bigbill

Well after the heavy rain it makes the PH rise and the bass become tight lipped so bad you couldn't buy a bite thats a fact. If your fishing from shore this can be a really tough time. From a boat you can move to where the PH is more around 7 which is perfect. Or from a boat you can find the PH breakline too where it changes. Measuring the PH is another key to success. BigBill

Well the locals here are starting to catch bigger bass were up to 10lb 11oz right now and all i can say is do I hear an "11"!!!!! Or it just maybe go right to 12 too!!! Were well on a roll to bigger bass just like i predicted. In the few places i'm fishing i can see these bigger bass swimming by they come in like ghosts then disappear. I really think they come into see what the smaller bass are feeding on. Fishing for sunnies is another key too when reeling one in go slow and you maybe surprised. Thats 10lbs+ in Ct. so whats in the rest of our country??? I think its time to go fishing in the early am and think big!!! BigBill Its not luck in bass fishing its SKILL!!!

Ok this is a great topic and i'm sure everyone has an opinion about when to fish. The three hottest times to fish are early mornings "dark to first light", while its still dark the bigger bass(gals) are near the shore ambushing the baitfish in the shallows. When the light changes from dark to light the bass's eyes adjust right away but the eyes of the batfish are slow to adjust to the change in light making them easy prey for the bass. Thus causing a morning frenzy at dawn. My largest bass 10lbs with many 3's 4's, 5's & 6's have been caught in the early mornings in the shallows, but there less in numbers. At 12 noon when the sun is the hottest the plants give off plankton this is when the bait fish come out of hiding to feed on the plankton and the bass ambush them. This is what causes the noon bite. I really think you need a boat at this time because the bass are in the deeper cover. In the evening there's a feeding frenzy that happens they seem to turn on as it gets dark more like dusk. I think its the same as the morning its there eye adjustment to the light which the bait fish are easy prey again. In the evenings there's more bass in numbers but there not as big as the early morning bass. My average evening bass have been about 2, 3 and 4.5lbs in size. When it gets darker they seem to shut down but its actually when the night game begins and we have to wait for the night bite to turn on. Sometimes I hear in the heat of the summer crashes and body slams at 11pm that sound like one of us jumped in the water but its the bass feeding in the shallows and i can't imagine how big they must be. I have always heard of a night time feeding frenzy but i haven't fished that much at night. I have had problems with bobcats and coyotes fishing from shore in the late evenings. BigBill I was following the mauri charts too in Outdoorlife and i'm not sure if its still in their magazine but it was right on most of the time fishing by the moon phases. My 10lber was caught in the early am (5am) when it said "good early". Weather fronts cause a feeding frenzy too. I have had it happen with the front comming in like a few hours before the rain hits. I have hit it during the light muggy rain during the day(overcast). Then the "PH" factor comes into play too with pouring rain it can shut the bite right down. So I try to go early during the heavy rain before the PH changes. Going in the light drizzle seems to be the best to fish in when its warm and muggy weather during the summer heat. Fishing the moon phases and weather fronts is a science too but its about when to go its about timing it right. When i say to go during the warm light rain I stood in one spot one day during the warm light muggy rain and i caught 19 bass non stop with 1/4oz Joesfly in firetiger apache(inline spinner) Another night we were fishing about two hours before the rain hit and we nailed so many bass i lost count but we had to catch at least 50 bass before it was over. We were using a Mepps #3 inline spinner silver gray tail. During and before the weather fronts the bass seem to turn on and its a frenzy you will never forget it can be non stop bass action. With each cast there is a bass already waiting for it. Sometimes these fish have been bigger too inbetween the bass i have caught record size bream too. My two best times to fish are early mornings and incomming and during weather fronts. Lets not forget too i'm fishing mainly from shore too so everyone has a chance at catching bass its just finding a good spot. I look for points near deeper channels and drop off's near the shallows and weedlines. And cast in different directions too like parallel with the point and across the point too then fan cast it too. If nothing happens fish in another spot and go back to it later when it calms down again. Once we disturb it give it a break then go back later and try again. Don't stay in one spot too long with no results. Sorry for the long post but you can make it happen just stay focused and motivated!!!!!! Its skill not luck in bass fishing!!!!

