Randall

Its real hard for a 12 inch bass to push a 10 lb bass off any spot the 10lber decides it wants. ;DThe 10lber can eat the 12 incher so I am sure it isn't going to get much competition. But I catch 10 pounders and barely keepers off the same spots so they use the same spots and areas. Just because a 10lber is there don't mean all the other fish have to leave the area but it might be smart for them to if they will fit in the mouth of a big fish. Big bass get big by eating smart. They don't expend the energy a smaller less experienced bass does to get the same amount of food. I am not saying that all big bass take in less food than a smaller bass. But they don't try to eat everything that comes by either.

Big bass are not the most aggressive or the ones who eat the most. They are the most efficient. As they become older they become even more efficient at what they do. This is how they reach trophy size. They feed under optimum conditions and don't waste energy chasing around bait or swimming long distances to find or catch food. They develop a home range that fills all their needs and live in it without waste of energy. They live on the best structure in the area and the best areas that fill all of their needs. To me this is the same as Doug's "smart territories". Once I read this in Doug's answer above I realized that he just didn't claim to be a big bass expert but knew what he was talking about. They even move around in a predictable manner taking the best routes from place to place. They even feed on the type of forage that gives them the biggest meal for the least amount of effort. Most of these rules have applied to almost every fish over eight pounds I have ever caught and I have caught hundreds of fish over eight pounds. They apply to every fish over ten I have caught. All these things do not apply to every one pounder or even six pounder I have caught. This is why big bass are more predictable.

Clear skirt with silver or gold glitter or flake.

And the GON list is not much better than the one we are discussing. It only shows a very small fraction of what has really been caught. The only guy I know of or have heard of that has actually tried to certify a bunch of fish is Sam Taylor and look at how many Sam has on that list. Theres a bunch more guys out there just looking for big fish who have caught multiple fish in the fifteen to sixteen pound range and I know of one who has one sixteen and a eighteen and bunches over fifteen. You just aren't going to hear about them unless they break the record. With so many lakes in GA destroyed by spots and hybrids as far as trophy potential they arent going to tell everyone about the few lakes that still have trophy potential so more people show up.

Keep in mind that the Briggs outboard is no longer being made. If you find one in the future you may have a hard time finding parts or getting it repaired. I would get a Ray Electric if I was going to buy one.

1991 Dodge Colt Vista (4cyl automatic) pulling a 16ft Basstracker with four to six group 29 batteries. Boat, trailer and batteries weigh around 1400 pounds. Pull it from one side of Atlanta to the other (Douglasville to Covington) almost daily down I-20 which is pretty flat for the most part. Most people are surprised at my choice of tow vehicles and how well it tows the boat. I do have to be real careful and not follow anyone closely in Atlanta traffic.

Heres one that I know of that didn't make the list and I am 99% sure it was weighed on certified scales way back in the seventies or early eighties. Alatoona lake record here in GA caught by Greg Rhymer.

Not to discount the fact that California is still going to be the State that has the most bass in this size range but there have been some caught in GA eighteen and under that I know of would have made the list but were not certified since the people didn't really care about making the list. I know there are probably some in Texas, Florida, Mexico etc. caught that aren't on the list as well. Now if someone in GA catches the new WR I am sure the person catching it will want to have it certified as such. My point is that just more people in California are certifing the bass after it is caught while people in other states are not going to unless it is a record.

Since I know more about LM bass than SM or spots I can give you a few things that might help you with the LM bass. First LM bass don't move shallow to deep as much as most people think they do. They have a hard time changing depths of more than a few feet since they have to adjust their swim bladder to make bigger moves vertically in the water and this takes time. In other words a fish near the bottom in 20 feet of water can't run up and feed on bluegill in a foot of water or even ten feet of water and then go back to the bottom in 20 feet of water. So the bass aren't moving up from much deeper water to feed in shallower water so you can eliminate that. They will hold just off the deep edge of a point or over or on a breakline sometimes so keep fishing near the same depth you are catching them at early but move out to the breakline where the shallow part of the point falls off into deeper water on the deep side. If you pay attention to the depth you are catching the fish at early then you know the fish have to stay at or near that depth. With these fish being better quality fish they most likely have a home range and have predictable paths near that same depth they use to move around and feed and a place they like to hold when inactive. If you find the place on that point where the shallowest part of the point meets the deepest water with the steepest drop thats where I would look first. If they have moved out and suspended over deep water then I would try to find some more fish since these will be tough to catch but if they are still near the bottom where the deep water and shallow water meet then I would try something like a dropshot, splitshot rig or jighead and worm fished slow since they are still most likely inactive or neutral. Unless the docks have as good or better bottom structure under them than other places in this area the fish aren't likely there. The fish will relate to structure first and cover second in an area like this. The most likely reason you can catch the fish early and not when the sun gets up is because shad and other baitfish unlike LM bass can change depths more easily. The bait fish are there at night and early in the am but move out deeper during the day. The bass being unable to follow them deeper just waits nearby in a place it feels comfortable until the shad come back up. Then the bass get active and feed again.

