool and special to know I had input on the lure, and it gave me enough separation in the field to beat those guys,” Kung said.
The Vibra Bug, which will be available later this year, is a flat-profiled “spikey-style bait” that has a buggy appearance but is not designed to match one specific kind of forage. It is engineered to vibrate with any hint of movement in the water or current pushing past.
Like other GLF baits, it is made durable, offers true neutral buoyancy, and has a matte finish for the most natural appearance.
“From a brand standpoint, we’re completely finesse focused. Everything needs to be perfect and premium, and there are no compromises.”
-Dan Miquel, Brand Manager, Great Lakes Finesse
