Targeting Bigger Bass?

[fsufan82]

Hey Guys,

 

I live in north FL and have been having success catching bass, but not quality ones. Let me preface this by saying the lake is fairly small (7.5 miles long and its area is 6.2 sq miles), full of vegetation, and is mostly shallow. Last Friday I went out and caught 12 but none larger than 2 lbs. I caught them on a watermelon seed fluke and a watermelon seed speed worm with a 1/4 oz bullet weight. They usually hit it either on the fall or within a few seconds of reeling it in. I have a tournament there this Sunday and I know 5 fish 10 lbs is not going to cut it. Should I just start trying to use larger baits? Any advice would be appreciated! I can add more details if needed. Thanks!

[bigbill]

Bigger bait catches bigger bass "sometimes"

I've said this before to stay on the small bass when they bite.

When the bite of the smaller bass turns off I find the larger bass will cruise in to see what the smaller bass are feeding on.

At this time I upside my lure size and target the bigger fish.

IF no action happens then change color. Don't forget the scent.

[daiwaguy]

I would try the 7" YUM Dinger.

[Mccallister25]

I'm no pro, and I know a lot of the members can give you way better advice than I can, but one thing that Im a true believer of is jigging.

I started making myself fish with jigs last summer, and my quality fish ratio went up quite a bit. You can do just about anything with em, and get em right in the heart of the thick stuff.

[Mr_Scrogg]

Slop, shallow, vegetation .... Frogs!!!

[Dwight Hottle]

Slop, shallow, vegetation .... Frogs!!!

 

 

X2 perfect topwater situation.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

i like frogs for that kind of stuff.  but if your in a boat trying punching in some of that thicker stuff. make sure you have the equipment for it tho. 

[Mainebass1984]

 Frog and a Jig... Both catch bigger fish. A few big bites is better then 12 2 lb bites come tournament day.

[tatertester]

You must fish in the thick stuff to get the bigger bite, not 2 feet away , but in the heavy cover.

[WIGuide]

Target the heavies cover there is. I've seemed to catch better quality fish on a frog and a jig is also known for quality fish. If I were you, I'd go out and target the big girls in the first hour or so throwing your bigger baits, and then downsize to fill your limit with the 2's if you need to. Once you have your limit, upsize again and go on the hunt for the big girls again. Regardless of size, if you don't bring in 5 your chances of winning drop significantly.  

[Jar11591]

Try fishing the same spots after dark. I have found that in spots that produce a lot of decent sized bass, the BIG bass will be there at night. This is especially true during a heat wave.

[ASIANTOO]

All great advice.  Also depending on if there is a ledge/dropoffs fish these areas.  Sometimes the shoreline is littered with too many little bass.  I feel sometimes fishing away from the shore helps eliminate the dink bass bite and will give you a better chance at a bigger bass.  If it's a typical florida lake, the advice above is good.....frogs or punching heavy cover/mats!  Good luck.

[Teal]

The thickest cover you can find and the deep water close by is the ticket. Big bass often isolate them selves so keep in mind the isolated cover near by to these areas.

I once pitched a brush hog to a single water willow that was standing alone about ten foot away from a large section of water willow and caught a 7lber. I can only imagine what that whopper looked like trying hide behind a single blade of water willow.

Don't be affraid of tossing a big bait. And often a jig is my go to. Sometimes we don't think of a 3/8 oz jig and trailer as a big bait, but they do give off a big bulky profile and big fish see it as an opportunity for a big time meal.

[JayKumar]

Yep frogs, jigs and 12" Power Worms.  Also don't be afraid to punch through the veg heavy and quick, to get the big ones to react. Good luck!

[Catt]

Location!

[geo g]

Lots of good information from a bunch of guys. I fish for fun and don't worry about catching just big fish. If I was a tournament guy, I guess I would think differently. I fish over 200 days a year and catch a hundred of fish over 6 pounds each year here in Florida. I don't target just big fish, I target all fish. If I targeted just big fish, I would FLIP all day, the nasty thick cover we have down here. I just don't enjoy doing that, and therefore don't do it that much. I would rather catch one hundred 2 pound fish, then one 8 pound fish. I would rather catch 10 in ten minutes, then one fish an hour. I target the cover, the structure, the ledges, and rip rap. If there is a 2 pound fish or an 8 pound fish, I try to catch them all, and I am happy. If your catching fish, a big one will come along at some point. For me the important thing is that tug on the line. If I feel that tug I a happy camper and it makes my day! Its all about having fun, not the competition of catching the biggest 5 fish. My big fish to date is 11.4 caught along a 3 foot ledge next to a 8 foot drop off. It was caught on a spinning reel with 10 pound test, and a weightless zoom fluke. Definitely not what you would use targeting a double digit bass. One of the things I like about fishing is, you never know what will tug on your line. Just keep catching fish, the big ones will come!

[primetime]

I fish daily in Florida and lots of new water weekly, and they all have a few things in common for catching bass over 4lbs, and 5-7's are plentiful, but getting them in the boat is not easy of course.

 

If you are not comfortable flippiing and punching in heavy cover with heavy line and a flpping stick, then try and fish that water with a frog, or better yet, go horizontal with a swimbait like the Ez swimmer or money minnow swimbaits in 5" size.

 

Flip Beavers, brush hogs, culprit fat max ribbon tail worms, powerbait craws, trick worms, or any soft bait you have confidence in and chatterbaits are often good if the grass is not thick yet.

 

Carolina rigs with black and blue 10-12" power worm is a big fish set up, and so is throwing larger 6" senkos, Sluggos, and swim jigs, bigger spinnerbaits.

 

I would not change the way you fish for this tournament as you want to have confidence and I am confident if you do exactly what you are doing now, only use a larger bait, cast closer to the cover and also fish cranks and topwaters without fear of losing them.

 

At the same time, if the bass are guarding fry in an area, you may want to go with a bluegill colored swimbait or baby bass pattern swimbait or jig, or throw a small watermelonseed fluke. If shad are small, but schooling, match size and throw lures and smaller baits.

 

I used to be intimated by jig fishing when I moved to Florida, and I quickly learned that if you can't pull a few pigs from the slop once the sun is hot you will never catch big fish consitently......However, braid allows us to fish alot more horizontal presentations through grass.