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Big bass are not smarter then smaller ones. Smaller ones are just way more prominent in all bodies of water by sheer numbers. Big bass have a brain the size of a small pea. They do not learn behaviors like a bear, wolf, or large cats, with a mother that has to teach them these behaviors. No mother bass teaches them anything. Their brain has no section capable of learning. They react to stimuli they encounter in their environment, this is programed through millions of years of existence. In the animal kingdom they are dumb compared to other living organisms, but they will respond to certain stimuli they encounter in their environment. Skilled Fisherman key in on these programed behaviors, and raise their odds at catching.

Lots of knowledgeable anglers willing to share beliefs. We are all able to learn and adjust thanks to the sharing of information. Good post!

Fish early or late. When the suns up, hit heavy green cover. O2 Fish slow. Find water current and fish ambush points close to the flow. Bring extra water, drink frequently, stay Hydrated.

You have it figured out!

Look at MLF. These guys are the best in the business but they are catching 1 or 2 pound bass and thrilled to get them. Why are they not out there targeting double digit bass. Because they know there are a lot more smaller bass then big bass in any body of water. You go to target just big bass and your often in for a long day of fishing, with little results. Like the guide said in an earlier post, I let them catch some schoolies and then go after a big one, because that could be the end of catching that day. If you knew the secret to catching big bass consistently, you could easily be a millionaire. To me its all about location, more then anything else. Fish aquarium lakes, with catch and release only, and feed stocked trout several times a year, and your odds go way up, but you still have to be a skilled angler, or just plain lucky. Learn the body of water you fish and how anglers caught big fish on those waters. Then go target the locations where big fish hang out. It's as simple as that! But never simple!

Read as much as you can either on the web of in some excellent books. One thing I have learned, get any bait in a bass strike zone and you have a good chance of catching it. You must find out where they are that day, that hour, that minute. Conditions will move them from place to place. A senko or a U-Vibe will catch bass of all sizes almost anywhere in the country. Its not so much what you throw, but where you throw it, and how you present the bait that hour. Bass of all size eat big and small creatures in the wild. A 4" senko will work, as well as a 12" worm. There is no one meracle bait, there is just the fisherman's ability to put it in the strike zone, and work it how they want it, at that time. Sometime bass will be deep, sometime shallow, sometime in thick cover, and sometime on outside edges. Plastics, Texas rigged will handle all these different scenarios without hanging up. Time on the water and increased practical experience will solve a lot of your current problems. Good luck on the journey.

Alligator Alley MM 41 Saturday 8/25/18 7:00 - 1:00 wind light SE Thunderstorms at 11:00 Water stained W/T 85* Went out today with friend Rick. We ran west and then back east to the weir on the south side. We fished the weir that had current running hard through it. We caught 4 bass quickly in the current. Rick was throwing a HB Frog, and I was throwing plastics, both were producing bites. Once the sun got high with little cloud cover, the Frog bite just died. I continued to catch bass tight to cover on the u-vibe. You had to hit areas with shade, and back in the little pockets in the shore weeds. We had one funny thing happen. I caught a 1 pound bass, unhooked it, and threw it back in. As soon as it hit the water the bass returned in the boat, at my feet. We said, he must be upset that we did not take his picture. So after a brief photo shoot with my little friend, I released him again and he almost made it back in the boat for a third time. My new friend wanted to stay with us, for sure! We were chased under the closest bridge until the lightning stopped popping all over the place. Usually you can catch a few bass around the bridge pilings, but not today. Although the lightning stopped the rain just continued. After an hour of sitting it out, we ran back to the ramp and loaded the boat in pouring rain. We finished with 12 bass boated, a large gar, and a mudfish. It was a fun trip, with good company, and a few laughs. It doesn't get much better then that!

Welcome to the sight, without a length its hard to give you an accurate weight, but most guys on this site would be proud to show this bass as one of their catch for the day. Congrats!!!!!

Could be a big gar. They will make a violent rip at the bait but often not get hooked.

You can sometimes see points, drop offs, pad fields, and shallow flats sticking out from the bank from Google earth. Changes in depth will show up as lighter or darker color. You often see laydowns in the water, rip rap along the bank, where man made structures are located, and other things. Just gather as much information as you can, from every available source. Google being a valuable tool.

Go on line with Google Earth and study the lake for visible structure and vegetation, also look for recent reports of fishing trips. Approach it just like they do with MLF. Scan the entire lake. Ride around using electronics looking for the obvious. Look at the bank and the slope of the land above water. It will often follow the same slopes under water. Check all the veggie fields, and look for structure close to those areas. Look for bird activity in the morning. Good luck, these attention points will often give you a head start on your search. Don;t be afraid of changing course as your day go on.

