Getting past the dinks

[tylkrueg]

Went to a new lake with water clarity up to 15' deep and tons of submerged trees for cover and caught quite a few little dinks on jerkbaits and spooks. The water temp down here is between 65-70 degrees. The dinks we are catching are all under 2lbs and I am wanting to target fish over 5lbs. I know there are much bigger fish in this lake, but I am inexperienced in fishing water this clear. What are some lures that will work well in the clearer water, and allow me to target the larger fish in the lake? I always hear swimbaits are big bass baits, but haven't had much luck on them. Are there specific brands or styles of swimbaits you prefer? Any other baits you guys prefer for big bass? Any advice will help.

 

Thanks

[jr231]

Try thumpin a jig around those sunken trees. 

 

In my experience..  you won't find the big mama next to a bunch of dinks.. but that doesn't mean there aren't nicer fish in the vicinity. 

[scaleface]

My  thinking is if you catch enough of them the big ones will come . I love those 70 fish days with a 6 lb kicker .

 But to answer your question I would seek out deeper fish .

[NHBull]

Fish the ledges and drop offs .  You may need to use a crank to motivate them

[CroakHunter]

Deep water. All of my 6+ pound bass (big bass for southern indiana) have came from deeper water. Wheter it be drop offs, road beds, brush piles, or an old tree line. Try a carolina rig, jig, big texas rigged worm, swinging rugby head, or magnum shakey head. I also like a big Willow blade spinnerbait with a 5 inch swimbait as a trailer.

[sully420]

Fish a jig

[geo g]

I have found the smaller fish are quicker to the bait then the bigger ones.  Sometimes Ill up the weight on my plastics to get it down through the water column before its hit by another dink.  Sometimes this works, and you'll pick up a bigger one deep and slow on the bottom.  This works along drop-offs and in 10 to 20 feet of water.  Usually bass hang out with bass of similar size.  Small bass with hawgs sometimes end up as lunch.

[RoLo]

I have caught runts and slobs in the same location a number of times, but not during the exact same time-slot.

It's as though an infiltration of large bass causes the middlings to pack up and leave, I can only speculate.

In any case, it's a popular natural phenomenon called 'Timing & Territory', which is nature's way

of giving different year-classes of bass a chance to share key foraging sites at different times (very common).

 

Roger

[scaleface]

2 minutes ago, RoLo said:

I have caught runts and slobs in the same location a number of times, but not during the exact same time-slot.

 

 

It happens to me a lot . My largest bass last year came out of a spot where I had already caught about thirty small fish . If the spot has potential I keep hammering away .

[RoLo]

22 minutes ago, scaleface said:

 

It happens to me a lot . My largest bass last year came out of a spot where I had already caught about thirty small fish . If the spot has potential I keep hammering away .

 

 

The first time I remember that happening to me was in Parry Sound, Lake Huron (~1970s).

I was anchored and catching garden-variety smallies on a 1/16oz ballhead jig and mister twister grub.

Then the action quit cold like someone pulled the plug. I spent another 5 or 10 min there

fishing the same lure...zilch. Then just as I was about to pull anchor, I hooked up with a football.

The next 5 bass were all over 3 pounds (the best was 4-1 and won the Clayton Contest).

Although that happened many times since, that was the first and most memorable time.

 

Roger

[papajoe222]

The same lures you've been using to catch dinks will likely work on the big gals too. What you most likely need to do is target the prime pieces of cover in the areas you've been fishing.  Big fish make claim to them and often times another quality fish will take up residence in a spot that you catch nice one from. What you may perceive as a small change in the size of the limbs or a one foot depression at a tree's base may be the 'best' cover in the area.

You'll find that big fish won't be as quick to chase down a bait as the dinks are, so you need to put your offering as close to those prime areas as possible.  Stair stepping a jig tight to the tree on the shady side has produced fish that regularly placed me in the top five on a lake where my local club held multiple tourneys each year.  With jigs and fish suspended in the trees, it's all about the fall rate. Don't be hesitant to go heavy. Often times a 1/2oz. jig with a compact trailer will trigger them when a 3/8oz. with a bulky trailer won't.

[tylkrueg]

Thank you all for y'alls insight on this. I appreciate y'all sharing your knowledge and experience with me. 

[Quarry Man]

Drop Shot, Carolia Rig, Vertical jig a Bald Bait, Spook, or Jerkbait. As long as the little guys aren't ruining your baits, they do no harm. Why catch nothing when you can catch a bunch.

[SFL BassHunter]

I like a 10 inch ol monster ribbontail with a big weight when I am trying to find bigger fish. Dragging along the bottom has caught me a few of my bigger fish. 1/2oz and 3/4oz jigs with a chunky trailer have also caught me a few bigger fish.

 

I am a big fan of dragging big baits to find bigger fish. Sure a 10 inch worm can still get some smaller fish to bite, but it will weed out a lot of dinks.

One of the hardest parts for me when fishing for bigger fish with bigger baits is you just won't get as many bites. So you have to have more patience and stay the course.