When you’re fighting a bass. Can you estimate the size by the fight?

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m wrong all the time!  I’ll be chanting to myself, “oh a big one!”   Then an average fish is netted.   Or (better) the opposite. I’ll be casually fighting until I catch a glimpse, “wow - a big fish!”.   I love the time I catch that glimpse. 
 

so much fun. At every level. Even the glimpse is fun. 

[volzfan59]

I can't judge it either. To me, sometimes it seems like the smaller bass hit harder initially. The big boys and girls seem to "bulldog" a lot harder. 

[E-rude dude]

I caught the biggest 2lber ever known to man on a magnum square bull. He must have swiped at it or changed his mind but got to close. Hooked him right in the tail meat.?

[blckshirt98]

I can get some sense of weight by the fight but there are always some small but thick muscular fish that feel like they're going to be picture worthy only to be disappointed once you hold it in your hand.

 

On a side note foul hooked fish feel 3x heavier than they actually are, hate it when you think you have a donkey on only to find it hooked all funky.

 

 

[Bankc]

I can usually identify the species before I see them, and with that, I'll have an idea of the size, based on what I typically catch in that lake.  But even that's not real accurate.  

[WRB]

Every bass is different, some go ballistic other seem to be confused with everything in between. The thought big are lazy usually comes from anglers who never caught one.

When a bass over 2’ long jumps a body length out of the water it isn’t lazy, it’s heart stopping.

Tom

[galyonj]

I can't really remember any largemouth that went ballistic when I hooked them, to borrow a phrase from @WRB. Plenty of other species, though, especially lately. The other day I caught a skipjack that @TnRiver46 and I eyeballed at maybe two pounds. That fish had my rod dang near doubled over and was doing its level best to pull me out of the boat and whoop me.

 

Contrast that with a largemouth that I caught earlier in the year weighing 4lbs (okay, okay, 3lbs 15oz). Water temp was pretty close, but the fish bit a jerkbait and then just flopped over and let me pull it straight in. Same exact rod as the skipjack story.

 

Maybe the largemouth in Fort Loudoun are just lazy.

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, galyonj said:

I can't really remember any largemouth that went ballistic when I hooked them, to borrow a phrase from @WRB. Plenty of other species, though, especially lately. The other day I caught a skipjack that @TnRiver46 and I eyeballed at maybe two pounds. That fish had my rod dang near doubled over and was doing its level best to pull me out of the boat and whoop me.

 

Contrast that with a largemouth that I caught earlier in the year weighing 4lbs (okay, okay, 3lbs 15oz). Water temp was pretty close, but the fish bit a jerkbait and then just flopped over and let me pull it straight in. Same exact rod as the skipjack story.

 

Maybe the largemouth in Fort Loudoun are just lazy.

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All individuals are different and that particular skipjack was beyond ornery! 

[galyonj]

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

All individuals are different and that particular skipjack was beyond ornery

 

For sure. The largemouth I've caught are lazy. Maybe they just feel sorry for me. I muse when I'm fishing (and not catching) about how they're under me staring at the lure and arguing about whose turn it is to take one for the team and give me a pity bite. lol

 

And I don't blame that skippy at all. If I bit down on a quarter-pounder and got a mouthful of treble hook, I'd wanna whoop somebody, too.

[the reel ess]

Big ones are always 1-2 less than I think they're going to be.

[Jaderose]

All I know is the day I hooked a 13 lb catfish on a Senko and fought it for a minute or so on pretty light tackle without seeing it was one of the most exciting days of my life.  Until I got my first glimpse of the fish...lol.

[lo n slo]

i’ve caught bass on one lake that fought differently than bass on another lake 30 minutes away. and a 2 lb spot can feel like you’re trying to reel in a 5 gallon bucket of water.

[king fisher]

What a bass weighs when I put it on a scale is how big it is regardless of the fight.  When a bass fights hard and gets away it is always the biggest bass in the lake.

[RDB]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

When a bass over 2’ long jumps a body length out of the water it isn’t lazy, it’s heart stopping.

Tom

Agree...though you have more experience with 2’ long bass than I.

 

Although not foolproof, I can usually tell if it’s a big bass by the head shakes.

[Biglittle8]

My experience has been that a lot times, the larger fish will go to the bottom when first hooked. 

[gim]

River smallmouth fight harder than other bass I regularly catch.  Seems like even a 12 incher feels more like a real big one until you see it.  They must be a lot stronger than their lake cousins.

[OCdockskipper]

Often yes, but there are always a few that fool you.  Time of the year and what lure you are using can make a difference.  When you foul hook one, all bets are off.

 

Earlier this year, I foul hooked a 12 lb. carp in the tail while using a Ned rig on 8lb line.  It was one of the few times I have ever felt the need to backreel.  That fish dragged my little boat all over the lake for about 20 minutes.  It was near impossible to land him (no net, couldn't get his head turned around).

[Scott F]

After fishing pre-spawn smallmouth on a lake, and then going to the river, I always get surprised by the river fish and how much harder the river smallies fight. The 13 inchers fight as hard as the 17-18 inch lake fish fight. 

[Catt]

Depends on the body of water!

 

In our shallow water marshes the max depth is 2-2 1/2' deep, the bass can only run. Toledo Bend in 15-25' of water they can dive & run. A 2# bass on the bottom in 20' will go ballistic because you want to bring him to the surface & he wants to be on the bottom.

 

My clue that it's a Hawg is when I set hook & they set hook back!

[J Francho]

It's always a surprise until I get them on the scale. I've had little guys put on a show. My PB fought less than a waterlogged boot. 

[soflabasser]

Most of the 8 pound or bigger Florida largemouth bass I caught gave a decent fight for their size but nothing compared to an equal sized saltwater fish which are far more powerful. Bigger bass fight harder than smaller bass but any size bass is capable of jumping out of the water.

[WRB]

The 19.3 lb bass was a jig fish at the end of a 40 yard cast. I reeled the line tight when it didn’t hit bottom as it should have. After hook setting the bass ran up to the surface and jumped completely out of the water from about 18’ of water where it was hooked. No deep fight this bass ended up running under the boat and jumped again about 50’ away. This was a strong fast bass with only a jig hook in it’s mouth.. 

The 18.6 lb bass was similar and jumped after the hook set but didn’t run instead bull dogged deep only to come back up near the boat with a surface head shake before hand landing it.

Nothing lazy about the giant bass I have caught, all strong hard fighting bass.

Night big bass are even more exiting, something night makes them exited around the boat and unpredictable.

Bass are strong fighters but wear down quickly. Salt water fish have more stamina and can fight a long time.

Tom

PS, All I know the bass are big and 1st thoughts is this could be “the” bass, slow down and fight this fish.

[N Florida Mike]

when I set the hook on a larger bass, They nearly always try to jump. I try real hard to not let em by lowering the rod . So I initially cant tell if it’s REAL big, but I have a general idea. I caught a 7 pounder once that felt like reeling in a deflated basketball. It didnt fight at all. I think it was too full with all the shiners and bream it had ate to fight.

I caught an 8 pounder once that I thought was a 4 pounder until I lifted it out of the water. Ive also caught 4-5 pounders that I thought were much bigger. I dont know if fish have some degree of personality but it sure seems that way sometimes...

[jbsoonerfan]

Ike would be TERRIBLE at answering this question. Every fish he catches is a GIANT!

[Deleted account]

Not really. I can tell if it's small, medium, or large in general terms, but I'm often surprised both ways. Sometimes on the hookset you can tell, cause nothing moves on the other end, until it does.