They are both the best at what they do. I do both but admit being better trophy hunter (if thats what you want to call it) than I am a tounament fishermen. I think I caught 15 to 20 fish (didnt really keep count) last year over ten pounds but I only won one tournament out of around twenty I fished. I placed high in most of the tournaments I fished but didn't win many. I also bombed in a couple trying to win with one or two huge fish I had found. ;D Why? Because I like to fish for the bigger fish and dont like just going out and getting a limit unless its a limit of big fish when I fish for fun. My big fish mentality holds me back. If I think theres a way to catch a huge sack of big fish I go for it and it often hurts me in tounaments but sometimes I may win big though. I don't really mind since I just fish the tournaments for fun. I did fish with a guy a couple of years ago and he ran the trolling motor and I fished from the back of his boat. We tied a club record for the most five fish limits brought in and only once didnt bring in a limit in a season. I can fish for five fish limits but just don't like to as much. We were good fishing together and won the year end Classic. Although we won money I didnt have as much fun doing it so the next year I fished by myself and went back to fishing for big fish. From doing both I can tell you that the two are very different although they are also very much alike in alot of ways but that is another topic. There is just no way to decide who is better. IMHO everybody that thinks you have to throw a big bait all the time and go days without catching a fish to catch big fish knows very little about catching alot of big "Trophy" bass. For example, most of my big fish this year were caught on trickworms although I did get a couple on swimbaits or used swimbaits to find the fish. It doesn't surprise me as it did most people that KVDs big fish was caught on a jighead and worm. It also doesn't surprise me that KVD has only caught two fish over ten pounds. He fishes way to fast most of the time to catch many big fish over ten pounds. Catching big fish is all about knowing where and how they live and getting them to bite just like tournament fishing. The thing that is different is that big fish are different. They are harder to find and even tougher to get to bite. You have to fish for big fish and tournament fish in different ways and that makes it imposible to compare two fishermen doing two different things. I can't believe I got sucked into another one of these who is better posts. LOL.

I use the suspending twitch bait and the double prop topwater bait.

I want a fifteen pounder in '07. I saw a couple on Lake Varner last year during the spawn that I am guessing were around 15lbs and there was a 15lb floater found this past summer so I know they are in the lake. I lost a 15lb 8oz fish a couple years ago only to have a bank fishermen catch it the next day and the only way to get the picture out of my mind of that fish throwing the hook is to catch another one just as big.

Swimbaits. As more people learn to use swimbaits in places other than California and more companies make good quality less expensive baits that are more suited to the rest of the country you will see more people throwing swimbaits in 2007. I also think glidebaits which most bass fishermen have never heard of will grow in popularity among bass fishermen. I don't think we will have anything close to the chatterbait craze though.

Chartruse viewed in deep water or low light conditons appears white. Here is a white and a chartruse crankbait photographed in low light.

I use a baitcaster, 7ft medium action rod and 10 to 12 lb fluro line 90% of the time. I catch fish over ten pounds out of grass and brush with no problem by just keeping steady pressure on the fish and not trying to horse it out after it is hooked. If you pull too hard against the fish it will pull back just as hard and break the line but if you just reel slow and steady you don't need a heavy rod or line to get the fish out in most cases. Spinning tackle and braid will work but the braid will not have the sensitivity that fluro does when shaking it on semi slack line so you may feel fewer bites on braid. Braid will also cut more easily on rocks if there are rocks around.

I can't remember where I saw it but there is a company that makes big swimbaits out of the same stuff.

Fluke thanks for posting that. I noticed there is no record for GA in two classes and the other one can be broken. I guess I will go get me some 4lb line and try to break the 4lb line one first while its still cold. I was going to try to catch my world record mud fish again but it might be more fun to try and break that four pound line record.

Needemp, I would have to disagree with most of you original post. I don't agree with any of the second or third paragraphs. I think both tournament anglers and trophy hunters can be seen as equal in what they do. In each there are people who are among the best at what they do whether it be catching the biggest limit or catching the biggest fish. Neither is easy. You can't compare apples to oranges so why try. I have seen people on both sides try to compare and debate as to which is the better fishermen and IMHO you can't compare the two that way since both have different goals. There are fewer people who are targeting the biggest fish in the lake across the US and it takes a different mentality to just target big fish. If most had to just target big fish most would quit since most lack the confidence and preserverence to keep fishing for one big bite. Tournament or recreational type fishermen have smaller fish biting more often and can see sucess faster in the short term and have TV shows to watch on the weekend to keep them going so there are more of them. This equals more competition and more high caliber fishermen in the long run out of sheer numbers of people doing it. But, I dont think neither is a better fishermen than the other. Just two people doing the same thing with different goals and end results. All trophy fishermen do not live in California and all do not use swimbaits or live bait all of the time. California is just the place in the US right now with most of the biggest fish caught so it has recieved the most attention and thats the baits that have had the most attention. I am sure there are plenty of other people like myself that go out and specificly target big fish who live all over the US and fish other baits. There are probably some as good as the more famous California fishermen but since they live in different states and fish in different waters so they just haven't had the same chance at publicity as the California guys. But, thats just how it is. The media goes with what gets people to pay attention and 18lb plus fish get peoples attention more than 15lb fish or smalller.