I have had these big gals chase and eat my bluegills many times. I also think we have to try to figure out what is their main diet besides bluegills were you are fishing too. I have found the Rebel BIG CLaw in Green(chartruese) to be my best lure for big bass. You have to use the BIG CLAW its the biggest one Rebel makes. Each place i fish is different too what works great at one place won't work 1 mile down the road their main diet changes. I have had them grab the BassProShops 7 1/4" stick o worm too its the largest senko type bait. I want to say big bait big bass too because the larger baits keeps the smaller ones away so the bigger bass have a shot at it. BigBill

Now thats what i'm talking about BIG BASS!!!!! BigBill

I'm finding them mainly near the shore and i think the boat spooks them your more stealthy from the shore. BigBill I mentioned about big bass in Ct. on a local website lastyear when I read the loacl little tornie guys saying there are no big bass in Ct and they only catch 6 to 7lbers them being the biggest bass here. I chimed in and told them I caugh a 10lber and i'm even seeing bigger fish and i had a few of them poked too but i couldn't land them. I got ripped a part by the so called little pros for it. This past weekend TWO 9 LBERS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT SO FAR!!!!! One 9lb 1oz and the other 9lb 10oz!!!!! The future of catching big bass in CT looks really good!!!!! Just about every place i have fished here I have seen big bass. I'll bet that many have probably died from old age too!!!! Were going to be in the "10's" soon too. My word is as good as gold If I say I caugh a big bass and i'm seeing ever bigger fish and i lost a few i had hooked you can take that to the bank. The past weekend here proves i'm right and the future will only add to what i'm saying too. If there is big bass in Ct. I wonder whats in the waters south of here??? In the warmer states that have a longer growing season?? Were hitting 10's here and i think we will hit 12 to 13lbers soon too its a matter of time. You guys south of here have to have even bigger bass too!!!!

All my big bass have been caught in low light conditions right near the shore in the shallows. That means early mornings in the dark and cloudy overcast days too. This give the shore fisherman a big chance at poking one of these "BIG"awesome fish too!!! My point is you don't need a boat to do it. So fish those coves, fish those points and just get out there and FISH!!! You just maybe surprized at what you just may hook up with. BigBill Please take note: Going after these big bass can be very habit forming and very addictive and there just maybe many smaller bass inbetween too but gosh its fun!!!!!!!!!! Just don't target big bass just fish too and inbetween something wonderful will happen that just may surprize you!!!!!

Ok if your catching the bigger bass during the day like at 12noon its because its the hottest sunlite and the plants give off plankton which the baitfish feed on so they will come out of hiding to feed and this is when the bass make their move too. Like i said these bigger fish are smart so try to avoid making any noise of any kind not to spook them. Thats the key its being stealthy!!!! Don't walk up too hard with your footsteps too it sends vibrations thru the ground and the fish can feel it too. When you do it right you will sooner or later hang one of these big gals on your line. BigBill The only thing i ask is to have a measuring tape and camera ready so you can have a wall mount made the taxidermist doesn't need the fish he just needs the measurements Length and Girth and a picture. So you can get her back in the water quickly so she can spawn so the population of bass will continue!!! I also believe its these big gals who keeps the bass population growing too in big numbers!!! Every so often scan the water too you just may be surprised at what you may see in the water near you. Again they happen to appear during the action of catching the smaller bass I believe they come in to see what the action is all about. I was catching smaller pickerel one day they were about 15" to 18" when all of a sudden the action stopped. I was using a #3 mepps inline spinner and i had a gut feeling that something stopped these fish so i put on a #5 mepps inline spinner and i nailed a 27" pickerel. I believe the bass do the samething when the smaller bass are biting these big gals will pay us a visit this is when i see them in the water they happen to come close to the surface. It did happen to me twice so far I was catching smaller fish when these ghost bass appeared in the water near the surface so watch the water too. Being close to shore everyone has a shot at these awesome fish!!!! Since most of us are from all over this great country lets just see how many of these big ghost bass are out there. Its going to take time to catch one but you just may see one first too. You have to stay motivated and focused on doing this. Like i said before if i see them up in CT. they have to be in more places too and the southern places should be better with the longer growing season think about it? I think there is big bass all over and were not catching them because they don't do the 9 to 5 feeding I think low light is the key. I think that fishing in low light raises our percentage of nailing one of these awesome fish!! Remember 12noon is another time to fish too but i think the percentage is lower. FACT: I never caught a larger bass yet on using livebait in my area. Livebait may work for you where you are. My hottest big bass bait has been a Rebel BIG Claw Crawfish Crank in green black back. I use a very slow presentation because these big bass want an easy meal with very little effort. But remember each place we fish their main diet changes too we just have to figure out which bait their feeding on the most of too.

