Mattlures

Catt I must disagree with you. While some of what you say is correct one major part of your post is wrong. I have read Hannons's book and it was interesting. Some of it was right but a lot of it only applied to his situations. His theorys simply do not work in high pressured deep clear lakes. His book is simply out dated. 20 years ago when he wrote it, it was more relevant and so were your assessments. What I am talking about is bass intelegents. In a natural world with out fishing pressure the most aggressive bass will become the biggest bass in the lake. She will dominate the best feeding grounds and eat more than the other bass. In a natural world without fishing pressure this bass would be the easiest bass to catch. It would almost be considered stupid. Ok jump ahead 20 years to the world of modern day bass fishing where catch and release is the norm. All our big bass out here in CA have been caught many times and have learned to avoid danger. The older and more times the fish has been hooked the more it learns to fear humans and they're boats and their lures. I don't care what expert says bass are stupid simple creatures that can't learn anything, they are simple wrong period! We have all seen it with our own eyes. I have hidden behind bushes wearing camo to catch big bass and watched as a bass boat got within 100yards, not feet but yards and the fish took off. The smaller fish stayed. The fish would return when the boat had passed. That fish knew to avoid that danger. That giant 25.1 lb bass from Dixon is a perfect example. It has been documented caught 3 times. Every single time it was on a bed. No other time as a huge bass has that fish been caught. Dixon is highly pressured. It is only about 80 acres. That fish sees lures every day but it wont bite them, why? Because it is too dang smart. The only time that fish is vonerable is when its reproductive urges overpower it. Like a big buck in rut. I can give you many more examples but I realy dont need to. Hannon sought out areas that received little pressure. therefore the bass were uneducated. Modern day bass have to be smart to survive. Yes the biggest bass are the most aggressive but they are also the weariest. I have talked to our biologist many times and he has shocked all of our lakes. He has shocked up more big bass then any of us ever thought were in our lakes. There are more of them then you think. Yes there are less big ones then little ones but the reason they are rarely caught is not because they are so rare. Its because they are more difficult to catch. The swimbait is not a silver bullet but it does the absolute best job at imitating what big bass eat. They eat big bait fish be it trout, bluegill, baby bass, gizzard shad, Big shiners etc. They eat all the other things too but their main staple is a big baitfish meal. They don't get to be 15lbs by chasing little thredfin around. However they are opportunistic and if and easy little meal comes their way they will sometimes eat it. I have leaned this from time on the water and talking with guys who actually catch big bass consistently. They do everything they can to give them their best chance at fooling such a stupid fish; don't let their tiny brains fool you. There are in tune with there surroundings and the older they get the more they can recognize danger. I am not saying they are super intelligent but they are defiantly smarter then the little bass. Yes you don't have to use swimbaits to catch big bass and they are not always the best bait but compared to all other artificial baits they consistently give you the best chance to catch the biggest bass. You guys should all do yourselves a big favor and read in pursuit of giant bass by the late Bill Murphy. It is the bible of big bass. His techniques will still work today and can be applied to almost everywhere. Bill wrote his book before swimbaits became popular. They were mostly crude back then and he doesn't mention them very much in his book but he did troll large plugs and he did use them before he died. The big bass zone is another book about catching big bass. it tells you to change the way you think.

Great question! Some times I will just stick to swimbaits especialy if my partner is thrwoing other baits and not getting good fish. My second choice would be live bait. Crawlers, dads, and shinners. If they dont work than I have fished most of the day and if I try something else I am not realy hunting big fish anymore. I will throw a worm or a jig. Once I get a couple fish though I usualy go back to my big fish baits. I dont like getting skunked either but I have caught 1000's, probably 10,000 bass under 5lbs. they are still fun to catch but they just dont get me excited anymore. I spent 20 years learning how to catch small fish. I never broke 10. I did catch an ocasional 7-9lber and lots of 5-6lber but it wasnt untill I changed the way I thought that I started catching big bass. The results were almost emediate. I started catching many more big fish and a lot less small ones but it still took me 2 years to break 10. The single biggest adjustment I made was changing lakes. Out here we have smaller super clear lakes that produce BIG Bass, The problem is they are brutaly tough. A good worm guy could go all day from dark to dark and only catch 2-3 fish. But I go to these lakes because they give me the best odds. we have a few real nice numbers lakes that are loaded with decent bass however they only kick out about 2 or 3 fish a year over 10 and they are usualy are barely over 10. It was tough to stop fishing the fun lakes where 20lb limits were common for me. But I knew I had to.

