Misconceptions About Catching Big Bass!!

[missouribigbass]

I've been fishing hard for 20 years. In my area a 7-9lb bass is a trophy. I'm in north Missouri 20 miles from the Iowa line. I've never seen or heard of a double digit bass here which is my goal.

Having fished hard for 20 years I've learned a little along the way. A few years back I decided to do nothing but target trophy fish those 7-9lbers around here with the ultimate goal to land a dd bass. Prior to my change in approach my personal best was 8lb 6oz. Since that time I've caught a lot of bass that size and a up to 9lb 2oz. What changed? Bait and retrieve. Instead of 7 inch worms I use 10s and 12s. I've gotten bigger in every area of my tackle. This year I've gotten in to the swimbait craze and its absolutely legit. Do you have to use swimbait to trophy fish? No big plastics, jigs, topwaters are also great lures for catching trophy bass consistently but swimbait will produce almost every time out. I agree with the op that it's all technique. I've gotten a lot better the more I've used it. The more I throw it the more confidence I have in it as well.

I can say from experience that you absolutely positively increase your chances of catching big fish by throwing big baits. If your not having success you need to change your presentation. I caught some big fish here and there before I started throwing just big baits but it was sporadic. Now I'm disappointed if I don't put s big bad in the boat every time out.

[Logan S]

 

My whole point to this post is help guys sift through the bad info posted on forums about how to catch big bass. If the answer is coming from a Barney then pay no attention. 

From the OP.  How many of you realize that 'Barney' (according to the OP) is everywhere in this thread?  Or that you might be the 'Barney' he's talking about.  

 

His entire point is that on a public, online forum you will get responses from people who mean well...But likely don't have anywhere near the experience they might convey or think they have.  To me, that's just obvious and just the nature of on online forum.  It started off with the bit about 'Location' since that's the specific thing that tripped him up on the topic.  

 

At least that's my take....The whole thing is pretty silly now.  You've got guys agreeing and disagreeing, both saying "In my experience blah blah..." and it begs the question;  Just what is your experience?

[Brian6428]

How do you guys believe this topic relates to tournament fishing? 

[Todd2]

There is a lot of mention of structure on this site and it's usually generic in nature...nothing specific. The definition of structure is any change in bottom contour, so that basically includes everything except flats. But we know bass move up on flats to feed and sometimes relate to cover on those flats and that's where I often catch the bigger fish. Flats close to deeper water. Of course, in the lake that I fish, most people (including me) consider anything over 3 lbs to be big. A lot of good discussion here. Let's keep it going.

[Raul]

There is a lot of mention of structure on this site and it's usually generic in nature...nothing specific. The definition of structure is any change in bottom contour, so that basically includes everything except flats. But we know bass move up on flats to feed and sometimes relate to cover on those flats and that's where I often catch the bigger fish. Flats close to deeper water. Of course, in the lake that I fish, most people (including me) consider anything over 3 lbs to be big. A lot of good discussion here. Let's keep it going.

Flat is bottom contour, therefore it is structure.

[Paul Roberts]

There is a lot of mention of structure on this site and it's usually generic in nature...nothing specific. The definition of structure is any change in bottom contour, so that basically includes everything except flats. But we know bass move up on flats to feed and sometimes relate to cover on those flats and that's where I often catch the bigger fish. Flats close to deeper water. Of course, in the lake that I fish, most people (including me) consider anything over 3 lbs to be big. A lot of good discussion here. Let's keep it going.

 

Flat is bottom contour, therefore it is structure.

 

Ditto.

 

I look at structure from a functional perspective. It's not the fact that points, drops, and flats are objects, it's what happens on those objects that really matters. Realize though that not every flat holds the fish you might be looking for. There's usually more to the story than the given object.

 

But this is sliding off topic. I see the topic as whether or not big baits offer anything special in terms of attracting/triggering bigger bass, and I think they do. Does this mean that location and timing don’t matter? Absolutely not, and despite what Matt was (maybe over)-reacting to in the OP, no one here is seriously suggesting that location and timing are going to be replaced by some magic bait. Lures catch fish in context only. Those contexts are determined by conditions and circumstances within living systems. That isn't likely to change.

