"Good" LMBass Fishing Days by Region Survey

[ericwont]

Hey guys.

So in my time of just lurking around, although it's quite obvious, people have drastically different ideas of what constitutes a "good" day out on the water. However, I'm curious if this is more based on skill or where people are from, so I kind of want to survey BR (since skill levels obviously fluctuate) to see if this is true or just my imagination.

For example, people from the southern United States talk about days catching 100+ bass, while that's positively unheard of for around me. My number is six bass, which might sound pathetic to some, but for the northeastern US, some people get skunked more often then not.

So my question is: what's the minimum number of bass that you need to land in a day for you to consider it a successful fishing trip? 

I know weight is a totally different factor, and I know it varies depending on the body being fished, but just try to generalize and come up with a number.

Thanks guys!

[MassYak85]

I don't have a specific number, it's more of combination of quantity and size. I'd say any outing I get 3 or more 2+ pounders, or any outing I catch more than 10 less than 2 is a pretty good outings. But it also depends what I am doing. If I am fishing swimbaits then I might be satisfied with one fish. 

I guess my satisfaction comes more from finding a pattern that works for that day. Chancing upon one large fish and then getting none the rest of the day isn't always rewarding to me. Neither is slaying complete dinks on a ned rig and getting 30 fish sometimes. It just depends on my goals for the day. Conditions also play into it. Fishing right after ice out I might be happy with one or two fish. 

[Wayne P.]

Poor <10

Successful 25

Good 50 

Excellent 75+

 

[ericwont]

50 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

I don't have a specific number, it's more of combination of quantity and size. I'd say any outing I get 3 or more 2+ pounders, or any outing I catch more than 10 less than 2 is a pretty good outings. But it also depends what I am doing. If I am fishing swimbaits then I might be satisfied with one fish. 

I guess my satisfaction comes more from finding a pattern that works for that day. Chancing upon one large fish and then getting none the rest of the day isn't always rewarding to me. Neither is slaying complete dinks on a ned rig and getting 30 fish sometimes. It just depends on my goals for the day. Conditions also play into it. Fishing right after ice out I might be happy with one or two fish. 

Interesting response. I do see where you're coming from with the combination of size and number.

I rarely catch anything under a pound and a half around me, but as I said, around five or six and I'm thrilled.

But as you can see in the post below yours, the premise of catching over 75 bass is a possibility. For me it basically isn't.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, ericwont said:

So my question is: what's the minimum number of bass that you need to land in a day for you to consider it a successful fishing trip? 

One.

But The Right One.

A-Jay

[slonezp]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

One.

But The Right One.

A-Jay

There's a word for people like you....

[A-Jay]

Just now, slonezp said:

There's a word for people like you....

There certainly is ~

A-Jay

[soflabasser]

All fishing trips are good trips.Better than staying at home.

[ww2farmer]

Depends on how much time I have to fish.

In the typical  2-3 hours after work, I consider anything less than 3 decent (mid 2lb and up fish) a poor night.........unless they are all hogs. Between 5-10 decent fish in those 2-3 hours is an average night, over 10 a good night, and then there are the nights where I have caught them nonstop, but those nights are only once or twice every couple weeks.

On a day when I fish longer, I catch more.

[jtipton91]

Here in south central kansas I like 10 or so over 2 pounds. Thats a fantastic day for me. All varies accordingly with the body of water I'm on, time of day and season, along with how long I'm on the water. But like I said, 10 or so is fantastic for me.

[riverbasser]

I count all days on the water good, anything over 5 fish is a good day unless there all under limit but I love fishing almost as much as I love catching

[OCdockskipper]

I would suggest that it is more lake dependent than region dependent.  While nearby bodies of water may share some characteristics, it isn't unusual to have a good lake & poor lake within 20 miles of each other.

That said, for my home lake, under 20 fish is a slower day and over 40 is a good day.  During our six weeks of winter, cut those numbers in half.  In comparison, when I was younger & fished a different lake almost exclusively, under 3 fish was a slow day and over 8 was a good day.  Experience and better gear & techniques makeup part of that difference, but the body of water I think is the biggest variable.

[WRB]

Not a numbers anglers unless tournament fishing, then 5 bass over 3 lbs  is OK, 5 over 5 lbs and I am getting a check. I have fished several days without a strike when trophy bass fishing without being disappointed because of the challenge and knowing the reward of catching big bass could happen the next cast.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

I'd prefer to catch a handful of larger fish, but most of our lakes in NE Kansas just don't have many bigger fish. If I'm on a lake with mostly numbers of fish, I start to feel like I've done alright when I get around 50 fish in the boat. If I'm on a big fish lake, all I need is a couple good ones and I'm happy. Most of the lakes I go to for big fish I'm having a good day if I have a couple dozen in the boat.

