Misconceptions About Catching Big Bass!!

[senile1]

Nice post, Matt.  I like posts that make me think and this one does.  I definitely have been slow in using bigger swimbaits, probably to my own detriment.  I do use jigs with big trailers, large creature baits, big worms, and swimbaits less than 6 inches.  Your post has me convinced I need to add bigger swimbaits to my repertoire. 

 

I do think that most of the people posting about location mean well.  There are a lot of bass anglers who still fish mostly shallow areas and visible cover.  The location discussions are addressed to them, or at least they should be.  Catt makes a good point that the importance of location does increase the larger the lake becomes.   

 

This is a good thread and it has challenged me to increase my intensity for bigger fish.

[Raul]

To dance with the fat lady you have to be there ( location ) at the right moment ( timing ) with the right invitation ( lure ) . You can´t expect to catch a bigun if you are never there, you can´t catch a bigun when she ain´t there and you can´t catch a bigun empty handed.

 

In my neck of the woods baits like swimbaits do not produce big fish for me and in my everyday lake it´s like knocking on an abandoned house, I´m positive that one deciding factor is the wáter clarity, the visibility for one reason or the other is always poor.

 

I catch bigger fish with T-tigged worms and jigs with big trailers, stickbaits can be another option but I can´t say it for sure because I seldomly fish with stickbaits ( even tough my second largest fish was caught with a 5" senko ), aside from the water clarity there´s also another deciding factor: speed, fast is too fast; slow and methodical is what works for me.

 

In this particular subject I feel Catt and I are closer in concepts than I am with Matt or Tom

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Think about the water clarity comment in relation to the topic.

 

How do you think fish are finding that worm or jig?  Water displacement and vibration, since the visibility factor is eliminated? To me, that would lend itself to the bigger bait being better in that situation due to a bigger presence in the water.

 

If you fish a swimbait in the same location as that worm or jig, you don't feel that the fish will seize the opportunity for a larger meal with the same amount of expended energy?

 

Just food for thought....

[Raul]

Think about the water clarity comment in relation to the topic.

 

How do you think fish are finding that worm or jig?  Water displacement and vibration, since the visibility factor is eliminated? To me, that would lend itself to the bigger bait being better in that situation due to a bigger presence in the water.

 

If you fish a swimbait in the same location as that worm or jig, you don't feel that the fish will seize the opportunity for a larger meal with the same amount of expended energy?

 

Just food for thought....

 

There´s no food for thought, I have fished methodically with swimbaits in the same locations and they just do not produce for me, excuse me if I sound like an ass but I´m not new to catching big fish.

[Mattlures]

While I agree with what you wrote I feel you must add a few disclaimers!

Do big baits catch big bass...absolutely!

Do big baits catch small bass...absolutely!

Do small baits catch big bass...absolutely!

Do small baits catch small bass...absolutely!

Y'all got that, let's move on!

Your thecniques of locating and catching big bass fits your region along with the bodies of water you fish. These techniques can apply in part but not in whole to the Mid-West, Great Plains, Great Lakes, Nrw England, Alantic Coast, South, and Deep South regions or Mexico.

While I can not speak for those other regions I can talk about mine. Here in the deep south more big bass are caught on Texas Rigged Plastics or a Jig-N-Craws, not exactly big baits.

With heavily structured reservoirs running 50,000-190,000 aces of water; location becomes extremely critical. Other key differences include high air/water temperatures, diverse types of cover and forage.

This is the type is misconception I am trying to clear up. Of course small baits catch big bass and of course big baits catch small bass. ONE OF THE BIGGEST PPOINTS OF THIS POST is, its about percentage. For every big bass caught on a small fish bait there are hundreds or thousands of small fish caught on that small fish bait. That's why its classified as a small fish bait. For every small bass caught on a big bass bait there is a MUCH HIGHER percentage of big bass caught that's why it would be classified as a big bass bait. Its about averges and percentages. Notice I am not saying trophy bass, I am saying big bass. Where I am from I still think a 6lber is a big bass. Not a trophy but  still big.