Aint Texan, I am not Texan. I was born a raised in San Diego CA. Cody The answer to tour question is the million $ answer. Guys will tell you how but very few actualy get any of them to bite. I just mark that spot in my head and hit it later, maybe froma diferent angle or diferent bait. Swimbaits make great big bass locaters. Any body who fishes them knows what I mean. Some of you guys get it and some dont. Its not only about the bait. Its about changing the way you think. Once you do that then the swimbait becomes an obviouse choice no matter where in the country you happen to fish. Are swimbaits always the choice? No. but they should be used every time your out unless you KNOW the big fish are on something else. Even then it wouldnt hurt to make a few well placed cast with them.The reason I started this thread is because "how do I catch bigger fish" or something similar is probably the #1 question I see asked on the boards. The answers are always the same. Guys will catch 1-10 good fish a year out of probably 1000 and since they caught that incredibly small % of good fish on a worm or spinner bait they beleive those are the best big bassbait for them. I dont always hunt big fish. sometimes I just go to catch numbers(not verry often though) but when I do hunt, I play the odds. I do every thing I can to get that bigger bite. I think to myself what bait gives me the best odds of a 10lber. This doesnt mean I always catch 10lbers. Actualy I catch a lot of fish between 4-8lbs. I think when Is the best time and spot and depth. I aproach each spot like I am stocking a big buck. and I make my presentation with as few mistakes as I can. proir knowledge helps me eliminate water and not waist as much time. You learn with more time on the water. For thsoe of you that think swimbaiting is 1 bite a day, that is almost always not true. In my experiance I either get no bites or I get a few. I actualy have had more days when I got 15 bites than 1. Swimbaits are not always the answer. they are not a silver bullet, however I dont believe there is another bait that gives me a better chance at big fish consistantly. If I was in Florida I would probably use big shinners alot but I would still throw a swimbait. I do what gives me the best odds. I also know from the tons of guys who send me emails or pictures that swimbaits catch big bass in every state. But I honestly have not heard anything from Hawaii or Alaska. Maybe worms actualy do catch bigger fish there

For those of us outside of Florida, Texas, Georgia and California, I think jigs and soft plastics are the baits that will consistantly produce the biggest bass and the greatest number of "big bass". This statement is exactly what I am talking about. I resectfully disagree. You guys have no idea how many guys are sucsesfuly using swimbaits in just about every state and catch big bass. Some of them know they have that bite all to themselves so they keep it quiet. others post about it and talk. You will see over time. I think you guys missed the point. Jigs in general will catch a bigger grade of fish then most methods. Worms will not. I dont care if its a 12 power worm. Small fish eat them regularly. Do big fish eat them to? of course but the overall average fish caught on a worm would be less then 2lbs if you took all the bass ever caught on them and averaged them out. If you did the same with swimbaits the weight would be much heavier. The reason that jigs and worms do produce the biggest fish in other states is simple. I bet around 80% of all bass fishing is done with some type of plastic worms. So obviously around 80% of all bass are caught on them. This % is just a geustimate but I am sure I am in the ball park. When I speek of big bass its all relative to your area. I am not talking 10lbs. For most of you thats not too realistic. I am not posting this as a baitmaker. I am posting this as a fisherman. The baits that I have availible are small in the world of swimbaits but I do fish the big baits too. Also another common misconseption is that finding the particular spot is how you catch big bass. this maybe true with regular techniques but with swimbaits you cover water and pull fish to you. Every time I go to a lake I will try to hit my "spots" as corectly as I can but I am aslo casting as I work my way inbetween spots. I still get most of my fish from my known spots but I do get a few along the way. Feast or famin is an interesting theory. For beginners thsi is usualy true. I am not an expert but I am aslo not a beginner. When I feel like its a good time for a swimbait bite I almost always get bit. maybe only a couple bites or only 1 in a day but rarly do I go bitless when I thought I would get bit. There are guys like Mike Long who regularly catches numbers of good fish practicaly every time he throws the big baits. Over time you get a feeling for when its a good time to throw them. Every bait has the potential and at some point has produced a big bass. lok at Capt Cali. he stuck 2 of them on a little dropshot worm. does that mean its a good bait for big fish? No its probably one of the worst. I posted this with big fish in mind, not giants. I am talking about the upper 10% class of your fish. I do every thing I can do to increase my odds of getting a big one. There are times when that is a buzzbait at midnight. Its not always swimbaits. I fished for 20 years before I caught a double didget. I got very good at worming but it wasnt untill I decided I had to break 10 at all costs that I started to catch bigger fish. I simply stopped fishing for little ones. If you keep doing the same things you will get the same results. catching big bass consistantly is not getting lucky. Its about changing how you fish. Think of a big bass as a completly diferent species with difernt habbits and force your self to learn them. Then you will catch them.

