I have been reading the posts on the Gladiator from ABT Lures. First, let me clear something up, the reason a lure is called a swimbait is not because of the materials that create the lure, but because of the action. Crankbaits have a side-to-side wobble, some have wide wobbles and some have tight wobbles, but they all wobble. A swimbait has a swimming action. Soft plastic has been utilized for swimbaits because it produced the most desired effect. The problem with soft plastic baits is that they tend to tear apart easily.

The Gladiator has the same swimming action as other swimbaits. The biggest difference is that they have accomplished the swimming action utilizing hard plastic, making the lures much more durable. The unique hinge design is what gives the lure the swimming action.

As far as breaking, yes, although highly unlikely, they can break. But, then again, I have had spinnerbaits snap and hooks come out of some of my most expensive crankbaits. I have fished with these lures for nearly two years and have yet to have one break. In fact, I couldn't understand why the company chose to switch to a harder plastic. They wanted to make the lure even tougher, but I had not experienced any problems.

I have caught numerous fish on these lrues, many over 5-pounds. I haven't caught the kind of fish some others have caught, but that's not surprising. While a great lure for bass, I have found the lure to be exceptional for stripers. I personally know of stripers caught over 20-pounds with no problems.

This is not a lure for every situation, no lure can honestly claim that. But, it does provide another tool on your arsenal.

As far as the bass being caught at Bass Lake, I know this to be true.

Naturally, as with many other anglers, I went to Bass Lake as soon as I heard about the catch and spoke with the manager at the market where the fish were weighed on their certified scale. In fact, the record fish initially weighed more than 15.17 but the guy who caught it, the owner of ABT Lures, noticed some water on the scale and had them reweigh the fish. I spoke with one trout angler on the bank who witnessed the fish being caught.

Of course, that doesn't mean that some other lure, being used at the same time, wouldn't have also caught that fish. A Castaic swimbait, or a even a plastic worm might have also caught that same fish at the same time, but a Gladiator was being used at the right time in the right place. You can't blame the company for trying to use this as a marketing tool. Believe me, if I owned a tackle manufacturing company I would be using every opportunity to capitalize on a big fish being caught. That's just smart.

Hopefully this long reply has cleared a few things up.