Bigger Bass in Missouri

[colefarrow_]

Anyone know good baits for big bass in MO, been fishing for a while and biggest one was just shy of 4lbs. Any tips will help. Thanks!

[roadwarrior]

Baits/ lures are not as important as location. There are big bass

in Table Rock, Bull Shoals and LOZ. I am particularly fond of Bull

Shoals in mid spring, late May into early June. My best trips are

targeting smallmouth with jerkbaits and Gitzit (baby diaper yellow).

[Jaderose]

Where you at?  I'm in NOWEMO and my PB is a little over 9.

[scaleface]

 The same lures that work everywhere else .

[Jaderose]

To OP..are you talking Lake Kincaid Illinois?  You might try staying in MO if possible.  Mo's DNR is way better funded than Illinois.  Lake Kincaid might simply be depleted.  Ex Illinoisan here.  MO offers WAY better fishing across the board than Illinois does.  It's a shame as I love my home state.  Especially that part of it.  I grew up in Southern Illinois and went to school in Carbondale.  I think.....I don't remember much of it

[roadwarrior]

47 minutes ago, scaleface said:

 The same lures that work everywhere else .

Well, actually the baby diaper yellow is not particularly effective on

Tennessee River reservoirs. The clear waters in Missouri vs our

stained water may make a difference. At Guntersville, Pickwick

and Kentucky Lake the BPS Tender Tube #71 is the ticket.

 

I think Missouri clear waters also make jerkbaits more appealing

there than here.  Although I fish these lures on Tennessee River

lakes, square bills, Bandits and RES are more productive.

[Fishes in trees]

You're in Jackson, MO?   Cape Girardeau County?  You ain't that far from Kentucky Lake?In the other direction you ain't that far from Bull Shoals.   A little bit farther and there is LOZ & Truman and some others I'm sure I missing.   I'm pretty certain that if I were to pull out my Missouri Department of Conservation Atlas there would be some conservation department lakes ( 50 to 300 or so acres) within easy driving distance of your house.

Next, consider that in Missouri, a 4 pound fish is a decent fish.   In any given year, I may catch half a dozen to maybe a dozen in that size.  One that size every time I go out isn't a guarantee.  My whole life of fishing in Missouri, I think I've caught maybe 7 or 8 fish over 7 lbs (only of those I weighed )   I just figure that any fish around 23" or better is around the 7 lb mark.

Last fall at Truman, practicing for the Leavenworth Bass Club's Fishing for Freedom event, I caught a fat largemouth that was about 22 1/2 inches long.  (measurements can be imprecise bouncing around in a bass boat.)  Anyway, I guesstimated that fish to be in the 7 lb range.  

 

My opinion is that in Missouri, while there are fish bigger than 7 lbs swimming in the waters somewhere, a fish bigger than 7 or so is a lifetime achievement.

 

This year I caught 4 fish over 22", 3 of them were kinda skinny - IMO 6 lbs would have been a stretch for them.   One was pretty fat with thick shoulders and a large belly.   The healthy fat fish hit a single spin Coorado blade spinner bait early last year.   The other 3 fish hit a 10 " Power worm - Blue Fleck - 17 lb Abrazx with a 5/16 tungsten.   I was pitching the bait into deeper trees and letting in sink down amongst the limbs.   All the hits came 5 to 6 feet down in 15 or so feet of water.

 

Back to your original post, I don't think a 4 lb fish is terrible, just think that you need to fish more, fish where bigger fish are known to exist.  If you got to go east from home, I think that Kentucky Lake is a much better option than Kincaid Lake, even if it might be a slightly farther drive.

 

 

[colefarrow_]

2 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

You're in Jackson, MO?   Cape Girardeau County?  You ain't that far from Kentucky Lake?In the other direction you ain't that far from Bull Shoals.   A little bit farther and there is LOZ & Truman and some others I'm sure I missing.   I'm pretty certain that if I were to pull out my Missouri Department of Conservation Atlas there would be some conservation department lakes ( 50 to 300 or so acres) within easy driving distance of your house.

Next, consider that in Missouri, a 4 pound fish is a decent fish.   In any given year, I may catch half a dozen to maybe a dozen in that size.  One that size every time I go out isn't a guarantee.  My whole life of fishing in Missouri, I think I've caught maybe 7 or 8 fish over 7 lbs (only of those I weighed )   I just figure that any fish around 23" or better is around the 7 lb mark.

Last fall at Truman, practicing for the Leavenworth Bass Club's Fishing for Freedom event, I caught a fat largemouth that was about 22 1/2 inches long.  (measurements can be imprecise bouncing around in a bass boat.)  Anyway, I guesstimated that fish to be in the 7 lb range.  

 

My opinion is that in Missouri, while there are fish bigger than 7 lbs swimming in the waters somewhere, a fish bigger than 7 or so is a lifetime achievement.

 

This year I caught 4 fish over 22", 3 of them were kinda skinny - IMO 6 lbs would have been a stretch for them.   One was pretty fat with thick shoulders and a large belly.   The healthy fat fish hit a single spin Coorado blade spinner bait early last year.   The other 3 fish hit a 10 " Power worm - Blue Fleck - 17 lb Abrazx with a 5/16 tungsten.   I was pitching the bait into deeper trees and letting in sink down amongst the limbs.   All the hits came 5 to 6 feet down in 15 or so feet of water.

 

Back to your original post, I don't think a 4 lb fish is terrible, just think that you need to fish more, fish where bigger fish are known to exist.  If you got to go east from home, I think that Kentucky Lake is a much better option than Kincaid Lake, even if it might be a slightly farther drive.

 

 

Yes in Jackson, I like Kentucky lake a lot better too, it really is just the drive for me. Thanks for the comment and will try to fish Kentucky lake more when Spring Comes. 
~Cole

[scaleface]

Check this interactive map. Small conservation lakes have big bass .

 

https://mdcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=aa720aaaf06b49269b355b5a6e049d28

 

[PotatoLake]

On 11/18/2020 at 5:45 AM, scaleface said:

Check this interactive map. Small conservation lakes have big bass .

 

https://mdcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=aa720aaaf06b49269b355b5a6e049d28

 

I'm on the west side of the state, but we have small conservation areas that have been known to give up fish in the 7 lb class. They're obviously rare, but they're in there. Its uncanny, every year it seems like there's a picture on the fb group of kid grinning ear to ear holding a massive bass he caught with a worm and bobber, two feet from shore.

[Drew03cmc]

5 hours ago, PotatoLake said:

I'm on the west side of the state, but we have small conservation areas that have been known to give up fish in the 7 lb class. They're obviously rare, but they're in there. Its uncanny, every year it seems like there's a picture on the fb group of kid grinning ear to ear holding a massive bass he caught with a worm and bobber, two feet from shore.

I'm around KC and know of several local lakes under 500 acres that hold really big fish.