Your screwed now! Thats how it starts then little by little you only use your stuff and you become completly obsessed with your next bait. You cary a notepad and pencil with you at all times incase you get an idea. You spend ALL your money on supplies. You lay awake in bed trying to solve the many little problems with your prototypes. You get no sleep. You find your self typing on mesage boards just to clear your mind. Yup your screwed!

I often see guys asking what to use to catch big bass on this and other boards. The answers are usualy the same. Big worms, jigs, etc. I always find these answers very interesting. I use these baits just like anybody else, or at least I used to use them alot but not as much anymore. Here is the way I look at it. If I am worm fishing, how many fish over 6lbs do I catch out of a hundred? I would guess about 2 or 3. Jigs would be around 10 out of 100. I dont use many cranks or blades so I cant say for those. But when I am throwing swimbaits I would say about 30-35 out of 100 are 6lbs or better. Also out of those hundres only a handfull of the small fish are under 3lbs but with the other baits 1.5-2lber are the norm. So next time you think about your favorite big fish bait consider how many small fish you had to catch before you got a good one. Of course it matters where and how you fish the diferent baits but I am always looking for big fish and all the baits are used in the same spots. Another way to look at it is like this. When I am worm fishing and I get a 5lber, I am excited, and I feel like I have caught a big fish. When I am throwing swimbaits and I get a bite I am excited at the possablities and I always assume its a BIG fish but as soon as I see or know its a 5lber I am emiediatly disapointed. Dang! its a small one, is going through my mind. Its simply a difernt mindset with difernt expectations. There is NO doubt in my mind if we knew the average weight of bass caught on the diferent baits, swimbaits(real ones) would have a significantly higher average weight. I would guess jigs would be #2 but after that I wouldnt know. Worms do catch big fish but they catch so many small ones that they would have a low average. When I am fishing for big bass I put as many factors in my favor as I can. I give myself the best possible odds. That doesnt mean that the guy dropshotting a 4in Robo wont catch a bigger fish than me but over the course of a year I know I will catch a lot more big fish than him.

That is probably about right for a healthy pond out where you live. If that was So Cal then that would be a small fish for its age. Out here 2lbs a year is normal.

Roadwarrior , yes and no. We catch big fish through out the year but not as big. Prespawn is usauly when it starts. Monsters are caught in the high teens but the majority of the giants are caught while spawning. I am talking about fish over 18lbs. Teens are regularly caught casting swimbaits durring the pre spawn through out post spawn but after that it gets reel tough. Your best bet becomes night time. most of the fish over 18lbs are caught on beds, not all of them but most. They are simply too smart to be caught any other time. not to mention that a regular 20lber when full of eggs will be over 23lbs. So most giants will be carrying a few extra pounds. Also just because the fish are caught durring spring doesnt mean they were caught while spawning, many are caught before or after they actualy are on or near a bed. They just so happen to be heavier this time of year. BUT... in general most of the big fish are caught durring the spring. Now 8-10lbers are caught through out the year. but still it gets tough after post spawn. the problem is our lakes are soo deep it becomes dificult to not only find them but to efectivly fish for them. Most of our lakes are over 100ft deep. and the fish tend to go deep durring the summer and fall, especialy the big ones. Night time they sometimes become vonerable again.

When I catch thWR this spring I will keep it. Honestly I wont feel good about keeping it but I wouldnt want to deal with all the doubters. realeasing big fish is soooo ingrained in our heads out here it will just feel wrong to keep it. I know some of the big names have talked to the fish and game about getting a permit in advance for transporting such a fish but they have not been able to get one. If I do catch it I will try and keep it alive but it may not be possible. Just so you guys know there are 3 lakes out here with confirmed live fish in it over 21 lbs. I currently know of 5 fish that should be over 22.4 this spring. I would also guess that there are at least 5 more that I dont know about. The record will fall in the next two years.