[Ginosocalbass]

or you can pick up a copy of Bill Siementels "big bass zone" and learn just about everything you really need to know, including what types of locations, baits, and techniques. More importantly it teaches you the right mindset to have when targeting trophy fish. 

 

 

I don't get to metapausal over people asking for the "magic" bullet, because the majority of those people will not achieve what they are looking for anyways, and if they do... they will not know how or why they caught a big one. Remember this is a hobby and a weekend sport for 95% of the fisherman out there. they are just looking to make the most of there fun time. the fishing Industry has always promoted that mindset anyways, its nothing new... that is how lures get sold.  

 

When I lived out west, I'd get crappy if I didn't see anything over 5lbs.... now that i live in new jersey, a 5lber is most guys personal best fish for a lifetime, and a few avid anglers have been lucky at a 6lber.... 
 

Its all about perspective and what you want to do with your fishing time. 

[SirSnookalot]

If one adheres to the old adage that 90% of water has no fish, the 10% will hold the majority of fish, to me that puts location as the #1 factor.  Ambush predators of any species generally go after the easiest meal to catch, that's a slow moving bait fished near cover, structure, water color changes, and shadows.  One may have to go thru many more small fish to finally hook up with that larger one.  It's true bass are caught with faster moving baits targeting aggressive fish more so than ambushers, which actually is my fishing preference, in theory that would make me a prime candidate for these larger lures.  For the "one" the big baits aren't a bad way to go, but I do feel fishing structure and cover slowly will catch large fish but ya gotta catch a lot of small ones too.

[G8RBob]

There is a whole world full of different, "swimbaits."  Anyone care to suggest specific brands, models, sizes, etc.  It would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Mattlures]

There is a whole world full of different, "swimbaits."  Anyone care to suggest specific brands, models, sizes, etc.  It would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Tell me about your lakes and what your bass eat. The idea of catching the biggest bass on swimbaits is to replicate what the biggest bass are eating.

[G8RBob]

My lakes are typical Florida inland lakes; clear, bottom grass, hyacinths, fairly flat.  The fish seem to eat mostly shiners or small panfish.  I typically fish with 10 inch zoom worms; watermelon, motor oil or crankbaits.  I typically fish in the early morning hours.  What else?  Thanks.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Look up "Mcsnooklovin" on Youtube. David is his name, Florida angler, catches a TON of multi-species fish on MANY different kinds of swimbaits.

 

Good dude that I consider a friend.

[Paul Roberts]

If one adheres to the old adage that 90% of water has no fish, the 10% will hold the majority of fish, to me that puts location as the #1 factor.  ...

 

First you have to find them –that’s location.

Then you have to catch them –that’s presentation.

 

At first, location (and all that encapsulates –gonna lump timing in here for brevity) is 90% of the game. After that, the fundamentals of presentation become 90% of the game. After that, what you choose to throw becomes 90% of the game. After that, tweaking, altering, adjusting can become 90% of the game. There is no one answer. It’s a process.

 

Where's the missing 10% at each step? That's luck. And stuff I have no control over, or simply don't understand. And to be fair, there's a sliding scale there.

[Fish_Whisperer]

First you have to find them –that’s location.

Then you have to catch them –that’s presentation.

 

At first, location (and all that encapsulates –gonna lump timing in here for brevity) is 90% of the game. After that, the fundamentals of presentation become 90% of the game. After that, what you choose to throw becomes 90% of the game. After that, tweaking, altering, adjusting can become 90% of the game. There is no one answer. It’s a process.

 

Where's the missing 10% at each step? That's luck. And stuff I have no control over, or simply don't understand. And to be fair, there's a sliding scale there.

 

I agree with a lot of this post, but that 10% ain't luck.  If you do everything right with location and presentation, then it is completely up to the bass after that. Either they eat it or they don't.  

 

Let me preface that this is all my opinion, none of it is to be taken as fact, come to your own conclusions.

 

There has been two fishing definitions of location in this thread;  location OF the water, and location ON the water.  

