Big Bite Baits' Smallie Smasher

Big Bite Baits introduced its Smallie Smasher to the angling world at the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show at Orlando, Florida, on July 9-12, 2019.

It was designed primarily for drop-shot aficionados. But in the eyes of scores of Midwest finesse anglers, the 3.5-inch Smallie Smasher looks to be a nifty soft-plastic bait to affix to a small mushroom-style jig. And in their hands, it will likely inveigle a variety of species of black bass at an array of different waterways that stipple the landscapes of North America.

Besides hailing its effectiveness as a drop-shot bait, a Big Bite Baits’ news release also notes that it is effective when anglers affix it on a spilt-shot rig and on a variety of jigs.

We are thankful that Scotty Petersen of Oakdale, Minnesota, who is Big Bite Baits’ media coordinator, sent us several of them to work with and examine.

Here is what we discovered about it.

According to our measurements, it is 3 9/16 inches long.

It is a multifaceted finesse-style bait, exhibiting some of the characteristics of a goby, a leech, a creek chub, a variety of darters, and a hodgepodge of aquatic invertebrates. According to the folks at Big Bite Baits, the Smallie Smasher was intentionally designed to exhibit many of the facets of those various creatures. Of course, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass forage upon those creatures.

Its head is seven-eighths of an inch long, exhibiting the contours of the heads of a creek chub and several kinds of darters. Its epidermis is smooth. Its ventral is flat, and its dorsal is domed shaped. It is an half of an inch wide at its widest spot with a circumference of about 1 3/8 inches.

At the junction of its head and its torso, the head is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 1/4 inches. The torso at this junction possesses the same dimensions.

The dorsal area of the first inch of its torso is adorned with 17 well-defined ribs. This area is domed shaped. Its ventral area is flat with a smooth epidermis. The dimensions of its torso diminish dramatically from its first rib to its 17th rib. At rib number seven, its torso is three-eighths of an inch wide with a circumference of about 1 1/16 inches. At rib number 17, the torso is a quarter of an inch wide with a circumference of about three-quarters of an inch.

The portion of the torso that is not ribbed is five-eighths of an inch long. It is very slim, exhibiting a width of one-eighth of an inch and a circumference of about nine-sixteenths of an inch. The folks at Big Bite Baits describe this section as being a thin spine. Its dorsal is somewhat domed shaped. Its ventral is flat. The epidermis of the dorsal and ventral areas is smooth.

Its flat and marquise-shaped tail is one inch long. It is seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot. It is thin, exhibiting a thickness of about one-sixteenths of an inch. The epidermis of the ventral area is smooth. The dorsal area is emblazoned with five tiny ribs, which are about one-eighth of an inch apart.

It is manufactured in the following hues: Chartreuse White Laminate, Chick Magnet, Green Pumpkin Purple Flake, Green Pumpkin, Orange Black Purple /Pearl Blue, Light Watermelon Red Flake, Silver Smoke Blue, Smallie /Pearl Laminate, and Smoke Purple Flake.

It is impregnated with salt and a scent that is called Bite Juice.

It is very buoyant.

A package of 12 costs $4.99.

The combination of its flat ventral and its buoyancy will facilitate the Smallie Smasher’s ability to glide when Midwest finesse anglers are employing their swim-glide-and-shake presentation. What’s more, its flatness and buoyancy will enhance the no-feel aspects of the other five presentations that Midwest finesse anglers use.

Endnotes

1. Here is a link to Big Bite Baits’ website: https://bigbitebaits.com/product/smallie-smasher/.

2. Here is a link to the insights of Jeff Kreit of Ardmore, Oklahoma, about the Smallie Smasher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HieiOTziHcE.

3. Here are two links to Midwest Finesse gear guides about Big Bite Baits’ Shaking Squirrel and The Limit Maker:

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/big-bite-baits-shaking-squirrel/330038.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/big-bite-baits-the-limit-maker/154744.

4. Here is a link to the Midwest Finesse column that explains how to execute the swim-glide-and-shake presentation and the other no-feel presentations with the Smallie Smasher affixed to a small mushroom-style jig:https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946.

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