bigbill

I read a local tornie guy state there are no bass bigger than 6lbs in my state of CT. Thats the average big bass, nothing bigger. Thats totally wrong. My biggest one so far is 10lbs. and i seen bigger ones too. I'm up at 3:30am everyday and fish everyday to catch any size bass it doesn't matter. I fish till around 3 months its when i get burned out, lack of sleep for some reason. I find the hawg's seem to be closer to shore in the early am ambushing the baitfish. I'm happy to catch anything but if the hawgs want to bite too thats a plus and it makes my day too. I hammer 3 to 4 small places from shore everyday and each place holds large bass. Trust me its not the 5 to 6 lbers making the babies and keeping the popluation up its the bigger gals doing the job there the unsung hero's. I think the big bass thing is overlooked in many states. Some states may have larger bass than others but i think there are double digit bass in every state. I even catch the large pickerel up to 30" what a fight they are too. I like catching any size bass but the larger ones rock. : Its funny they mocked me on a local website when i talked about 10lb bass but then they started catching them 9lbs and up go figure therte really here ain't that something. You need to stay motivated and stay going because sooner or later you will catch one too and maybe more than one. Being disabled i'd like to break the state record for large mouth bass its only 12lb14oz. But i really hope a little kid does it.

Being fairly new at bass fishing when i seen this tool offered used i jumped on it a few years back. Comming from an engineering back ground in a test lab i wanted to test it out really bad to see if it worked. I fished the same place while testing it for a week at the same times. It picked red as a color and red is the only color that worked, the next day it picked green and that was the only color that worked, another day it was brown and again it was the only color that caught fish that day when i tried all the other colors. But somedays every color would work when the bite was on too. Could it work on a tough day I really think so. It could make the difference in putting fish in the boat and $$ in your pocket if your Kevin VanDam too he uses one and has one in his boat. In time we do learn how to fish each place that we fish often. I have noticed that what works at one place doesn't work at another place thats 1 mile away for some reason. I just been wondering if the newer one with the software is just as good or better than the older one. I find that the used combo c lectors are in still new condition and hardley used. I picked up another one thats in new out of the box condition. Some guys forgot that they had one. One guy told me they used it all the time and it worked great but then they never used it anymore for some reason. I already proved it works in my testing. Now nothing can compare to time spent on the water(experience) but it can jump start your bass fishing if your new at it or it can make the difference on a tough day. I'm going to purchase the new selector soon and test it against the older one and see if its as good or better. I was just wondering if anyone had one yet. BB

I have noticed that the big gals perfer sunfish as there main diet. I mainly use lures now and the sunfish lures are my favorite along with the rebel BIG Claw Crawfish lure too. These have been my best producers fopr larger bass so far. When i use the BIG Claw I use the largest one that dives 10' and bounce it off the bottom at first then reel it slow. When is use the sunfish lures it mainly jigging with it near the surface very slow. I have also noticed that fishing in the wee hours of the morning have produced my largest fish. I think these places are pressured really heavy so its better fishing when no one is around stiring things up. You also need to be very stealthy/quiet when fishing too and don't bang your tacklebox around too be very quiet or the game is "off" you'll spook the bigger bass, there smart. Just stay motivated and stay going.... BB Fact; Here all my bigger bass were caught on lures why i'm not sure.

I have to disagree I think all the states have big bass there just not being caught. The big gals don't do the 9am to 5pm like the pro's do. Just try fishing your favorite spot in the low light, early am just before sun up near the shore. try to pick a weed line or rocky point/drop off. The bass supply isn't comming from the 4lb to 6lb bass its the bigger gals keeping the large amounts of little bass comming there 9lbs +. Recently there was a 12lber killed by a weed machine being used to churn up the weeds in a local lake. That should of been a heads up as to whats really out there size wise but most of the local fisherman here didn't give it any thought. There thought is if there not catching them there isn't larger ones out there. I really think its an ego problem. Someday i hope its a little kid that breaks the state record here. The State DEP here with the shock boat can only work in the shallow water so who knows whats out there? These big gals are very smart or they wouldn't be that big. Trust me there out there......and feeding when were sleeping. No matter were you live just fish your local spot and fish it heavy and you will see....I did and fished the same spot for 3 to 4 months everyday till i get burned out. Thats up at 3:30am everyday...its sleep...eat..& fish..eat...sleep again. I love this life... Just go out there and have fun and practice with your lures and presitations and see what happens you will be surprised.