I am jelous! I wish I had my own pond! I always thought it would be cool to tag the bass I stocked to check their growth.

I hope those bass have something to eat. I have actualy been paid to stock ponds and the absolute most important thing is to get a forage bass started before you put bass in. I would spend monthes catching bluegill and green sunfish. I would let them spawn once scinse they were adults when stocked. Then I would put in the bass. I never stocked little ones though. I started at 3lbs and up. They breed like **** roaches. I told the owners to remove any small bass they caught. The reason is. I was putting in good fish and you can never catch all the small bass so some get to grow big. Less bass + lots of bluegills = Big Bass. Sounds like you got a pretty cool thing going. It does break your heart when you see somebody keep a big fish from "your" pond.

Kieth those look good especialy the 2nd one. Very nice work. I would like to recomend getting an airbrush. they are actualy very easy to use and from what you can do with spry paint I bet you could do some awsome work with an airbrush.

I aksed about BASS and his show. he told me he is still emplyed by ESPN but he is not sure what he will be doing. He also said that the canceling of his show had nothing to do with Rucks going away. It was a coincidence that they happened at the same time. He said they were cleaning house. Just figured I would share

Maybe you are right. I think I took it the wrong way. After reading it agin it again it does seem prety informative. At first it seemed like he was trying to "correct ' me. I wasnt mad just figured I would "correct" him back I fixed it.

I second ***.com !

George there are exceptions to your definations. My situation may or may not be unique. I am on the "pro staff" acording to Okuma(the second largets reel manufacturer in the world) My main job is to test gear. They send me rods and reels and I use them. I try and break them under normal situations and I give them feed back. I get to keep all the gear unless I actualy do break something or find a problem, then I send it back and they give me a new one. Not a bad gig huh? They also send me all the shirsts, hats, and decals I ask for. They even sent me a professional tournament shrt in case I ever decide to fish tournaments. Oh and guess what else. I have a yearly budget. I can buy what ever gear I want. When my budget runs out I have to use my own money to buy gear but not at a a small %. I get a huge discount. I still havent spent any of my 06 budget because I have so much stuff already. I assume Fish Chris has a similar deal. Like I said before you dont have to fish tournaments to be "sponsered" or on a "prostaff" Its what you can do for the company. I guess according to your difination I would be sponsered, but according to them I am prostaff.

I am also on Okuma's pro staff just Like FC. I also have other companies send me free stuff all the time. Rods reels baits. You name it. I have never asked any of them for it. They came to me. I have actualy thought about asking a few companies that I like for sponsership but I havent got around to it. Here is the funny part. I HAVE NEVER FISHED A FRESH WATER BASS TOURNAMENT! EVER! Its all how you market your self. If you can help them sell products they will want you. Just like FC. catching big bass = big money.

I hate to see a trohy fish killed for any reason especialy to be mounted . but its his right. However if more people were edcated on how superior replicas are to skin mounts I think less big fish would be kept/mounted. tmwadswo cant understand why a replica is a better choice. Let me explain. I was a taxidermist and I can tell you that a replica looks more like your actual fish than the actual skin mount. A replica is more anatomicaly corect. It looks more like a real fish than a skin mount. It is superior in ever possible way. A lot of people dont understand this. Here is why. A replica is a mold of an actual fish, in a natural state. a skin mount is just that, a skin. You take a skin and stretch it over a foam manican. Ther are many places that you have to buid up the manican to replace the flesh that has been removed. If the skin is not put on perfectly it will look wrong. Skin mounts almost always have the mouths set in an unnatural way. Usualy over extended and the gill rakers pushed up into the throught. Fins and tails are usualy over extended and look like overstretched fans. I have seen bodies with a very unnatural bend to them. A skin mount has so much potential for human error. 95% of all skin mounts that I have seen I can pick them apart with mistakes by the taxidermist. Most of them are very obvious. A replica eliminates those before you ever start. Now its up to the paint job. A good artist can paint a replica as good as any skin mount. Something else that is a huge thing to consider is a skin mount is a rottng warping distorting piece of skin. Over a little time it will yellow and crack and twist and warp and distort. A replica wont! You can match a replica to your fishes measurements. check your measure ments on a skin mount and you will see they are not the same as when you caght the fish. Why? because of all the sretching and shrinking and every other negative thing that happens with skin mounts. Another thing to consider is tmwadswo said he didnt like the fins looking to perfect. Any good taxidermist who does replicas can match the inperfections of your fishes fins. Just give them some pictures and request it. As a former taxidermist it is my opinion that there is no reason to get a skin mount. They are junk compaired to a quality replica. Replicas are more natural, more durable and most importantly they are more correct as far as the fish itsself. I have seen a few decent skin mounts. they do exist. unfortunatly only extremly good (skin mounting) taxidermist can do this. most just say they can but they are not that good. I have seen hundreds of mounts done by "profesional taxidermist with many yearts of experiance" that look like junk. at least with a replica all you have to worry about is the paint job. Most of the best Taxidemist in the country wont even do a skin mount for all of ther reasons I have stated above. Guys do your self a favor, when you catch a big fish take a length and a girth measurements. Take some pictures of the whole fish and any identifying marks that you want on your mount. Then dont settle on the cheapest taxidermist. find the best one you can aford. In Taxidermy you ABSOLUTLY GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!!!! and the best part is you can release your trophy fish and maybe catch it again.

