What adjustments do you make to catch bigger Bass?

[scaleface]

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

The giant bass in any population are so rare you waste time trying to determine their specific location.

 

Now I'm on the same page as you .  

[j19]

50 minutes ago, WRB said:

If there is lots of small bass actively feeding it's because they feel safe to do it. 

Big bass locate at the best feeding zones.

 

23 minutes ago, WRB said:

The giant bass in any population are so rare you waste time trying to determine their specific location.

 

These are both good statements. At some point I plan to start entering local tournaments, I can fill my limit pretty quickly but struggle to increase the weight. 

 

Here's a question, let's say you are targeting shallow docks but catching small bass. Do you stick with the pattern and keep looking for 'better' docks or would you stay in the same area and target deeper structure nearby?

 

 

[A-Jay]

57 minutes ago, RichF said:

Throw a big jig....all day.

 X2 ~

And throw it like you're Trying to lose it.

A-Jay

[crypt]

slow down, sometimes a bigger bait will help, throw in  heavier, deeper cover. like some others have said throw into places you would never think of throwing into. also patience will,

help bigger bass didn't get to be big buy biting at everything that comes by.

[clh121787]

Slow down. You bait , your boat your movements , be quiet as you can 

[WRB]

To catch big bass you need to fish for them. The only times I fish shallow water is during the spawn and at night. Big bass like easy access to deeper water so they can escape safely and sneak up on prey effectively. The likelihood that I would be targeting a shallow water dock is remote unless there is a sanctuary escape route close by. Let's say this hypothetical dock in located in a wind protected cove and the entire cove bottom is flat and only a few feet deep. The chances of a big bass being back under that dock are low. Let's move that same dock around out of the cove and on a point with deeper water on one or both sides, now the chances of a big bass using the dock are a lot better. Now let's move that dock 200 yards from the bank and anchor down on the 4' deep hump surrounded by deep water, the probalilty of several big bass being under that dock are very good.

where would you fish?

Tom

[gim]

21 hours ago, j19 said:

Lately I have been catching a lot of fish but for the most part they have been relatively small. When you find a pattern that is producing lots of small ones, what adjustments do you make (if any) to try and find the bigger Bass?

 

I have had this issue for periods this season too including last Friday.  I caught probably 30 bass in about 4 hours and I swear that 25 of them were the same size (12-14 inches, about 1-2 pounds).  I moved a little deeper and that seemed to help a little bit as I started catching bigger fish.  Seems like the most common responses to this thread are to 1) move deeper, and 2) upsize the lure/bait.

[j19]

I went out for an hour tonight and after spending the first half hour screwing around in the shallows with a buzzbait (caught one small one) I decided to get more serious. I went to the thickest pondweed I knew of in about 8ft of water and spent the rest of my time picking it apart. I lost one and caught 3, the first 2 were smaller but the last one was a 4lber.

 

I made a couple minor adjustments based on all the comments. First, I went with a bigger trailer than I normally do on my jig (caught one and missed one on this setup). Secondly, I spent more time picking this area apart than I typically would have and caught the 4lber. I circled the spot twice hitting it from all angles and at the end of the second time around is when I landed the big one on my go-to Texas Rig setup with a creature bait.

 

 

 

 

[d-camarena]

The first adjustment i make is leave the ned rigs at home...

 

Just kidding! Or am i?

[BassB8Caster]

I have a tough time fishing deep (or atleast having success deep). I like to target bigger fish. I fish smaller ponds out of a kayak without any electronics. I tend to target the thick stuff with texas rigged plastics and do pretty well. I catch 3-4lbers often. I have yet to land a 5+lber. i have lost a few of them. Havent really been able to target them, just hooked them in semi random spots. The biggest fish i lost from a shook hook was in a pond that rose about 2 feet over night. i targeted submerged bushes with a frog. Two other 5+ fish i lost were just outside vegetation late in the day as it was starting to get dark. They were probably up roaming looking for food. The one big fish i lost this year was on a swimbait on the edge of a hump just outside a dropoff. I was targeting this hump specifically for bigger fish. So really, this is the only time i hooked up with a bigger fish in a spot i was targeting with a technique for bigger fish (5.8 keitech). Of course the others i lost in or outside of vegetation could be argued that those were targeted areas as well. To that i would say no because it was not the thickest gnarliest areas that probably had the even bigger fish. 

 

So my weak point is success deep. I try to fish the drop offs or adjacent areas (to the best of my knowledge with water body survey maps from the 60's as my only depth finder). After reading some excellent replies here, my goal is to target the thickest spots. Make a goal to try to lose baits, etc. And fish jigs more this summer. I have not given them a fair try. I give up on them too easy. I know they are big fish baits, so i need to use them in the right areas. So location is #1, timing #2, and bait size #3. And of course, a bunch of luck. 

[WRB]

Thick vegetation isn't good unless there easy access for big bass to swim under or through tunnels in the weeds. There are good weeds and junk weeds. If you are a pond angler study aquatic plant types. Pond bass tend to be more shore oriented because the prey source is located there.

Tom

[Willerman]

I usually find a different spot if I am just catching a bunch of dinks. Last night was different. Kept getting a bunch of pecks from those pesky 8 inchers on a 5" senko, but buddy didn't want to give up on the spot quite yet so we stayed. I kept tossing the senko in that same spot and was surprisingly rewarded with a 4.5lber. Typically the big mamas don't hang around with the little ones, but not always...