How To Focus On Large Bass Only

[Brian6428]

What you're asking often ends up as a life long quest for many a bass angler.

The concept seems simple but so many of us have found out that there's quite a bit to it.

Finding information about catching big bass is easy, sifting through it all to find the "Right" info is not.

A very good place to start lies between the pages of the book below.

Though written a few years back, it's full of just what you're looking for and more.

By applying the information to your area, you will definitely be headed in the right direction.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

 

In Pursuit of Giant Bass.png

Not trying to derail the topic here, but are you still doing that "in pursuit of giant bass" thread, A-Jay? I really enjoyed following your experiences learning to stitch but haven't seen it for a while.

 

 

OP: Ultimately I think it is more about the "where" than the "what." Big bass can be caught on a 5" worm on a drop shot, or a 3/32 shaky head like shown above. I find that generally there are places where only little bass live. There are other places, normally nearer deeper water, where little AND big bass live. I think if you throw any lure that is working where the big bass live, you will catch some.

 

That said, however, I would suggest getting a copy of "Big Bass Magic" by Doug Hannon. It focuses on shallow lakes like those found in Florida, however it spends a lot of time discussing lure choices for big fish. Here are some notes I took on the book:

 

Common attracting qualities of lures:

large size

bright color

compact shape (short and squat is more visible)

Slow retrieve (more time)

Unnatural noise

Mechanical Action

 

Common triggering qualities:

Small size (less likely to see flaws)

Natural colors and Flash

Eyespots

Fast retrieve (reaction strike)

Long, thin shape

natural noise (silent!)

Silver or gold color

random action

 

Hannon then states that to catch big bass, lures should have more "triggering" qualities than "attracting" qualities. In general, lures that crawl along the bottom, or come in contact with many objects, appear more like living prey to the bass due to their random action (which can be partly attributed to randomness/differences in bottom composition).

 

In conclusion, Hannon states that these lures are "big bass lures":

 

Plastic worms (it sounds like the ones you are using are too small)

Swimming worm (like the snake, which he coincidentally sold)

Original Rapala

Jig

Spinnerbait

 

 

I would highly suggest getting the book. He talks about lunar phases, best times of day, and many more things.

 

Brian

[Felix77]

The general rule of thumb is bigger baits for bigger bass.  Of course you get the outlier small bass that will hit a 12" worm and get caught but in general it seems to hold true.

 

To me it is also about location, location, location.  Schooling bass tend to be smaller in general.  Those lunkers don't run around much but tend to stay near isolated cover.  Some days they are tight to it and other times they are lounging around it.  Combine this idea with the bigger bait and maybe you will catch yourself a lunker soon enough.

 

Good luck.

[everythingthatswims]

Big swimbaits

Punching, flippin & pitchin

Big worms

 

My biggest bass was over 15 pounds and i got it with a big worm. And the big 25 pound bass in california was caught on a jig, you can see the video yourself on youtube. Swimbait will get you big bass as well, but some people think that only swimbaits are the only big bass lure but is untrue. So those jigs,big worms and swimbaits will get you bass. 

You mean the one they accidentally snagged on a bed?

[Mattlures]

bed fishing and the baits used for bed fishing are a completely different game. They do not apply to regular fishing.

I agree with most of whats been posted. I will add the big worms do not seem to discourage small fish. They do  seem to be more attractive to big fish so they can be a positive thing but when I have used them I still get a regular amount of small fish.

[hoosierbass07]

 OK, I went out fishing this evening in my kayak.  I had two rods - one with a Yum 10.5 inch worm with no weight on a 5/0 hook, and the other rod had on some zoom soft swimbait I bought over the winter.  I used a 5/0 hook for the swimbait and small bullet sinker.  I've never used swimbaits for bass before.  I tried the 10.5 inch worm a little and I may have gotten one bite but not for sure.  When I grabbed my swimbait rod I caught a small bass!  I ended up catching three small bass and lots of bites on that swimbait.  I was really shocked small bass went after it.  Pretty darn cool.  Now I'm a soft swimbait fan!  

 

 

[Mattlures]

That swimbait you are using is a good producer but it is not a big fish bait. It will get a big fish occasional but so will every other bait. What you want to use, are baits that consistently get bigger fish on average then other baits.

With Murphy the bait size was not as important as the location. He would anchor up all day on one spot and wait for the big fish to eat. He was not a guy who coverd water much.

[Mikell]

When you guys say "swimbait" are you referring to the big plastic realistic fish lures like $80 or like flukes and super flukes and caffeine shad type baits?

[WRB]

Off topic, the original Sassy Shad soft plastic kick tail lure is about 4" long and well over 30 years on the market was not considered a swimbait. The Basstrix 5 & 6" hollow body paddle tail minnow wasn't considered a swimbait out west where the original hollow body lures started this bait category. BrassTrix made trout swimbaits before the hollow body soft minnow. Today the definition of a swimbait is any swimming style lure that would include both the Sassy Shad and hollow bodies. The original term applied to lures that looked exactly like trout, baby bass, bluegill and crappie and swam at a slow natural pace.