[Raul]

There´s no food for thought, I have fished methodically with swimbaits in the same locations and they just do not produce for me, excuse me if I sound like an ass but I´m not new to catching big fish.

 

Another thing is now that I come and think about the swimbait TYPE is not the appropiate one, hard ( large crankbait type ) swimbaits do not catch me the kind of big fish I´m after ( to a lot of folks a 7 lber may be the fish of a lifetime but it´s not for me anymore ) and that´s the kind of fish I catch with them, there´s also the hairy subject of cover, my success is methodically and slowly working my way through cover on structure, the kind of cover that hangs up baits so I avoid for being downright stupid to fish with baits with non weedless hooks, also, it has to be compact, I don´t fish with 10-12 inch worms cuz they get bit by bluegills and cuz they hang up because they wrap around tree/brush limbs,I also avoid long and skinny swimbaits like the Mission Fish for that reason.

 

Anyway, all this mental excercises are futile, I catch quality fish with worms and jigs and if it ain´t broke don´t fix it.

[Mattlures]

That again plays to the law of averages. If 99% of the guys are throwing jigs and worms, of course the majority of big bass are going to be caught on them. I really believe that as swimbaits continue to work their way into more guys' rotations, they will see exactly what Matt is talking about.

 

Are they perfect for every situation? Absolutely not. No bait is. Do they appeal to a larger class size of fish more times than not?  You betcha....

Speed nailed this one perfectly!!!!

Also consider how much feedback I hear from customers, not just about my baits but other swimbaits. Many times they tell me what they are catching but then say they don't tell anybody else and they are sorry but they wont send pictures or if they do its a close of a fish with out there face in it or no background. These guys are consistently catch big bass in places that other people think swimbaits don't work well. They are keeping quiet about it. Every time I hear somebody say they don't work well in my lake I just shake my head and think, if they only knew. Think about what a swimbait represents, what it mimicks. They mimick the primiary food source of big bass. Big bass primarily feed on small fish, not tiny minnows or little shad but small 4-8 in bait fish are a big bass's primary food sourse. If guys are not having success catching big bass (big being relative to their area) on their lakes then its the anglers inability not the class of baits. It could be they are not using them where, when, and how they should be or maybe they did not make a good choice in baits. With so many swimbaits on the market there is a good bait out there for just about every situation. Problem is there is also a ton of junk out there to. I will cover the topic of "I tried them but they don't work here" when I do my swimbait misconception post.

remember guys when somebody catches 1 big bass to every hundred or thousand small bass he is not a knowledgeable big bass angler. He may be a great bass fisherman but he is not a great big bass fisherman.

[spoonybay]

WRB I moved from SD back to the Raleigh area and recently ran out of my Otay specials I was using back in SD. Had'em for years. I just got some robo worms to replace them that are pretty similar. Haven't been able to catch the trophy yet as I'm fishing local ponds. But the fish here like them as well as SD fish do.

[Mattlures]

Guys this post isn't about swimbaits. Its about stacking the odds, percentages and averages. Its about how important bait choice is. Its about the when where and how but most of all its about Barney. The guy who catches one big bass out of a 100 all on senkos and now he comes to the conclusion that senkos(it could be any bait) are a great big bass bait. He only remembers the 1 big fish and totally excused the 99 small ones. Or how Barney has caught tens of thousands of small bass with a handful of big bass and he thinks he knows how to target big bass because of the handful he caught. Now he is giving advise (almost certainly bad advise) on how to target big bass. The blind leading the blind.