 

In the beginning of your pursuit of big bass, location of the water and  habitat conditions in the water are the only factors that matter up to this point.  Some regions of the world have climates more conducive to creating truly big bass, and if the habitats within these waters are not optimal, then you are handicapping yourself from the beginning.

 

Once you get those right, many other factors play into the percentages, with none, I think, being more important than the other.  Catching big bass requires a full effort on the anglers part to do/get everything right.  

[Catch and Grease]

When someone says I want to catch big bass they don't want someone to tell them to just go to some private pond down south and catch one, they want the satisfaction of catching it in the waters they regularly fish.

Whether or not a fish is big is relative to the waters you fish. A big fish in one lake may be 4lbs while another place might be 10lbs.

So I don't think your handicapping yourself by fishing anywhere... You just need to know what size bass you are targeting.

But don't expect every body of water to produce 15lb bass like stated above.

[A-Jay]

Interesting thread, several points of view from some very accomplished anglers.

 

I love reading this kind of stuff.  Really makes me think about my own approach to fishing for the bigger fish in a system.

 

Quite a bit of the focus of the discussion has revolved around location and with good reason. 

 

My simple but true addition to the thread is this ~ For the past several years, with very few exceptions, my fishing style has consisted of techniques & presentations that target the bigger fish in the systems I'm fishing.    This style, though often not super productive, has rewarded me the biggest bass (both lmb & smb) I've caught in those systems - meaning I don't believe that I caught any of these fish by accident.  I was targeting them and I'm very satisfied with that.  But I always believed that I was capable of more.

 

 What may be noteworthy here is that once I made a commitment to travel & fish habitats that have traditionally given up larger fish than I have been able to catch locally, my Big Bass catching success improved - Dramatically.

 

 I didn't do anything different,(except use slightly heavier tackle) there was no special / magic lure or technique.  By simply fishing an environment that supported the size of fish I have always wanted to catch - I did.   

 

So my perspective on the role that location plays in the quest for larger bass is ~ It's not only an important factor ~  It's The Whole Show. 

 

A-Jay

[Fish_Whisperer]

When someone says I want to catch big bass they don't want someone to tell them to just go to some private pond down south and catch one, they want the satisfaction of catching it in the waters they regularly fish.

Whether or not a fish is big is relative to the waters you fish. A big fish in one lake may be 4lbs while another place might be 10lbs.

So I don't think your handicapping yourself by fishing anywhere... You just need to know what size bass you are targeting.

But don't expect every body of water to produce 15lb bass like stated above.

I agree with you, and I would've included that in my post, I just assumed it was common knowledge that standards of what we call big bass is relative to where you are fishing.  

 

Interesting tread, several points of view from some very accomplished anglers.

 

I love reading this kind of stuff.  Really makes me think about my own approach to fishing for the bigger fish in a system.

 

Quite a bit of the focus of the discussion has revolved around location and with good reason. 

 

My simple but true addition to the thread is this ~ For the past several years, with very few exceptions, my fishing style has consisted of techniques & presentations that target the bigger fish in the systems I'm fishing.    This style, though often not super productive, has rewarded me the biggest bass (both lmb & smb) I've caught in those systems - meaning I don't believe that I caught any of these fish by accident.  I was targeting them and I'm very satisfied with that.  But I always believed that I was capable of more.

 

 What may be noteworthy here is that once I made a commitment to travel & fish habitats that have traditionally given up larger fish than I have been able to catch locally, my Big Bass catching success improved - Dramatically.

 

 I didn't do anything different,(except use slightly heavier tackle) there was no special / magic lure or technique.  By simply fishing an environment that supported the size of fish I have always wanted to catch - I did.   

 

So my perspective on the role that location plays in the quest for larger bass is ~ It's not only an important factor ~  It's The Whole Show. 

 

A-Jay

Phenomenal post! Really hit a chord in me.  In relation to my earlier post , would you agree that once you found the environment that had the size you wanted to catch (location OF the water)  that everything else you that factors in is equally important to where, on the body of water you are fishing (location ON the water) ?

[WRB]

Thre is a misconception that all anyone needs to do is tie on a swimbait and go catch big bass.