If I'm after smallies it's not unusual to near or surpass 100 fish on a good day. 

[davecon]

As stated above, any day on the water is a good day . That being said, anything less than 15 is a slow day. Usually have two or three days per year with between 50 and 75/100.

I only fish for bass December through April, then it's snook and juvi tarpon which is very tide dependent so it's kind of a crap shoot.

[Bankbeater]

I fish some very pressured water.  If I don't get skunked I consider myself lucky.

[Catt]

I totally agree that depends on the body of water.

Toledo Bend: after 45 yrs my minimum daily average is 15 bass per day & a 3 lb average, that's considered a slow day. I fully expect a kicker in the 7-9 lb range daily.

Lacassine Wildlife Refuge: extremely difficult to fish, the average angler boats 0-5 fish a day. This year my daily average has been 10-12 with a 3-4 lb kicker

Sabine River: good for numbers with not much size; my average is 15-20 daily with 2 1/2-3 lb kicker.

["hamma"]

     Before I answer, its a good day, any day, I get to fish. Sometimes its a daunting task, just making it to a lake, that has a open spot for the truck/trailer to park in. Having everything fall into place and actually getting to float the boat and pick up a rod to make that first cast.

The body of water chosen, conditions, and chosen tactics are what determines success for me

meaning,,, If im fishing a smallie lake on a day the conditions are good id expect, 50 or over,..100 fish days happen here too but that also depends,..... a tough conditions day?,... over 10,. just because smallies are fiesty.

A small largemouth pond with good conditions, 10+,... tough conditions? 5 or more.

I usually expect myself to exceed a limit no matter what, after all the years of fishing ive done I should at least get a limit of fish that exceed that states size requirement. Do I always pass  this "test"? No, but its a very rare occasion that I get skunked anymore. Now that im thinking of it,..I cant remember my last skunking

[Turtle135]

Most of the bodies of water I fish get heavy fishing pressure. If I happen to catch 5 or 6 in that 14" - 16" size range I will generally upsize my presentation and change location/pattern to target a larger bass in the 20" plus range rather than continue to pound those average sized fish. I would rather not "educate" another 20 bass and will save those fish for another day.

So 3-4 average sized bass and 1-2 big fish would be a good day.

 

 

[the reel ess]

I went Saturday. It was hot and very humid with full sun when i got there. I managed a couple bites, 1 fish. Then intermittent clods started rolling over. I could get a topwater bite on a Spook, Jr when cloudy but they didn't seem fully committed to it. Probably that was due to the light level. I ended up with 4 fish out of 9 bites. One of the ones I lost was probably 4 lbs. It was well-hooked, but got itself wrapped around a tree limb and got off before I could get to it. That was the dividing line. Had I caught that one, the day would have been a success. Having lost it, it was a bit of a disappointing day.

Now, if I go out and fish 3 hours and the only fish I catch is over 5 lbs, that's a good day because I admit I target the larger fish sometimes. If I can catch 5 fish on topwater, that's also a good day. Or maybe 10 dinks would qualify as well because at least it kept me busy and the bite is generally slower where I fish and fish don't seem to school as much as they are solitary creatures. It's a smaller body of water that can be completely fished in 3 hours from a kayak. 

 

[bigbassin']

So I'm hoping some Florida guys chime in and say 50+ days aren't that common out here because y'all are making me question my fish catching abilities... I consider 30 fish great, but am more than happy with just 5 coming out to over 15 pounds combined.

[BassMaster17]

The good size bass bite here in MI. has been terrible for me recently, so i would say any fish over 2 lb would be a success to the trip, currently that is. as for numbers im getting a little sick of catching 50 half lbers every trip, so that's why their not counting towards a successful trip for me.

[Gundog]

Eric I know what you are talking about. In the Northeastern part of the US we are not blessed with the big bass that the south has. In my local lake I will take any bass I can get. Unfortunately most will be 1lb or less but anything bigger than that is a bonus. I focus on techniques and what catches more fish during the conditions. 5-6 bass in the middle of summer is a good day. But I've fished lakes where catching one bass was a hugh feat and (I feel) worthy of a trophy. 

[Derekbass02]

Anywhere from 2-3 fish and up can be a good day if I get one nice fish. 1 fish would be fine with me if it was around my PB size. If I don't catch any size I need 5-7 or more for it to be a good day.

[RichF]

If I don't catch over 20 a day up in Northern NY it's not that great.  That's 20 legal sized bass of 12 inches or larger as I don't count anything under that.  I also spend 99% of my time throwing big jigs, frogs, and bladed jigs which always get me the biggest bites.  I tend to fish every day like it's a tournament, looking for at least a 15lb sack of largemouth or 18-20lb sack of smallmouth since those weights will put you in the top 3 on most of the bodies I fish.