Ok Gonzo I'll tell you why up hill. IMO it has nothing to do with how the fish are positioned. It has to do with the fish being aware and scarred of your presence. You can not pull your boat into the back of a cove and catch fish casting twords the shore. They feel the baot aproaching and they feel trapped so they take off around you. Have you ever seen that happen? i have many times. When you work uphill the fish might know your there but there escape route is not blocked and they dont have to leave. Its not that they dont know there is a boat around its just not as big of a threat so they are more likely to eat. I fish swimbaits 70% of the time and 70% of my bites are coming up hill with about 20% in flat areas or over and accross humps and points. and 10% of my bites come from down hill. I am targeting big bass so my numbers are more exagerated because bigger fish are more sensative to boat pressence than smaller fish. If I do fish down hill I cast ahead of the boat where thye fish are not trapped.

I could not dissagree more. Playing a big fish out untill its tired is the old way of doing it. It is the only way if your using light gear but your using 50lb braid and somewhat heavy gear. I fish my gear with the dragg almost completly locked. I hook the fish and horse them in as fast as I can. When I feel them rissing too jump I swing back hard and try to open their mothes and move them towards me. This will creata parachute afect and yu gain control and the fish cant jump. if I know I cant stop the fish from jumping I plunge my rod into the water and reel hard. This will minimize the jump. I have caught a few big fish and have lost some too. These techniques are used by the guys out in CA who catch big bass. I have landed probably 200 bass over 5lbs and believe me a big bass is one of the smartest fighting fish alive. If you give them time they will find a way to get off.

There is a couple guys that I would want to go with. LRod cause I think we would have fun. Road Warior cause I have never caught a smallie and I would get board catching small ones. Raul cause I think we could get some big fish down there. Fish Chris for sturgeon. Now instead of going with other guys, I would rather they came on my boat. I would just love to take out some realy good Texas sticks and teach them how to fish swimbaits. I would open their eyes and they would have a new respect for the Cali trophy hunters. I also think it would be cool to see the look on the east coast guys when I showed them a 15+lber swimming around.

I have added a bunch more pictures to my site. I have over 100 pics of big bass http://www.mattlureswholesale.com/site_map.htm Glenn if this is inappropriate I apologize, I am just showin off a little Delete it if its not cool

I know where a 25lber lives. I also used to know where where two lived that were around 20lbs. I actualy lost one but could never get the other too bite. Now if I would have found them on beds thats a diferent story. I have John Hopes book and it is verry interesting. I also have Bill Murphy's book(The best trophybass book ever writen) and Doug Hannons book. after reading them you would think they were fishing for diferent species. Hannons views and opinons are SOO wrong when aplied to our bass out here. I find it extremely interesting that the same fish have such diferent habbits based on the diferent types of water. But I absoluty believ big bass are teritorial and its just a matter of time before I catch a realy big bass.

I hate spinnerbaits and crankbaits. I have boxes full of them but I wont use them. I am totaly suprised at people saying droshot. That has to be the easyest way to bass fish. Out of curiousity are you guys ds with 6lb test and under? and are you using spinning gear like you are suposed too?

I think CC nailed it. Even though we have giant bass an 8lber is still a big fish. You should see the trout guys look at me when I pull in an 8 in front of them they all think I just caught a 15lber. The bench mark is still 10. Thats where the counting starts. When your at the highest level 15lbs is where the counting starts. I am not at that level.