As a guide on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, Bassmaster Elite Series newcomer Darold Gleason has seen firsthand how intimidating oversized baits can be for the weekend angler. In fact, Gleason felt the same way about oversized baits for many years, until he saw Phil Marks win a major tournament on Sam Rayburn in 2014 with a Strike King 10XD. Not too long after the event, Gleason was on one of his few scouting trips of the year on Toledo Bend, joined only by his dog Rowdy, and found a school of bass that would bite a Carolina rig, one of his favorite techniques.
“For me, it worked out to where I was on a school of deep fish and I was catching a bunch of 3- and 4-pounders, and I thought I would give the 10XD a try.” Gleason said. “I remember catching an 8-pounder that day, and when that fish came up, there were 10 or 12 fish of similar size with it. That was my lightbulb moment. When I saw that group of fish trying to take it out of that one’s mouth, that was kind of my moment.”
Since that day, oversized baits have become an important part of Gleason’s arsenal to target larger than average fish. The learning curve can be quite overwhelming, however, and Gleason said there’s a reason why a lot of weekend warriors don’t have confidence in oversized baits.
“When you have limited time and you are on the water with everyone else, you don’t get to see the little windows and see what big baits can produce,” the 2019 Central Open winner said. “You are out there [during] the most pressured times on the weekends, and for the tournament anglers, you are out there in the middle of a tournament and you are trying to get as many bites as you can get.”