I been trying to figure the fronts out for a while now. I have had a bass feeding frenzy happen hours before the front comes in, during the front while its raining, during the pouring rain while it lets up a tad and after the front has left. So what triggers this frenzy to happen since it can happen at anytime? During the frenzy we had doubles for 15 minutes, I caught 18 bass another time in 3 hours plus other fish too. I have also caught some large pink colored sunfish but its mainly bass after bass no matter what lure i use. It doesn't happen all the time too. My older brother before he passed away would always tell me you have to stay going and all of a sudden they just turn on. I never knew what he ment until it finally happened and the bass bug bit me. No wonder why he always fished in the rain. I just can't seem to nail it down when and how it happens. I know if the PH gets too high they shut down. I'm sure the ones who have experienced this feeding frenzy will agree but not many fisherman have seen this happen. Towards the end of the rain the PH is much higher so they shut down. The rain has stirred everything up by the time its over. The shut down of the bite can last for days after the rain too until the run off calms down and the PH drops back to normal again. Remember i'm fishing from shore and its totally different when your in a boat. I'm fishing small places were no boats are allowed. To pull out many numbers of bass in a small place is just awesome. I have even caught larger smallies too at this time were no smallies are ever caught. The large pink sunfish just kill me i never seen them before. So what can it be that causes this to happen? Is it the moon phase timed during the front? I spent one summer trying to figure this out and was soaked to the bone ever rain storm too.

First i want to say hello i haven't been here for a while, i been busy with the new house. But this year its back to fishing. I talked before about my combo c lector and how it worked picking the right color or even a color combination for that water condition and type of day. I just seen Jimmy Houston fishing along side Roland Martin on his show and Jimmy was using a white skirt spinnerbait so Roland pulled out the new color selector and checked the best possible lure color and it picked white too. I first seen a combo c lector on Bill Dances show on an older video i purchased. Knowing the PH and water temp gives you an edge too. My point is has anyone tried the new color selector yet? I haven't looked at them yet but i wonder if it has the water and PH on it too besides the lure color selection like the last combo c lector did. I picked up another older combo c lector that was in new unused condition just to have an extra one. I also read that Kevin VanDam has and uses one too on a tough day. Lets face it nothings a given with fishing but on a tough day it could make a difference. BigBill I fish mainly from shore and the biggest advantage we have today is the portable fish finder. I use the hummingbird that you cast out the pod and look at the wrist watch type screen. I use it to look for drop off's and how the bottom is. Before these were offered we would go ice fishing and poke holes to learn how the bottom drops off so i knew how to fish it the next spring. Its a big advantage for shore fisherman fishing smaller places were no boats are allowed. I have more fun with it looking for points and drop offs. The big gals are close to shore ambushing bait in low light conditions but don't tell everyone. The larger bass don't do the 9am to 5pm thing. Just remember to be stealthy and very quiet. I remember coughing once and seeing a big wake near the surface when i spooked a big gal away from the shore.

Yup seen the story on bassmasters and its a tear jerker for sure(the ending). :'( I never knew there was a fisherman like him from CT. I live right near there were he fished and grew up. I hope to hit that lake this spring too.. BigBill You can learn from his story it takes motivation and never give up just stay going forward and learn as you go from your mistakes. ;D

I was fishing a small dammed up river that gets the winter runoff from a larger well stocked lake. While bass fishing with crankbaits I caught the uglyest fish i have ever seen. It had baby sized teeth and was silver and long. I later found out it was a salmon. I didn't have a net and didn't want to lose my lure so i slackened the line and it got off. It could of been a state record for salmon it was that big.