[hatrix]

I have caught more big bass (relative) this year then any other year of fishing. I have also caught much less bass overall then any year also. I have also become very dedicated to throwing the big stuff almost 100% of the time I am fishing. Maybe some of you are right and big swimbaits just don't catch fish where you live. I personally doubt that though. I think a lot of it has to do with your selection of baits and most of all the quality of them. Originally I didn't catch as many as I do now but I also did not have the selection and range of big expensive baits when I first started that I do now. Having a decent selection of big baits to cover all situations you might come across has greatly increased my success. The issue I see people having with it all is that it can get expensive pretty quick. People are not so will to drop $60 on a lure let alone $100+ unless that is what you are into. Anymore I would rather buy let's say a HPH for $100 then a bunch of cranks and soft plastics and other misc stuff. In the end I probably wouldn't even use all those cranks of plastics and I know that is true because I have done it many times before and probably all of us have. Now that HPH I bought I will sure as hell fish the crap out of that and it is for sure going to stick some nice fish.

In a way you kind of either need to be all in or your not going to have the success you see others achieving.

[WRB]

A few years back Don Iovino was guiding on lake El Salto, Mexico. Don isn't a big bait guy, he is known for his finesse bait and presentations. Don is an expert sonar angler and he located a lot of big bass on mid lake structure, humps or underwater island far off shore that the local guides hadn't discovered. Don didn't have any swimbaits with him, however a client from Texas had some all white 8" swimbaits. In a 2 week period Don put his clients on over 100 big bass using white swimbaits, that is what those El Salto bass wanted at that time on isolated humps. You learn to use what the bass want if you are targeting big bass.

Tom

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Raul, if there's no food for thought then why participate in the thread?

Ever think it may 'click' with someone else?

[Mattlures]

Another thing is now that I come and think about the swimbait TYPE is not the appropiate one, hard ( large crankbait type ) swimbaits do not catch me the kind of big fish I´m after ( to a lot of folks a 7 lber may be the fish of a lifetime but it´s not for me anymore ) and that´s the kind of fish I catch with them, there´s also the hairy subject of cover, my success is methodically and slowly working my way through cover on structure, the kind of cover that hangs up baits so I avoid for being downright stupid to fish with baits with non weedless hooks, also, it has to be compact, I don´t fish with 10-12 inch worms cuz they get bit by bluegills and cuz they hang up because they wrap around tree/brush limbs,I also avoid long and skinny swimbaits like the Mission Fish for that reason.

 

Anyway, all this mental excercises are futile, I catch quality fish with worms and jigs and if it ain´t broke don´t fix it.

Raul I made this post for the blind that are listening to other blind guys for advise on how to catch bigger bass. If you have figured out how to catch the sized bass your after then you certainly are not blind. Its not all about 1 specific type of baits (swimbaits). If your catching the bass you want on worms and jigs then I agree with you. I wouldn't fix something that's not broke either. However if, that bite goes away you may need to change tactics. But I would keep throwing them as long as they produce the bass your after. I personaly will use any legal and or moral method that I think gives me the best chance at a big or trophy bass. I have no problem using live bait (except for the hassle and cost) or sight fishing or if I thought senkos gave me the best chance at the biggest bass you could bet that's what I would be using. For me I beleive swimbaits gives me the best chance at the biggest bass most of the time. I also will use jigs, crawfish, and a few others when I think they are the better choice for that specific situation. I also still believe swimbaits are the highest percentage big bass producing class of baits.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

As some of you know, I'm fishing an overfished lake this year, concentrating solely on it.  I'm seeing most bass between half a pound and two pounds.  There is a lot of cover and they are therefore ambush feeders.  From what I've seen, they don't seem to school much.

 

I've caught pretty big (for Indiana) largemouth in the past.  I don't recall the weight; I doubt I weighted them.  It's not about that for me.  It's about the size of the fight.

 

I have found that the larger bass rarely school around here.  They seem to be solitary and protect their territory.  If there's a shelf, they'll be a bit deeper (usually) than the smaller bass.

 

If there's one piece of structure, it will likely hold one large bass. 

 

In the current lake, there are smaller (12" to 14" or so) holding and ambush hunting nearer to shore.  Throwing large baits gets the baits attacked, but nothing hooks up. 

 

My current theory is that once I get the boat back out on the water, the large ones will be in a couple coves inaccessible from shore, and also near structure on the bottom of the middle of the lake that I know is there but haven't been able to reach without a boat.  

