Why am I only catching Dinks in South Florida

[SFL BassHunter]

On ‎5‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 4:53 PM, BCline said:

We have about 6 different locations that we rotate through so I am fishing the same water now that I was earlier this year with the same tackle and techniques.  I have found that as the temperature rises the bass seem to want a faster retrieve.  I will remove the slip weight and see what happens.

 

My personal best at 7-4 was caught on a 4" Senko.

 

Nothing wrong with a 4" Senko. It will catch you all size fish. It sounds like your competition it doesn't matter what size they are though. So the 4" Senko will help you in the numbers game.

What a bigger bait will do is weed out some of the smaller fish. Doesn't mean you won't catch dinks, you'll just catch less dinks. The bigger your bait the less dinks you'll catch.

Another thing is small bass are sometimes more aggressive than the bigger ones, they move faster. So if you have an area with a small bass vs a bigger bass the small one might just get to that bait first and won't give the bigger bass the chance to eat it. Also smaller bass can be enticed easier than a bigger bass. If you throw a bigger bait, that small bass might ignore the bait giving the bigger bass a chance to become enticed, get to it and eat it.

But like Geo G said, the 4" senko will catch all size fish if you put it on a big bass nose, it won't be able to resist.

 

If I look back at my bigger fish catches these are the baits I used:

Hollow Body Frog

1/2oz Jig

10" Ol Monster Ribbontail Worm

Spinnerbait with big blades

Gambler Big Ez

[BCline]

Basshunter,

 

I agree completely.  I threw a 6" Senko for an hour today in a lake where I normal catch a bass every 15 minutes and did not get a bite.  I will go back to a 4" Senko tomorrow and see what happens.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

WTG BCline on your PB!! Stick baits should get you some quality bites. You should consider throwing soft plastic frogs (horny toads) at sunrise/sunset. Monster bass love them!! Just be sure to wait a couple seconds after the initial strike to set the hook.

Just curious, what city did you catch that snake head in? Wondering if there spreading..

[BCline]

I have caught 6 or 7 snakeheads this year all in the Deerfield Beach area.  The one pictured on this thread was the largest.  I always kill the ones I land, but I see them all the time.

[Wurming67]

I think some fishermen have a problem with not catching  the big numbers that's why they stick to the baits they know will produce the numbers with occasional decent size fish opposed to fishing baits that target the much larger fish but not as many bites.Depemds what you after numbers or size? Personally I would rather catch one 5 lber per trip vs 50 1/2 lbers.Nothing like the fight of a big bass and the challenge .

[BCline]

Wurming,

 

I enjoy catching fish both large and small.  The original observation was that using the same tackle and techniques in the same water produced a much higher percentage of big fish in the first quarter than they do now.  Which sparked the questions:  Where do the bigger fish in South Florida go when the temperatures start rising?  Do you have to fish differently to catch them?  Have other anglers seen the same thing?

[SFL BassHunter]

7 hours ago, BCline said:

Wurming,

 

I enjoy catching fish both large and small.  The original observation was that using the same tackle and techniques in the same water produced a much higher percentage of big fish in the first quarter than they do now.  Which sparked the questions:  Where do the bigger fish in South Florida go when the temperatures start rising?  Do you have to fish differently to catch them?  Have other anglers seen the same thing?

 

I think they go deeper. Or if they can find some really thick cover they will go hide in that.

 

In the summer down here you'll have your best chance at a bigger fish early in the morning or late in the afternoon. OR at night if you have the luxury of fishing at night.

 

The fish I have on my profile pic was caught around noon or 1pm. Fish was deep in the middle of the canal as I worked a frog from one side over to the middle, this fish slowly crept up from the depth and stalked the frog for a moment before it gulped it up and dove. That was a near 5lber on the scale.

Another one about the same size hit a jig on that same canal it was shallow hiding in a pad field.

[Wurming67]

Iam no pro.by any means but from my experience of catching bigger fish has been using big bass lures not as many bites it will test your patience but you might be rewarded ,I have caught big fish in shallow water but the majority of big fish I have caught has been in deeper water hope that helps.

[BCline]

We finally got a break in the rain and I was able to fish for an hour during lunch today.  I was rewarded with a really fat 2-11 large mouth.  Apparently the secret to catching bigger fish in South Florida during the summer is whine about catching little guys on a public forum.  Since starting this thread I have landed 5 fish between 2 - 4 pounds.  Many thanks to everyone who contributed. 

[BCline]

Forgot to add the picture

[Backlash123]

Great catch!  As the water levels rise, fish will definitely scatter out of the canals.  As far as numbers, a Senko style bait is tough to beat, a Zoom Trick worm is another go to bait when the bite is tough.  I've most consistently caught my bigger fish flipping a creature bait.  I use Bruiser Baits Crazy Craw with a 1/2 oz Flat Out Tungsten 90% of the times in the canals and have caught many in the 4-5lb range (as of lately, almost 1 every trip).  Good luck out there.