Its a fact that the bigger bass only eat bluegills/sunfish as a regular diet. I use only bluegill lures and jig with then like the bluegill is in trouble making it an easy prey for the bass. I have also found out the bigger bass are close to shore in the dark and low light situations ambushing the bait. If your really stealthy in the dark and quiet with your tacklbox you can do really good fishing from shore. Walk softly too they do get ground vibrations as you walk too. Even wear dark clothes too, camo is better. It can truely pay off when we do it right even from shore.

I mainly fish from shore so line diameter is very important but the lure action with the correct line factors in too plus the waters clairety. Topwater; 12lb excaliber silver thread green color. carolina rig; 14lb excaliber silver thread with a red cajun line 24" leader and a 1 /8oz brass weight. Crankbaits; 10lb or 8lb test excaliber silver thread green color with a ball bearing swivel. The swivel gives the crankbait more wobble, its free movement plus more noise if it has a rattle in it. large spinnerbaits 10lb or 12lb excaliber silver thread green color. small spinnerbaits(1/8oz) 6lb test excaliber silver thread green color. The places that i fish the green line disappears better than the clear line. The clear line seems to give a split screen appearance in the water. There is less stretch using a copolymere line rather than a mono line. The mono line is like a long spring and with long shore casts its even worse. I lost a lot of big bass using mono plus lures too.

When that happens I seen to be trying too hard or in a rush. After i try everything in my tacklebox I go a second time changing up my presentations. I slow them way down. Its very hard were i fish right now mainly because of fishing pressure. Everyone wants to catch that free meal nowadays. I fish mainly from shore and its getting tougher and tougher every year it gets harder and harder with less fish. I need to find some new places.

I've been into bass fishing really heavy for under 10 years now, i think its like 7 or 8 years. At first I was spending a lot maybe between 1k to 2k a year on every thing i wanted that wasn't too high in price. I have a small collection of Rapala's (most kinds and sizes), panther martin, mepps and joesflies, well i have about 15 to 18 tackleboxes full of each catagory of lures for storage and 3 boxes that go with me when i go fishing. I rotate my older baits with my newer baits often too. I use everything i buy most of the time. If its on sale and i don't have it I buy it in every color and size that makesd sense to me to test it and see if it works. I will try it on every fishing trip till i figure out how to use it(presentation) thats the key with using something different and new to us. Ok right now I buy the new colors that come out in the old favorite baits, fishing line, snap swivels, weights and maybe a rod or reel, or if i lose something i replace it right away but i don't spend much in $$ now maybe $500 this year if that. My only purchase was $100 of rapala's this year so far. I'm all setup now with most of the supplies and all i have to do is fish now. I have no time to shop during the season locally too i'm just too tired. I go to BPS on the net for most of my stuff. I don't have a boat my son bought one to take me fishing. I can't handle it alone i'm disabled so i mainly fish from shore.

I notice that kids have a very short attention span(mine did) they want action, they want to catch fish and they really don't care what fish they catch too. To get them really hooked into fishing i would bring a rattle bobber and some night crawlers. This teaches them rod tip control and there going to call in and catch panfish by the bushel full too. I never had too much time for me to fish buts its all about getting them started anyway so i would focus on them. It doesn't take them too long to get the hang of it too. Bring some PJ's(peanutbutter/jelly sandwhiches) for lunch/drinks and a camera your going to need it too. We always stopped for breakfast too it seemed to always make each fishing trip a great one too. They never will forget there very first fishing experiences. If most of us think back it was panfishing for many years, like most of my life as a kid at least we caught something thats what counted. Then we went river fishing after trout and then it was lake fishing after bass as we got older. Go slow don't rush them into bass fishing because they may get bored from the slow action at times that can shun them away from fishing so pan fishing will get them hooked into fishing.