The spraying of weeds does not change the number of snakes and frogs in a body of water. It just makes them easier to detect and brings them in closer to the shore line where there is a better chance for interaction. A healthy ecosystem will have a supply of all these organisms. Don't spray everything, it just throws the entire system out of balance. These people should be penalized for doing this to our lakes. Controlled spraying is one thing, wiping out all the greens is another.

You only have so many choices when fishing a small body of water. If you have no veggies left, the next place I would go is ledges and drop offs. Drop offs can be just a matter of a few feet, but they will hang out close to these depth changes. These are common in our small man made lakes and hold fish almost all year long. Then I would look for other types of structure.

If they sprayed all the veggies then look for any structure like a drop off, a dock, a down tree, rocks or rip rap. All these will hold fish but they might be skattered instead of all hunkered down in one area.

I went out and bought a Work Sharp. Had about 12 knives to sharpen, did an excellent job on all of them. Nice design!

I use them all year round, and all you need is to figure out how they want it that day, that hour. Universal baits also flukes, U-vibes and jigs. They never want it the same way all year long. Yesterday I caught two snakeheads, a peacock, and 3 small bass of a stick-o. They are a summer fishing machine. Thanks Glenn for the video, I enjoyed it.

That's OK in my book.

Worming, if its a friend I invite that is brand new to fishing, I will supply everything. If its a friend I frequently take, I would make it clear it's his responsibility to bring all he will need including water. I supply the boat, gas, and locations. Everything else you need you supply for yourself. I would tell him this a few days before the trip, so he has time to get everything, and be prepared for once. If that doesn't work, he doesn't get any more calls. He will eventually figure it out!

Not yet here in south Florida. The hottest month is yet to come. We will not detect a change until late October.

In the swamps of south Florida the summer dull drums are here. With 90* water temps, the O2 levels deeper then 5 feet are usually poor quality. Bass will get under the thick cover because it blocks the sunlight, provides ambush points, is where the bait fish, frogs, snakes, small birds, and bugs hang out. The most important aspect is the weeds produce O2, especially when the sun is high. Its like an O2 tank in the ER. It is a life saver for their comfortable existence, and quality of life. In these Hot summer days, look for the thick green weeds. Two different kinds of green weeds is better then the same kind, and an isolated clump of green stuff in an open flat is a magnet for the surrounding flat, during the bright sun. You may catch more then one bass off an isolated clump. I hope this helps if you have similar surroundings.

When fishing plastics in heavy weeds go with heavy braid or floro. You will be able to determine a bite from weeds easier. The fish will not be spooked by the line, and weeds don't pull back, only fish do. Do not leave slack in your line, this helps with subtle bites. The more you do it the better you will get at it. The correct line will help a lot. I never use mono for plastics, any more.

I feel the exact same way as Mobasser, and Scott F. I spent 43 years teaching and coaching football in a highly competitive high school environment. Fishing was always been a sense of relief, and relaxation, from the weekly grind. With all the competition, I never wanted to get into competitive fishing because it would destroy the one reason I loved fishing in the first place. I could always forget the stress of that week, and just focus on the fish, and the environment. It was a sense of piece for at least a few hours. Fishing has always been mind relief and relaxation, and much cheaper then a therapist! Lol? It's worked well all throughout my career.

Definitely not a death sentence, over the years I have caught loads of fish still eating and attacking baits with a hook in their throat or mouth. Most had texas rigged hooks which broke off. I have caught a fish with chug bug in its lip, a Peacock with a rattle trap in its lip, and the best one was a fish that broke me off with a senko. Two hours later I was back in the same area and I hooked up on this guy again. My old EWG Gama hook with the senko was still attached. So a hook does not mean a death sentence all the time, always remove all hooks before release. Now that's amazing!

There was once a video of Johnathan Winters (The comedian) doing a bit of two bass sitting at the bottom of the lake talking about the guy in the boat. He was hilarious, but a little nuts!

Lets not confuse bass behavior with being smart or learned. Bass are not smart, and don't learn behaviors like bears or large cats. They have brains the size of a pea, and host of programed instincts. They have a variety of very acute instinctual senses. that control their behavior. This is not a learned behavior, but rather a programed behavior triggered by things happening in their environment. There are also far more juvenile bass in a lake, then the big ones. Whatever your doing to catch juveniles, the big fish will react the same way if you can find them, and pass it within their strike zone. There are just fewer big bass to trigger. Finding where they are that day, that hour, is the fishermans task. The great fisherman study those patterns, and eliminate unproductive waters, increasing their ability to succeed.