I'm going to start a topic that I have on other forums that some just don't understand or seem to get my message or point. I mentioned it here years ago but i would like to get other opinions too and some may want try or have tried what i'm going to talk about "its about big bass". Maybe your seeing what i'm seeing too? I started bass fishing in the evenings waiting for that frenzy when it changes from light to dusk. I found out this happens because the bass's eyes adjust to the changing light faster than the baitfishes eye's do so their easy prey for the bass at this time. While i caught many bass during this time in the evenings I seem to catch even bigger ones when this happens in the early "am" at dawn. I'm catching these big gals(up to 10lbs) in the shallows near the shore while their ambushing the baitfish for that last hurrah of feeding before they go to the deeper haunts when it gets lighter as the sun comes up. Now here's my point I'm even seeing bigger bass(12lbs+est.) that come in like ghosts they will just appear where i can see them and just swim on. I fish 5 places on a regular basis but i'm there most of the time, I spend many hours fishing. Each place has these bigger bass that just appear. So far i have had one big bass grab my sunfish had on my line. At another place i had one chase a sunfish i had on my line as i pulled it out of the water. It happened so fast I didn't think about what to do. I should of let it take it so i may have hooked it too. At these places i'm wearing polarized glasses and i'm fishing man made dropoff's like dams where roads were made across stream beds at one time years ago. On average these dropoff's are about 10' deep. I did miss one of these bigger bass on a BPS stick o worm 7 1/4" because i had no bigger hooks for it so i put in a 3/0 when i should of used a 6/0 hook in it. So when i went to set it i missed it. I actually seen it swim up and grab it and sit there with it. Trust me I had no intentions of going after big bass I'm happy catching many 1lbers I could careless but when it started I figured why not go after them too? I throw larger baits too sometimes like 9" castaic trout lures too. Now do you look or watch the water often? I'm thinking these big gals come in to see what the action is all about when its a frenzy when i'm catching smaller bass? Now 4 of the 5 places I fish i'm seeing these bigger bass and these are in the smaller bodies of water. It has me thinking there are larger bass all over but were not catching them because their smart, thats how they got to be that big in the first place. I also think that anything out of the norm spooks them too. When i do everything stealthy this is when they will appear sometimes. I walk up to the shore very softly, I put my tacklebox down very softly, I open it very quietly and put my bait on without making a noise or a sound. Then i will cast out and fish. One day as I looked in the water and seen one I happen to coff and it swam away very quickly so any little noise spooks these bigger bass. In a boat it has to be even worse with noise too. These are tough fish to catch but i know they are out there, I see them often during the year. At another place i fish at its very shallow and i can see the big bass off in the distance as black shadows in the water. I know there big bass I can see them moving around then they will come close to me. While they may not be big numbers of them I think each body of water has these big bass. I'm seeing them in Ct. and there is a lot of water and distance between me and flordia too. Each state may have these big ghost bass too but their just elusive and if your not looking for them in the water you'll miss them. I scan the water often for them since i have seen them. These bass are over 10lbs for sure. I never sell any body of water short now too, you just never know whats in it. Even small bodies of water have these big bass too and who knows whats in the larger bodies of water too. I think its just one time slot to catch these bigger bass too its early in the am before the dawn or in the darker low light conditions. I think when its light out there gone to deeper cover for the day and they only feed in the low light or dark. This is exactly what i see happening. Do you have any opinions? BigBill I have been cursed too I have lost many bigger bass since then too. I just can't seem to land another one, they strike, i set the hook and down in the weeds they go like a 5 gallon bucket of rocks. I see the mouth on the strike too. Since i'm shore fishing its tough when they go down in the weeds on a longer cast. You probably need a stiff saltwater rod to keep their head up out of the weeds at that distance. These big bass aren't so easy to land unless their close to shore.

I have had the same problem too but i handle it a different way I rotate my baits often. I take out the older stuff and put it in a box marked "USED" so i can go back to it when i want to use them again or give some out to my sons to use too. I also do it with older crankbaits too, maily because the old stuff still works so why sideline them? Of course I have taken up some room now with everything but we can never have too much fishing stuff can we? BigBill I'm very Frugal and i can't pass up a sale on fishing stuff.

I have two of them one with the larger screen and one with the wristwatch reader and i like them. I haven't had any problems with mine at all. It shows depth and fish on them. I like it for telling me the depth in smaller uncharted waters(no topo maps). I was waiting till the ice is on to poke holes and chart the bottom to see were the dropoff's were and how the bottom tapers off and where the holes are but them humingbird sure made me an awesome tool!!! Before i had it i must have made 1,000 casts in one of my hottest spots one early spring day when it was still cold out and i caught no fish. That night we purchased our first one and the next day we tried it on a windy rainy day and it showed no fish were there yet at all. I like having them and i think their worth the money. BigBill I want to get a bottomline side finder portable fishfinder someday too.