15lb 8oz bass. I was fishing shallow muddy water with shallow cranks hitting stumps that were just inches under the water when I saw a flash just under the surface I thought was a carp. Looked back to where it was and saw a huge bass swim up over the stump and just sit there. It was spawning on top of the stump. Fished for it for around four hours with a jig and I finally decided to throw a suspending rattle trap at it since thats what it flashed at the first time. Hit the stump and let it suspend just over the stump and I saw a big mouth open and close so I set the hook. Fish ran right at the boat which was just a few feet away from the stump. When it got to the side of the boat it jumped one time and the hook tore out of the mouth of the fish. It was almost dark so I left and came back the next day looking for the fish. Theres an older guy on the bank in a chair with a big grin on his face who after watching me circle the stump for a while tells me that the fish is gone but I can see a photo of it in the park office. He had seen me lose the fish and came back early the next morning and caught it. Weighed 15.8 lbs and was caught with a little red and white bobber, Zebco 33 combo, and a crappie minnow. He actually released the fish and showed me photos later of about five other fish he had caught over ten pounds on minnows out of the lake fishing from the bank in his lawn chair. At least somebody else caught it so I knew how big it was or I might be telling this story about a 20-25lb bass that got off. ;D I did have a much bigger fish that I caught that sort of got away. This past June I hooked and landed a World Record size mudfish on a DT-10 crankbait I had no idea what the world record was (I had heard stories of fifty pounders) so I was on the front deck of the boat weighing the fish (between 23-24 lbs) when it jumped off the hook on the scale flopped around and went back in the water. About a month later I am reading a magazine and see the new GA record for a mudfish is only nine or ten pounds. Mine was more than double that size and I let it get away and never once tried to stop it from getting back into the water. I looked up the WR to see how close I was to it and found out that I would have blown the record away by a few pounds. Not that I want to be called the mudfish king but still might have been cool to have a WR fish.

Ok, I am going to tell you all the real reason why weight calculators dont work. ;D This gizzard shad came out of an 11.9 lb fish. The weight calcualtor don't know if this one pound shad or one even bigger was just eaten by the fish or not. Largemouth bass have been reported to eat a gizzard shad up to half their length in size and I am sure some California fish eat some big trout up to a couple pounds as well. I have caught big smallmouths on big sucker minnows about half their size as well so I think this proves guessing and weight calculators don't work.

I use the spotstickers sometimes when not fishing around grass and when I feel like a need a 90 degree bend jighead. The guys who run the company are really good guys as well.

Best all around jighead is the Spot Stalker. Can be used on almost any soft plastic. Works in grass since it has a grass head but also works in other types of cover well. Has a removeable wire weedguard so it can be fished with the weedguard or Alabama rigged (Texas rig on a jighead). Has a strong enough hook for heavy cover and giant bass but light enough hook to use with light line. Comes in a bunch of different weights. Has a dimple on the bottom which allows use of a heavier jigjead with a slower rate of fall. Has a stand up head. Great keeper behind the head so the worm don't slide down but also isn't in the way of a good hookset. Has an excellent hook up ratio. I don't know of any other jighead that does this many things as well as this jighead. This is the only one I have found that can do it all. www.unclejosh.com

Heres the number I have for Strikezone Lures who makes them. 334-616-6959. I haven't called it recently so it may or may not be a good number.

Best bang for the buck is an Eagle Cuda on sale it can be bought for around $50. If you want to spend more for something a little nicer then the Eagle Fishmark 320.

Each hook has its place. I use Owner Rig'n hook in thick plastics and horizonal hooksets like on a Carolina rig or splitshot. If you are seting the hook on a fish at more of an angle like when flipping or in deep water under the boat then I use the straight shank hook because it will hook more fish at that angle. The offset hook will blow the mouth of the fish open and cause a miss. I said this in an earlier post and someone sent me an email telling me to look at page 78 and 79 in KVD's book since most still insisted that the off-set hook doesn't cause a problem. KVD, Larry Nixon, Denny Brauer and a bunch more guys I have heard say this before who have made millions agree with this. ;)Quotes from KVD book Secrects of a Champion: Perhaps the most important trick I learned about worm fishing came from Larry Nixon, arguably the best worm fisherman in America. Larry says you will catch more fish with a straight shank hook than you will an off-set hook design, with the later being more popular among weekend anglers. I've found that when a bass bites down on an offset hook and you jerk, the offset design can actually blow the fishes mouth open.