As some of you will remember me, I'm disabled but i can still walk a little but i fish the same places not too far from the car from shore. I'm fishing one old place that has an old road dam that was once used as water power for an old mill. I have a combination of everything in this one area. I have a 9' to 10' dropoff, I have 6' deep flats on the left, and the 10' dropoff tapers to the shallows on my right and about 30 yards infront of me past the dropoff. The dropoff is about a 30yd circle + or - in size. Over the past 5 years the 10' deep area really hasn't been too productive but everywhere else has been. This place is fed by a small river and it gets the winter runoff from a very large lake here and in the spring the smaller fish get trapped in this place and they just sit there and grow. My largest LMB so far is 6lbs and my biggest pickerels that i caught there have been between 28" to 29" inches so far too. I have seen larger bass in this body of water too. Now my point we get into a groove of what works for us and sometimes we hit a lull in catching fish because what were doing just isn't working. Ok we try jigs, crankbaits, worm'in and topwater presentations but end up comming up short. I went out the other day to this spot determined to try something new, something different and out of my normal style of fishing. After trying my most productive lures and presentations in the past. I put on a rapala shad rap that sinks(countdown) and started using it. I would cast it out and try jigging it were i could see it and trying to match a drying baitfish presentation. After a few casts i got my presentation down so i casted into the 10' hole letting it fall. After letting it fall about 7 seconds(falls 1' per second) I started jigging it. On my second cast my new presentation paid off I nailed a 22" pickerel and the fight was on. While it wasn't a bass the pickerel told me my new presentation/lure combination was working in this situation(10' hole). It pays to try that new lure that we never tried before with a different presentation if your spot were your fishing will allow it we do have deep holes, flats, rocky points and shallows in certain areas were we shore fish. The portable hummingbird fish finder is a big plus in us finding these holes, dropoff's and other areas too. It helps us to pick a lure selection for that one area so we can adjust on how were going to approach fishing it. In shore fishing i have noticed if the cover hasn't grown yet because its still early spring there are no bass or other fish in the area until there is cover for them. The cover brings in the baitfish which the bass follow too. The lilly pads are just starting to hit the surface now and the bottom is just starting to turn a new green so life is comming back slow this year because of the colder than normal spring weather. Lets talk livebait and lures for a moment too. When i started bass fishing we were using livebait(minnows and worms) and it was costing me near $50 a week to fish. This is when i started using two rods, one with livebait and the other with a lure. I got to the point of learning how to use lures successfully and i started catching more fish on lures than livebait. My point is i have two older retired guys fishing with me every morning and there really funny at times. When there not cathing anything on lures they will swear that livebait is the best. But they don't realize that if live minnows are working than a minnow lure would be the same of course with a shot of YUM shad. With the live minnows here hitting $4 to $5 a dozen i stopped using them all together now because of cost and i just use lures. I have nothing against using livebait its just the trade off in cost. Again we have to use a lure that matches the livebait or the bait the bass are feeding on at the time. Every fishing trip is a learning process for us. Try a new lure on a short cast so you can see the action of it and how to focus on the presentation of it. Watching your speed or adding a twitch can sure be the difference in your success too. Don't rush go slow and learn the lure then try it. Stop Wishing and Start Fishing!!!!!!!! BTW; My fishing time has been cut shorter now too due to back pain and i'm sure i'm not alone. I never had it until this year. I could make 1,000 casts on a trip before with no problems and now forget it, the back pain can start at anytime now. How do you guys deal with this if you have it? I did switch to longer rods like 6'6" to 7' rods the past few years too. I may try going back to the 6' and 5'6" rods to see if that helps. The pain is so bad i can just make it to the car.

I agree yes they do change color due to water clarity but the amount of sunlite that the water allows to go thru it can change the color of the bass too. I think the water clarity and sunlite work together. If there is also thick cover it can also filter out the sunlite too.

Tire store selling fishing stuff sure in the country areas i have seen all types of store selling tackle and hunting stuff too even grocery stores.

