Glide baits have become the hottest bass fishing lure within the last decade but what are some of the origins of glide baits? Today, we take a look at the first Japanese glide bait ever made and that is the Gan Craft Jointed Claw 178 to figure out why it never became popular!
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Duuuuude! Perfect timing. I just picked up one of these.
Looks very similar to an Swaver!
Thanks for the history lesson and personal perspective. I appreciate your cerebral nature and that element of your videos. It has motivated me to try harder to figure out my waters to catch more and bigger fish. Thanks again for another great video!!!
Still my favorite glide bait!!
It’s not popular in the US because the River2Sea S-waver 168 is a near perfect copy of that Gancraft 178 (just a tiny bit shorter).
Great video
I need a tail for mine – battling to find. Thanks Geoff – very cool vid.
Those were some great times ….. caught some huge bass in Canyon. Deep lake
We were throwing footlong wooden swimbaits back in the mid 1980s, (40 years ago) more or less. Swimbaits. Not really glides. Most were hand made By Allan Cole. the original AC plugs. We were catching 18 lb largemouth from lake Castaic almost weekly, with relatively no press or bragging or telling anyone about it. It was well kept secret for a few years until 1991. Before the internet and cell phones. Once we started throwing these, and catching 45 lb stripers at lake Pyramid and lake Silverwood. Things changed. But again these were huge handmade 12 10 and 8 inch jointed wooden swimmers with plastic hammer tip tails. But Coles were probably the first ones in calif back in the 1980s
Awesome video geoff!
You pronounce the name of the lure incorrectly but no worries; most people do in the USA
I believe that Japanese record 18lbs bass was caught on a live bait and not the Mother….
178 is goated
Who remembers the Stocker trout early 2000s soft glide bait. It had acrylic wings on the joint and they got bit.
I have collected over 12 of those 178 since early 2000s. Caught my PB largie & striper.
Gonna have to get one now.
I have been aware of this bait for some time, but just recently bought 3 of them. I have some local , small lakes with clear water. Now I am even more intrigued to spend some time fishing these.
Your comment regarding anglers not realizing that the bait could be fished fast is interesting. Gan Craft released the T3 Mago reel for the 10th anniversary of the release of the Jointed Claw. That reel has a gear ratio of 8.1:1 and the description of the reel was "By adopting ultra-high gear and wide carbon handle, you can feel the movement of the joined claw firmly, and the rhythm of the S-shaped action of the joined claw and the rotation of the handle are linked. A dedicated machine for joined claws that has been given a power custom to support big baits."
The king has spoken
Dang!!! I almost snagged a nice used one but thought too many ppl were throwing it (in Ohio lol). How would you compare this bad boy’s action to the Antidote?
I dear you to make your own glide bait.