 

So for me at least, it's not about locating the bass.  I know where the bass are and rarely go away without catching a couple 12"-14" bass, even in the worst fishing conditions.

 

What it is about, is finding the larger ones and giving them presentations that work. 

 

For most of this fishing, I prefer lures in the 1/2oz to 1oz range, though some of the larger lures do weigh more and I tend to overload the rods.  I'll be investing in a heavy rod or two if my experiments work.

 

Josh

[Raul]

I´m thinking about this, if I hook big fish by slowly and methodically moving my bait through cover, and what I use for that are jigs and worms --->  it´s gotta be weedless, gotta give the good vibes ( the fish should be able to feel it ) ´cause the visibility is poor, probably the solution as I mentioned earlier is the type, I´m going to try with large hollow belly swimbaits ( the worst case scenario would be me not catching a thing and who´s in a rush ? ) something like the Black Dog Weed Slinger, it´s got the size, it´s weedless and the section between the body and the tail doesn´t look too skinny ( so it doesn´t wrap around tree/brush  limbs ) and 10 bucks ain´t gonna leave me begging for money on the sidewalk.

[Mattlures]

Raul the mission fish witch is very similar to the weed slinger was designed as a plastic worm/ swimbait. I think your idea is definitely worth trying. It sound like a very good fit for you. I would also consider the weed less Hudd 68.

[WRB]

So many misconceptions about big bass, the 1 is population density, the bigger the bass get, the fewer there are in any body of water. Some lakes have a higher % of big bass than other lakes and those are the lakes your best chance is to catch a few. Big bass populations fluctuate depending on recruitment or year class survival rates. The health of the bass can be evaluated fairly easily, the girth should be at least 60% of the length, 75% is average. If the bass look like footballs with girths over 80%, the lake is in great condition to produce big bass. Bass with big heads and skinny bodies are in trouble, just surviving, not growing big.

Location is also fishing the right lake that has a good big bass population.

Another misconception is all bass can grow big, not true only the adult female bass grow to maximum size and weight in any lake. Big bass are female bass.

The length of bass is another misconception. The longest a LMB can attain is 30", very rare giant bass. The average adult female bass is 17", about 3 lbs, 18"-20" bass should be about 4 to 5 lbs., 21-23" are 6 to 7 lbs, Bass around 24" are around 8 to 9 lbs.

Tom

[Mattlures]

Tom everything you just posted is absolutely correct. However big bass, not trophy bass, is relative to each body of water. If the biggest class bass in a pond is 4lbs then that is a big or at least a bigger bass. Catching big or bigger bass is not exactly the same thing as trophy hunting for the largest 1% of trophy sized bass. Most lakes do not produce huge bass. Most lakes don't have all the ingredients. But just about all lakes have different size classes of bass and most guys that are asking for advise on how to catch bigger bass are just wanting to catch bigger bass then they are currently catching. Catching big or bigger bass can be hard. Catching huge trophy sized bass is much harder and when you are specifically targeting a couple fish in a lake then location is by far the most important factor. However when your just trying to catch bigger bass then other factors can be equally or more important.

[WRB]

Raul, the weedless HUD 68 needs a swimbait rod to fish through the brush etc effectively. The best hollow body is the first; Basstrix.

Tom

[Catt]

This is the type is misconception I am trying to clear up. Of course small baits catch big bass andof course big baits catch small bass. ONE OF THE BIGGEST PPOINTS OF THIS POST is, its about percentage. For every big bass caught on a small fish bait there are hundreds or thousands of small fish caught on that small fish bait. That's why its classified as a small fish bait. For every small bass caught on a big bass bait there is a MUCH pHIGHER percentage of big bass caught that's why it would be classified as a big bass bait. Its about averges and percentages. Notice I am not saying trophy bass, I am saying big bass. Where I am from I still think a 6lber is a big bass. Not a trophy but still big.