OP,

I have looked at your video's and conclude you are more interested in making a video catching big bass, then spending the time and effort learning how to catch big bass. It's my opinion a 3-4 lb bass will satisfy your goal.

To accomplish this goal you need to relocate where you are fishing. Small juvenile bass and larger size adult bass occupy different lake areas the majority of the time. Take a look at a lake map you fish and start fishing around the longest underwater points with deeper water access and any underwater humps, rock piles or trees that top out around 3' to 8' under the water surface.

You are using spinning tackle with unknown line size, maybe 10-12 lb test? This is OK, but the hooks are way too big for the line and lures you use. Suggest going down in hook size to 3/0 for 6" to 7" worms.

Also take a look at the "less popular rigs" thread in the tackle forum and try a jig & craw worm and slip shot rig for 10-14 lb line and rig exactly as detailed. Slow down and let the big bass come to your lure.

Good luck with your goal.

Tom

[David D.]

When you guys say "swimbait" are you referring to the big plastic realistic fish lures like $80 or like flukes and super flukes and caffeine shad type baits?

Realistic, hard plastic lures. Flukes and such will catch any size bass regularly.

[CDMeyer]

Bass are naturaly just aggressive so even if you do up your lure sixe it will only decrease the chances of a little one hitting..... that said I would try to use maybe a 10" worm instead of a smaller one like you said you use.  I for sure would carry jigs with me all the time, read the article in Bassmaster this mouth, that Cliff Pace wrote on the versatility for jigs

[hoosierbass07]

  I was using a 5/0 hook and eight pound mono line.  I used a 5/0 with that swimbait because I thought it provided a decent gap for the bass to bite down on the lure.  

 

 I almost exclusively use eight pound and six pound mono.  I do have a spinning reel with ten pound mono and a baitcaster with twelve pound mono but why go up to ten and twelve when eight will do and six seems to work good too?  

 

 I'm in Indiana, not Florida or California or Texas.  And I don't fish around swampy areas where one might need to horse a bass out of thick cover.  I think I would only move up to larger mono if it made the lure work better.  If moving up to twelve or fifteen pound mono will make the lure to look better to the bass I would be willing to use that size mono.  But so far eight pound mono seems pretty satisfactory for me.  If I were going to fish at some lakes that do have larger bass I would definitely take my ten pound reel.  

[WRB]

Spinning tackle with 6 and 8 lb mono is perfect for light to medium wire style hooks like Owner 5100 or Gamakatsu #11 worm hook size 3/0 for standard worms up to 7 1/2" long. The slip shot rig with 6 or 8 lb mono works better with size 1for 4 1/2" worms, size 1/0 with either of the hooks mentioned or Owner 5133 down shot hook that also works for weedless drop shot rigs. The nail weight worm rig is also good with the 8 lb spinning outfit. The above rigs catch all sizes of bass, including larger adults depending where (location on the lake) you fish. These rigs are designed for deep structure lakes like you have.

Your casting outfit with 10 lb line is marginal with heavy wire 5/0 hooks, OK with medium wire like Owner 5100 using larger diameter soft plastics. The reason is 10 lb line doesn't apply enough force to penetrate the adult size bass mouth.

I make my own jigs with 5:0 Gamakatsu #114 because the medium wire forged hook penetrates better with 10 lb line.

You need to use lures with hooks and presentations suitable for your tackle. Thank you for clarifying what your tackle is, it helps with making suggestions without guessing what is being used.

Tom

[fishva]

First, make sure there's actually a population of large fish where you're fishing. Even though it's often outdated, DNR information can be really helpful if they cover the waters you're fishing.

 

Second, find structure that looks like it would give a bass a nice advantage over its prey. The bigger bass get the best spots. For example, I caught a 5.5lber last week in a lake that mostly holds smaller fish by finding a *tiny* little channel that likely offered protection from the currents above, making it a nice ambush point.

[tatertester]

If you are using larger and heavier hook sizes , you would be well advised to use use braided line with a heavy fluorocarbon leader so you can set the hook with authority to get hook penetration......With a medium to long cast ,and in deeper water your lighter weight mono line simply will not allow you to get a good hook set because of line stretch......If your not going to listen to the advise given here you shouldn't have asked for advise........You say you don't fish around areas where you need heavier line? Well if you hook a big bass you never know what obstructions, branches,weed clumps , wood ,rocks, etc that will test your line while fighting a big fish....When you lose that big one because of line breakage,THEN you will find out why the need for heavier line and hook. 5 lb bass can be a tussle , don't need to be a 10 lber to reguire heavier hook and line.