I like to buy different brands just to hammer them. Not too much trouble with the $12 and up reels(50% off so they are $25 reels). Remember i buy what ever is on sale or discounted at the time. For spinning reels its been Quantum, Globe, Viva and Okuma's. They say the more ball bearings the better but when cranking is involved the less bearings the better because its easier to crank plus its a smoother lure action too. The 3 and 4 ball bearing reels are perfect for crankbaits easy to turn'crank. I picked up some older new 4 ball bearing Quantums that are really good too. Now fishing rods is another story I buy the cheapest ones too from a 5' $5 southbend or shakesspear to a $25 6' rod. But i'm using the "master brand" lately too its a Penn rod. I carry 5 to 6 rod setups with me one for each style of bait in the 3 tackle boxes from small baits to large baits from topwater to cranks to plastics. Some of the Master rods are under $10 too. For line there is no mistaken its silver thread co-polymere line. I can't be too cheap with the quality of line this is were you need to put your money into buying a good quality line. Any thing cheaper means lost fish i have been there. I learned that 8lb test just isn't doing it all anymore too i have gone up to 10lb and 12lb now too. I've lost too many good sized bass in the double digit range. In some areas i'm using a braid too now in the very thick heavy cover where my last battle was lost.

Whats your plans for this year? What are you going to do thats different? I'm going to fish more and try to use plastics more. I tend to use what works like mostly crankbaits and topwater spooks/poppers. I need to focus more with different baits and not always rush and switch baits too early.

BTW; I don't fish during thunder and lighting i have had too many close calls. I'm to the point i can feel it right before it strikes near me. I can feel it winding up as it crackles, i know its comming and then the full power of the strike happens. I get goose bumps just saying this.

I fish before the front hits, during the rain and after the rain. I mainly fish from shore and i have hit this feeding frenzy a few times during this situation with fishing fronts. My first time we caught so many bass i lost count it was doubles after doubles of smaller bass while we were fishing in a swamp thats dammed up. This was about two hours before the rain hit in the evening before dark. On my second try at this it was inbetween the rain storms the bigger bass came in we caught 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's pounders from shore and the biggest crappie I have ever seen it was the size of a 5 gallon bucket lid this was in the early evening around 6pm. My third time hitting this frenzy i was fishing during a warm drizzle rain. I landed 19 bass on that trip and i never caught so many bass there before. I did get some weird colored big sunfish too they were a pink & white color too. This was during the midday from 11am to 2pm. I'm not sure if i'm timing this front with the full moon or not but they sure turn on at a certain time during the front. The fishing is awesome and unbelievable and it can happen at anytime before and during the rain. After the rain it depends on how big the body of water is wether the fishing is good or not. I have a few places that shut down after the rain because of a high PH factor because of the bacteria the rain stirrs up when the water comes rushing into the place from the stream that feeds it. I would like to nail down exactly what causes this frenzy but i just can't seem to get a handle on when to predict when its going to happen. Its well worth going just to catch this awesome fishing even if i get wet i go anyway and i just take extra clothes with me besides rain gear too. I have seen this frenzy last from a few hours to as little as 30 minutes too.

I'm sorry but i got burned out early this year the heat slowed me right down. My biggest large mouth bass was 6.1lbs. I wanted to get back in the groove again but the fall and the cold weather came early this year. Now the ice is on and its just about ready. BigBill I want to wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year !!!! I can't wait to make that first cast when the ice is off already. I'm going to go 24/7 again till i get burned out again. I just never learn. Now remember i fish from shore most of the time to gain acess to the hot small places. I like to fish the run off from larger lakes. This is where the bigger fish seem to get trapped and grow to an unbelievable size. I was hunting after a large fish that was tearing up the pads just out of my reach from shore. She was really busy not paying any attention to my topwater stuff that was nearby in the light about 7am to 8am. I would go back at 12 oclock and at 3pm and she would still be busy in the pads. It was awesome to watch her feed. So I returned one early morning in stealth mode about 5am in the dark and setup. As it became first light at about 5:30/6am I had her miss my topwater popper and she like a guided torpedo made a sharp u turn and inhaled my popper. Now my line broke as i got her to shore so i seperated my two piece rod and caught one of the trebles on my popper very quickly before she got away. The water drops off about two feet at the shoreline and me being disabled I couldn't reach her. But i landed a 6.1lber and as i looked up the pads were still busy with something else so it wasn't her that was tearing up the pads. My quest will continue in the spring again. All I can say is those pads and weedlines sure can hold the bigger fish near the shoreline. Now I have a suggestion also when your on the smaller bass and its a frenzy when the action slows down scan the water because i notice the bigger fish will come in to see what all the action is all about. This is the time you may want to upsize your bait and try for them but don't cast near them, cast past them and bring your lure quietly into their zone. You must be stealthy because their very smart and spooky.