I am a believer in it's easier to catch active bass than inactive bass. What most anglers don't realize is bass are inactive about 60% of the time! active about 20% and in transition between being active or inactive about 20% of the time each 24 hour period. Your window of time to catch these bass is about 4 hours out of 24 hours. The rest of the time your are hunting to locate where these bass are.

A curious bass may swim up to look at a swimbait, watch for this. Look at your sonar unit for big fish and make a note where and how deep the mark was. My routine is to visit spots that I have located a big fish about every 2 to 3 hours. If I have located several potential big fish, my day is going from spot to spot several times a day (milk run). This routine keeps me busy and focused knowing there are fish in that area, how deep they are and anticipating strikes.

None of this is blind fishing, unless I haven't located any bass, then it's search time. I do a lot of metering with my sonar before fishing. My sonar survey starts in the marina so I can determine the depth to start at, then lures are selected for the cover/ structure I believe the bass are holding.

If you want to consistanly catch big bass you must fish for them!

Tom

[A-Jay]

Ok then...

 

Most of my big bass have been caught on spro bbz1 jr... It's not a deps 250 or a roman mother, but I get funny looks when I throw it; it's still a pretty big lure. I can say with confidence that I hold top 3 big bass this year in the particular body of water that I frequent.  They were caught with the bbz1 jr.  

 

EDIT: What were you getting at with your reply to my post?  Yes, Butch Brown is synonymous with swimbait, but he can catch them on other lures, also.  The point of my post was that you raised the question But what's the time involved? I know it's no where near smaller baits catching smaller fish, but is it equal in time with smaller baits catching bigger fish?  

 

He can catch multiple dd bass in a day's time.  I myself have yet to catch a dd bass, but I do catch larger bass in an area where people catch hardly any fish at all.

 

 

 

Phenomenal post! Really hit a chord in me.  In relation to my earlier post , would you agree that once you found the environment that had the size you wanted to catch (location OF the water)  that everything else you that factors in is equally important to where, on the body of water you are fishing (location ON the water) ?

 

Yes. 

 

Additionally I'd like to make two more points.

 

1.  My experience fishing swimbaits is minimal.  Though I have a rod, reel and plenty of big baits - I do not fish them any where near as much as others here and definitely less than other methods.

I have caught fish with them and believe them to be a very effective way to catch big bass.  So my limited experience & knowledge of the that technique continues to grow. 

 

2.  All the bass I've caught from systems I've traveled to and that have been larger than any bass I've taken from local waters (that means a lmb over 7 or a smb over 6)  has been taken on one of the following baits: 

Jerkbait, Spinnerbait, Lipless Rattle bait, Scrounger head w/ Flukes or Slugg-O, a weighted Fluke & a Jig.   

As mentioned, I don't fish Swim Baits that much, doesn't mean they wouldn't have worked as well -  I just didn't throw one. 

 

Admittedly, I do not consider myself in the class of many of the fine anglers and authors who are also BR members here. I do believe that if I'm able to put myself around the right fish enough times, sometimes I can catch a few.

So can you.

 

A-Jay

[Fish_Whisperer]

Yes. 

 

Additionally I'd like to make two more points.

 

1.  My experience fishing swimbaits is minimal.  Though I have a rod, reel and plenty of big baits - I do not fish them any where near as much as others here and definitely less than other methods.

I have caught fish with them and believe them to be a very effective way to catch big bass.  So my limited experience & knowledge of the that technique continues to grow. 

 

2.  All the bass I've caught from systems I've traveled to and that have been larger than any bass I've taken from local waters (that means a lmb over 7 or a smb over 6)  has been taken on one of the following baits: 

Jerkbait, Spinnerbait, Lipless Rattle bait, Scrounger head w/ Flukes or Slugg-O, a weighted Fluke & a Jig.   

As mentioned, I don't fish Swim Baits that much, doesn't mean they wouldn't have worked as well -  I just didn't throw one. 

 

Admittedly, I do not consider myself in the class of many of the fine anglers and authors who are also BR members here. I do believe that if I'm able to put myself around the right fish enough times, sometimes I can catch a few.

So can you.

