PRODUCT
REVIEW
STORM ARASHI GLIDE BAIT
By Matt Williams
PHOTOS BY JUSTIN ONSLOW
Glide baits have earned a tall reputation for tempting some of the biggest fish in any lake . These oversized lures also have a history of being expensive to own , particularly the hand-crafted niche models fashioned for precision balance and high-end performance using premium components . Storm recently joined a short list of major manufacturers to tap into the fun-to-fish glide bait market . The result : a high-quality offering built with some of the best attributes found in custom S-motion swimbaits – at a price point that won ’ t break the bank .
First Impression
Measuring 7 1 / 2 inches long and weighing 3 1 / 8 ounces , the Storm Arashi Glide Bait is smaller than some of the magnum gliders out there , yet it still has big fish written all over it . It ’ s designed with a hard plastic body shaped proportional to a juvenile bass or other large bait fish , featuring lifelike raised gill plates , bold 3D eyes , a creased lateral line and a replaceable soft-plastic tail . The single-joint body pivots on a set of triple pins with a pair of free-swinging hook hangers to help prevent fish from gaining leverage against the bait and slinging the 2 / 0 VMC trebles . Storm adds a heavyduty snap swivel at the line to limit restriction while enhancing the bait ’ s erratic , side-to-side gliding action . It comes in nine average finishes to imitate shad , trout , bluegill and blueback herring .
In Action
I ’ m certainly no expert at tossing glide baits , but I did find the Arashi to be a pleasure to fish with once I got the hang of the technique and , more importantly , developed some confidence in throwing it . The slow-sinker falls horizontally at about 4 inches per second and is super responsive beneath the surface .
It ’ s versatile , too , capable of some wicked actions that are easy to dictate by simply changing the speed or rhythm of the retrieve with the reel handle . Staggered 1 / 2 to 3 / 4 turns make the bait glide 8 to 10 inches side-to-side , whereas quicker , shorter revolutions cause it to dart more erratically or even spin 180 degrees to face curious followers when paused in midstream . Wind it at a steady retrieve and the Arashi maintains a fluid S-motion action at slow , medium or fast speeds .
As castability goes , it ’ s fairly easy to launch long distances provided you don ’ t try to force the issue . It casts best by simply lobbing it smoothly with stiff arms and letting the load of the rod do most of the work . Try to achieve more distance with an aggressive snap cast and the bait has a tendency to catch wind and cartwheel .
I didn ’ t fool big numbers with the Arashi , but the bass I did catch would have gone a long way at a tournament weigh-in . One weighed 5.2 pounds , the other 7.4 . Both of the violent strikes came in separate trips in mid-January as I worked the bait around submerged hydrilla beds in 4 to 7 feet of water at the upper reaches of Lake Nacogdoches in eastern Texas . It was cool to watch the aftermath of the violent strikes as both fish struggled to gain leverage against the bait in attempts to sling the freeswinging trebles . Neither was successful .
76 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2021