Only Catching Small Bass

[bpro1]

Hey all, new member here.. I couldn't find a thread on this already so I figured I'd make one.  (Maybe i'm searching wrong?)

 

Anyway... i'm a member of a private lake, small catch and release lake only electric motors allowed.  I've fished this lake since I was a kid (20+ years) and over the last few spring/summer seasons I've noticed a huge drop off in the amount of bigger bass.  I've grown up using live bait shiners with my father and between that and rubber worms, we always had great success and there were a number of decent sized bass sprinkled in.  Over the last 3 years, I dedicated myself to learning how to fish with lures and in time I've tested different ones, having success with a few.  I primarily use a small shallow crank and it's the only lure I've used 90% of the time, and I've learned the technique very well and always catch fish with it.  

 

The problem I've run into over the past few years is lack of large (3+ lb) bass.  This is a small lake and when I say "large", I mean 3+ lbs.. that's "large" for my lake.  I just can't seem the find them.. I'm always catching babies.  I'm not sure if this coincides with the fact I'm using a smaller lure or if there's something else going on with the lake habitat.  I've attempted to use larger lures to rule that out, but I just can't seem to catch as many fish with them. 

 

Another thing I've noticed is the increase of white/rainbow perch in the lake.  Years ago, we'd rarely catch a perch, but there's a dramatic increase where I'm catching at least one per trip.  Could this be a reason?  Over the past many years, we've caught large and smallmouths, crappie bass, sunfish with the occasional perch and I've seen one pickerel in my 20+ years caught.  

 

I'm stumped.  Maybe people are breaking the catch and release rule and bringing home the large bass?  Maybe I'm not fishing in the proper place?  I primarily fish on my boat casting close to shore and I've caught large bass there years ago, and again, not so much over the last few.  Is the old saying "bigger the bait, bigger the fish" true?  Am I using too small of a lure?  

 

Any advice would be appreciated, if I need to give more information, let me know.  Thank you!

[somebassguy]

Provide more information about the lake - how deep on average, type of cover/weeds, average water clarity? And any changes in any of those over the past few years might help people give better suggestions.

[WIGuide]

Fish can become educated over time as well. Yes bigger baits will eliminate some but not all of the smaller bass and appeal to bigger fish. Have you tried a bait with a perch pattern? Being that there's an influx  of them the fish may just be keying in on them as forage. Also, try a few different techniques. Something like a spinnerbait or swim jig will work based on water clarity. Another good option is a Yum Dinger.

[bpro1]

Provide more information about the lake - how deep on average, type of cover/weeds, average water clarity? And any changes in any of those over the past few years might help people give better suggestions.

 

Sure.  I'm not quite sure exactly how deep it is, I'd like to say 15-20 feet at it's deepest.  There are a lot of lilypad patches and some other areas with heavy weeds (which i avoid, maybe I shouldn't?)  I'd say average water clarity is murky lately.

[bpro1]

Fish can become educated over time as well. Yes bigger baits will eliminate some but not all of the smaller bass and appeal to bigger fish. Have you tried a bait with a perch pattern? Being that there's an influx  of them the fish may just be keying in on them as forage. Also, try a few different techniques. Something like a spinnerbait or swim jig will work based on water clarity. Another good option is a Yum Dinger.

 

Thank you!  I do have a shallow rapala lure that resembles a smaller rainbow perch which I rarely use but also haven't had much success when I do use it.  Maybe the problem is that I haven't given enough patience to the lures that I don't have success with and I give up using them.  Yesterday, for example, I went out from around 5pm-7:30pm and I noticed a ton of fish were active and jumping in the shallows so I threw on my jitterbug and I only was able to get one with it, and it was again, a baby.  

 

I've never caught anything on a spinner bait.. and again I would say that I gave up trying it because of it.  Maybe I'm just not using the proper technique with it.  I'm sure I can find some websites that teach different lure techniques, but does anyone know of any such site off hand?  

[gulfcaptain]

If you have grass/heavy weeds, those are area's you should be keying in on.  Especially if they have deep water close by.  And bigger baits normally produce fewer fish, but bigger.  You also didn't state how much pressure the lake gets. If it does get a bunch, those bigger fish have learned to stay out of those areas, feed at different times, and also become very spooky especially if it's clear water.  If you're fishing in the heat of the day, look into learning how to punch the grass/weeds.  The fish will normally sit right in them and with the sun high, well you can eliminate a lot of water.  And if you're getting small fish in the evening on a topwater, fish a bigger topwater plug, or if the bass are in the 6-8" range, fish a 6-8" swimbait on the edges close to deeper water.  May find the larger fish waiting to ambush one of the smaller bass that stray too far away.

[everythingthatswims]

Jigs and frogs

[missouribigbass]

Id start throwing a 12 inch ribbon tailed worm. Small fish are quicker you may be running into an issue where the lake may be getting a little overpopulated and the little fish are quicker to bait and your just not catching the better fish. Is throw a larger lure as the smaller fish are a little less likely to be as aggressive with it. You'll still catch some smaller fish heck I fish a 12 in worm a lot and will catch a few 12 in fish on it but more times than not it's a better fish over the long haul vs an 8in worm

[somebassguy]

Weeds = Largemouth Bass. Outside edge of weeds or nice holes in weeds = Smallmouth Bass.

[bpro1]

Thanks everyone for the tips, I'm definitely gonna attempt to use different techniques.. we'll see.

 

This morning (around 8am), I went out and attempted to "punch" the weeds/pads and I must be doing something wrong.  I don't have any special lures mentioned earlier, but I used a plastic worm with a few medium size split shots and the worm just sat on the pads.  I wasn't able to have it break through and "punch"..  maybe I needed more weight?  I gave up pretty quickly and maybe I need more patience.  

 

Would the setup with weights/worm work or should i attempt to grab a special punching lure?  Any additional tips on punching?  

 

Much appreciated!!!!

[WIGuide]

Thank you!  I do have a shallow rapala lure that resembles a smaller rainbow perch which I rarely use but also haven't had much success when I do use it.  Maybe the problem is that I haven't given enough patience to the lures that I don't have success with and I give up using them.  Yesterday, for example, I went out from around 5pm-7:30pm and I noticed a ton of fish were active and jumping in the shallows so I threw on my jitterbug and I only was able to get one with it, and it was again, a baby.  

 

I've never caught anything on a spinner bait.. and again I would say that I gave up trying it because of it.  Maybe I'm just not using the proper technique with it.  I'm sure I can find some websites that teach different lure techniques, but does anyone know of any such site off hand?  

You can search the forums on here as I'm sure there are many. Another great site for information is ***.com

[MIKElautensack]

Thanks everyone for the tips, I'm definitely gonna attempt to use different techniques.. we'll see.

This morning (around 8am), I went out and attempted to "punch" the weeds/pads and I must be doing something wrong. I don't have any special lures mentioned earlier, but I used a plastic worm with a few medium size split shots and the worm just sat on the pads. I wasn't able to have it break through and "punch".. maybe I needed more weight? I gave up pretty quickly and maybe I need more patience.

Would the setup with weights/worm work or should i attempt to grab a special punching lure? Any additional tips on punching?

Much appreciated!!!!

[MIKElautensack]

For punching you need a heavy bullet weight minimum 1/4 oz I like a 1/2 oz and rig the bait Texas/weedless it is also a good idea to peg the weight to the bait and try to pitch the bait into thick Lilly pad patch but in a small opening also use big heavy rod and a baitcaster you need that power to pull a fish out of the kind of cover

Just curious what is the lake called and where is it