 

A-Jay

 

You're just humble; myself, and I am sure others on here as well, would consider you an excellent stick.

Your post raises some questions in me, and I don't have time to gather my thoughts; taking my family to a super late model dirt race in a few hours.  

 

Good discussion going everyone, and I hope it stays civil and educational.

[RoLo]

Earlier in this thread, I said that Where, When & How are all key players, that no single element can stand alone,

because success depends on the whole ball-of-wax. On the other hand, I never suggested that equal time

should be devoted to each component    

 

‘Location’ is a comprehensive science that begins with Waterbody Selection and ends with Cast Placement

(geographic location to bass lair). The lion’s share of my time is spent on ‘location’, both at home and on the water.

Before fishing any new lake, I’ll always have a 'paper route' of trial sites that were meticulously pinpointed at home.

The original waypoints will be tweaked over the years, but the basic framework of the route usually remains

remarkably the same. It goes without saying, this isn't possible without a deep understanding of location,

which makes a compelling case for learning as much about ‘location’ as you can (depth ranges, bottom contour, cover types ~ ~). 

 

Roger

[WRB]

If CA never had FLMB transplanted into our lakes back in the early 70's (1959 was the first in San Diego lakes) swimbaits may have never been developed. FLMB in Florida waters were genetically wired to eat golden shiners, a large bait fish. Out in CA we didn't have any large bait fish the FLMB preferred, hatchery size rainbow trout filled that gap. The fact the FLMB were far more difficult to catch on the artificial lures we had back then, coupled with the fact our NLMB were easier to catch on lures, it took about a decade to develop trout like swimbaits.

We did learn how to catch the big FLMB on jigs and hand poured worms before swimbaits became well known. Matts bluegill swimbaits were introduced about 15 years after the first wooden and soft plastic trout swimmer and the bluegill have become very popular across the country. Bruce at Basstrix introduced the hollowbody swimbaits and this type of swimmer has a broad appeal to all types of bass.

Keep in mind that NLMB are not wired to eat 8"+ long baitfish, yes a 10 lb+ NLMB can and that size are rare bass in most lakes. If your lake has NLMB than 5" to 6" swimbaits are good choices for targeting 7 lb+ bass.

The NLMB reacts to lures easier than FLMB that seem to prefer more natural lures. Bass are bass, but FLMB are different from NLMB, try to keep that in mind when using swimbaits. Select a swimmer that represents that baitfish the bass are looking for, size and shape is important.

Tom

[Basseditor]

Good info to digest. I guess I'm a cross between Barney and big bass addict. I've been fishing small tournaments for 30+ years and I have had trouble with the get a limit first mentality.

In many events I got big bass of the tournament because I use big bass baits. But I don't limit out all the time, sad but true. In many tournaments a limit will get you a check but I prefer to go after big fish and end up zero or hero.

I need to use swim baits more. I catch a lot of decent bass on Senkos and flukes, but all of my biggest largemouth have come on two baits: 10" PowerWorms and Strike King 6 XDs. (Off topic a little, I've caught hundreds of smallmouth between 5-8 pounds, 99% on sixteenth ounce Gitzits on 6-pound line.) Now that I live in Texas, I use mostly 20 or 25-pound line because I'm always hopeful for that next giant bass.

My question in all this discussion is what does water clarity do to catching swim bait fish? It seems that the clearer lakes have better reputations as swim bait lakes?

[Catch and Grease]

I'm interested in water claritys affect on swimbaits too, it seems like lots of people would be throwing them in everything but you only seem them really popular on clear water lakes.

I fish lakes with 1-3ft visibility and fish have no problem finding finesse soft plastics so I seriously doubt they would have any trouble finding a big ole swimbait cruising along... Especially one with those big ole thumping paddle tails!

EDIT: Maybe it has something to do with the fact they were developed in the west on clear lakes

[WRB]

It's been my experience that lakes with good water clarity are also good at night . Keep in mind the bass do not have a problem finding prey that are trying to hide from them in the water the bass live in. I think we as anglers over think and don't know how bass see our lures. If you use a swimbait in off color water then select colors that contrast darker with lighter, the bass will find it if you tie it on and use it.

Tom