I have friends who throw big swim baits exclusively and their percentage of bass 6 lbs plus is considerable less than mine. I've followed them through an area where they didn't get a single bite while I boat bass in the 8-10# class.

In the canyon type reservoirs of west Texas swim baits produce better than in the hill country reservoirs of east Texas.

In the shallow water marshes of southwest Louisiana the swim bait is pretty much a waste of time.

So where is the misconception?

Might it be the misconception is in your head concerning what actually works in other regions?

Bass are opportunistic feeders and will eat what's in front of them regardless of size.

[hatrix]

I agree with basstrix being the best hollowbody you can buy. The thing with throwing things like a 68 is not if your rod can handle it to throw it of there. The real issue is can your rod set the hook? They are a hard bait to move and when you set the hook there is no half ass hook set with those. You really need to crank down and let it rip with all you got to ensure penetration. It can be a great issue when making super long casts and that is why a line like CXX will really help stick those fish.

[Cgrinder]

I have enjoyed reading this discussion and I hope it stays civil. There is a lot of good information in this thread.

[Logan S]

I think the biggest misconception of all is believing that a person can be told how to be a successful bass fisherman.  This is true whether talking about 'trophy hunting', tournaments, or even just consistent success. 

 

More than baits, locations, timing, or any other variable you want to throw out there...The biggest factor in your success is going to be experience and time on the water.  That's how the guys at the top put all those variables together into a winning pattern, or in this case consistently land giant bass.

 

 

 

More to the point of this topic and the topic that seems to have spawned it...Targeting a 'kicker' type fish (a 4 to 6 lber in most places) is very different from targeting a trophy or the 'one' fish of a lifetime.  I'm not a trophy guy so I'm not going to add to that specifically as it's not my area of expertise.  

 

The OP has probably put in the countless hours/days on the water needed to fine tune this technique for himself and the water he fishes...You can't expect to compress all that into an internet forum post, it's a stepping stone and you shouldn't treat it any other way.  

[Mattlures]

While I agree with what you wrote I feel you must add a few disclaimers!

Do big baits catch big bass...absolutely!

Do big baits catch small bass...absolutely!

Do small baits catch big bass...absolutely!

Do small baits catch small bass...absolutely!

Y'all got that, let's move on!

 

Making this type of statement is a major misconception.It may be technicaly right but it implies that they are equal and that is VERY wrong.

This is a much more accurate way of presenting this info.

Do big baits catch big bass...Yes and its very common

Do big baits catch small bass...sure sometimes but its not the norm

Do small baits catch big bass...sure sometimes but its not the norm

Do small baits catch small bass...Yes and its very common

 

Also just because you and your friends have not figured out a bite doesn't meant that bite does not exist or that somebody else hasn't figured it out.

[WRB]

I wrote a article for In-Fisherman titled A Rare Chance for a World Record Bass book #64, Jan 1985.

The article was about lake Isabella in central CA. The reason I bring this up is the lures discussed; a hand painted 8" Bagley Bango lure in rainbow trout, there were few hard swimbaits back then. I had an original Huddleston wooden rainbow trout in 1988, before that all the swimmers were soft plastic like Worm Kings.

The swimbait is a relatively new lure.

My point is swimbaits have developed a lot in a short time, wonderful big bass lures that were not available a few decades ago.

My benchmark for a giant bass is 15 lbs, started out at 12 lbs where I live and fish. My goal is a 20 lb+ bass.

Having caught 5 bass between 17 to 19 lbs, all on jigs and none on swimbaits between Jan to Apl doesn't mean swimbaits don't work . I haven't caught a giant bass on anything after April, night or day and the last one was 15.3 lb giant 2006 on a jig. Best swimbait bass is 14.7, lots between 10 to 12 lbs. The reason is I spent more time fishing jigs than swimbaits. Maybe if I used swimmers more year around, instead of in the winter, that 20 lber could have been a reality. Today the giant bass population is down due in part to the drought, guagga mussel scare makes difficult to fish multiple lakes and no trout plants. I own and use a lot of swimbaits because they work!

Tom