Ok I mainly fish from shore and my two favorite spots are rocky points and a weedline along side a channel. First you have to keep hitting these spots too. If there's no baitfish there's not much action going on. The bass do follow the bait. I fish the points in different directions too. Sometimes I will cast on top of the poit in the deeper water and bring my lure right up on top of the point. Or I will angle my cast across it making my bait appear like its getting away into the deeper water. Now long side the weedlines and channels I will cast my lure right along side the weedline in the channel to try to draw out a strike from the weeds. Most of my action in these two situations has been in low light conditions like early mornings and late evenings. It seems as it gets lighter the bass move to deeper cover. I use crankbaits and spinnerbaits mainly but as it gets lighter i switch to a carolina rigged senko type bait and fish the deeper channel. Its not luck in fishing its SKILL!!!!!

The PH can really vary thus making the action either awesome or completely stopped dead. During the daytime hours in the heat the fish are deep in the weeds(cover) where the oxygen is the best. I don't think the heat bothers them as much as the PH does they can't breathe they have to go were the oxygen is the best. I fish mainly from dark till dawn everyday. As the sky begins to light up while its still dark the topwater action starts up. And it will continue till dawn. The bass's eyes change and adjust first to the difference in light while the baitfish's eyes take longer to change thus making them easy prey for the bass this is why the action is on at first light. The samething happens in the evening too its a short window of awesome action too. In the middle of the day when its the brightest of the sunlite the bass turn on again because of the baitfish will move to eat the newly hatched plankton thus they become easy prey again. So you can even get topwater action in the middle of the day too. No matter what time of day it is I always will try my topwater stuff. I have seen big bass in the pads busting topwater like a torpedo at 2 in the afternoon this is when i send in a weedless spoon with a large plastic trailer. She did turn and hit it too and i missed her but the rush i got was awesome just to see it. I have been watching this one big bass for weeks now in the pads. I'm just taking my time with her. I had this happen lastyear while fishing from shore. Another large fish was working the pads over in another place for 3 months every morning and i just waited. I was catching bass but i could see this bigger fish out of my reach in the pads. The size of the Vee in the water it made was awesome. I finally got a shot at it when it was near me just within my reach. I made a very long cast past it about 4' to the right of it. As i worked my lure it turned and hit it. I landed the biggest pickerel i have ever seen and caught(30") and the fight was awesome my drag was going the whole time. The "big VEE" is the give away to what it was. The fight was worth waiting for.

Good question!!! I'm not sure but i think the word "Zara" has something to do with it too. Sounds like some more research is needed here. BigBill The Spooks sure do get some of the best attention in topwater action its the walk your dog approach that does it. Its the zig / zag that does and remember to pause too. Give it three twitches and pause then repeat. When you get that presentation down perfect there's no better action than topwater action with a zara spook. Take your time with a spook its a fish calling bait too. So fan cast the area then start all over again go slow they will come!!!!. Spooks are great for topwater action at dawn and dusk. BTW; Don't pass up those cheap imitations too they work good too. I carry a little selection of everything colors and sizes. If ya caught a few fish on a spook and the action slowed down change colors first. If your still not getting any action put on a spook with a prop!!!

I like to hook them thru the lower lip mainly because they have that great dying sideways movement that no fish can not pass up. If they bleed a little its a plus too so hook them and get them in the water quickly. Hook size matters too I was using a #1 or a 1/0 hook in the larger minnows. The only problem I have with using livebait is turtles!! The snappers see fisherman and right away its an easy snack. I'm a magnet for turtles even though i'm not using livebait. The turtles can be as bad as a puppy near the table at dinner time.