The Hawg Hunters

[Mobasser]

Each season around my area, someone will catch a huge bass. This usually happens in the spring, when big fish are moving shallow.Many times, it's a novice fisherman who does this. And, many times, this is the only big bass he catches all season, or, for many years.                       I've been reading about some anglers who have consistently caught huge fish, and earned a reputation for this.                                                            There's a consistent theme among these fisherman, and many seem to share these traits.                                                        1. They fish alone.                           2. They carry fewer baits. Theyve narrowed it down to a few which work best in the waters they fish.                                        3. There's little if any luck involved. Most have spent years studying everything about bass behavior.                                                   4. They tailor they're tackle to suit the baits they use, and the lakes they fish.                           5. Many fish at night, to avoid the crowds.                                     6. Many fish with teqniques that are unconventional, and choose these methods based on many years of experience.                               7. Targeting trophy bass is often a lonely pursuit.Many days, the biggest fish just don't cooperate.                                              These anglers are in a unique group. IMO, they've taken the sport to the next level. Although I can never speak for these trophy bass anglers, I think they might agree that catching huge bass is simply not easy. It really takes some study, and dedication to catch the biggest bass consistently.              For the novice bass fisherman here, expect to put in some time and study. It's not impossible, but can be very hard.                                                       I have a lot of respect for these fisherman. They're in a class of they're own among bass anglers. Its a fact, the biggest bass are a tough, worthy, opponent.  I've decided to take my own fishing to the next level, and try to fish for trophy bass. It's a new challenge, and if it happens, I too can join the ranks of the Hawg Hunters. I'm looking forward to it.

[roadwarrior]

I think the most important variable is where you fish. A more realistic goal is targeting the

biggest bass in a particular lake. If the biggest bass taken in your lake is 8 lbs, that would

be a great bass for you, so you probably don't need a giant swimbait.  

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

I think the most important variable is where you fish. A more realistic goal is targeting the

biggest bass in a particular lake. If the biggest bass taken in your lake is 8 lbs, that would

be a great bass for you, so you probably don't need a giant swimbait.  

The biggest ones in my lake are about 6 lbs haha. Every now and then you hear about a 7 but not much 

[Bird]

Wish you the best in your pursuit for giant Bass.

It's very similar to chasing big whitetail bucks as they move at night and hide in thick cover during the day.

The desire to breed and spawn is what gives us the edge...... sometimes.

 

 

[WRB]

There are several groups of bass anglers, the recreational fisherman who enjoy catching a few bass. The club fisherman who wants to be in the top 10 by consistently catching a limit of bass. The numbers angler who’s goal is to catch as many keeper size bass as possible. The “pro” tournament anglers who goal is earning money by consistently catches enough weight to be in the top 10 and hopefully win a few events.

The above makes up the vast majority of bass anglers.

Every bass anglers wants to catch a trophy or personal best bass and satisfied if that happens.

 Trophy bass anglers are driven and dedicated to catch the largest size bass where they fish. 

Site member Josh Alwine describes his pursuit of catching a giant bass in his book Lunker Lore. The late Bill Murphy describes his life long goal to catch ”Teeners” in his book In Pursuit of Giant Bass. 

For whatever reason I was always pursuing big bass. Big bass amazed me as a kid watching them and trying to catch them. 

A life time dedicated to catch giant bass met fishing during prime pre spawn seasons during all types of weather to increase odds. Sacrificing time off work to be on the water.

Looking back is all comes down to being at the place, right time with a presentation that fooled these very rare wary fish.

Good luck with your pursuit,

Tom

[DitchPanda]

I've caught a decent number of big bass over the years..well big for my area..6+ is big around here. The best advice I can give is fish when other people don't in places others don't think to fish. I've got a local pond that's county run that people think has no big fish...advantage for me as I rarely have competition for good spots. My PB of 8lbs 12oz came from this pond years ago with countless 6s, a handful of 7s and even another 8 over the years.

Most of my  big bass have come from cold water...April, May and October being prime months...and often in cold, windy and or rainy conditions. So if you have a small body of water that gets relatively low pressure from anglers hit it early and often during less than ideal conditions and see what happens.

As for baits I've caught big bass on a number of things...ned, wacky,lipless, chatterbait, buzzbait, frog. Hands down for me the 2 best producers of outsized fish over the years have been a spinner bait and a jig. 

[gim]

Great thread @Mobasser. This topic comes up every so often.

 

A lot of this is dependent on where each of us is. A 6 or 7 pound northern strain largemouth here is enormous. Whereas down south, not so much.

 

I muskie fish a fair amount and I have noticed that there is a correlation to the number of big bass I catch and when there is increased muskie activity. This occurred last season between August 7 and September 6 here.

 

In general, I think it’s important to generally try and fish when there’s less pressure and during inclement conditions. Bigger lures and fishing deeper also might help, but not always. A crap load of time on the water may be the biggest factor though. Simple math says that the more time you put in, the more likely it is to pay off.

[Catt]

Understand what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.

 

Understand what the predominate prey species in your lake and how that species relates to structure with each season...morning, noon, and night.

 

Understand that next after location is timing; just because you don't get bite does not mean the bass aren't there or you tied on the wrong lure.

 

Structure that I know hold larger than average bass I never graph, I simply fish it.

 

While prespawn/spawn is known for producing bigger bass, everybody & their brother is aware of this & it's the most pressured time of the year.

 

I do my Hawg hunting at night during the Dog Days of Summer because I have the entire lake to myself. I also do extremely will during the dead of winter again because I have the entire lake to myself.

[the reel ess]

5 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

I think the most important variable is where you fish. A more realistic goal is targeting the

biggest bass in a particular lake. If the biggest bass taken in your lake is 8 lbs, that would

be a great bass for you, so you probably don't need a giant swimbait.  

That is certainly step 1. You can catch a big fish on a Ned rig if they're there. My friend caught an 8+ trolling for crappie with jigs. I've caught many bass over 5 lb. and up to 8.02 lb. over the years in the same place. None were on giant baits. The PB was on a gold spinnerbait. My 2nd best fish there was on a Plopper.

 

But, of course, you can throw giant swimbaits at guppies for days without a bite.

[fin]

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

Simple math says that the more time you put in, the more likely it is to pay off.

 

The more time you put in at the right time is key there. Fishing more at the wrong times is not necessarily going to produce a fish. You have to be ready to put everything aside when conditions are right, and then putting in ridiculous hours will eventually pay off.

 

Fishing too much at the wrong time is actually a bad thing for your skills, mentally.

[TnRiver46]

8 minutes ago, fin said:

 

 

 

Fishing too much at the wrong time is actually a bad thing for your skills, mentally.

Fishing is never a bad thing for me 

[fin]

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

Fishing is never a bad thing for me 

 

Well yeah, me neither, I don't care if I don't catch anything. I'm just happy being there playing with my toys ?

 

But when you are not getting any results, sometimes you start thinking, "Hey, maybe this [technique, lure, etc.] doesn't work". That's kind of what I'm getting at. It can kind of wear you down, make you not as focused, etc.

[Bigassbass]

I have caught several DD bass and I've never thought it was a big deal, because I wasn't pursuing them I was fishing and I know how to catch fish.  For me fishing is way more than catching a big fish, and I believe luck is always involved.  Hope you enjoy the trip and good luck with that big fish. 

[gim]

1 hour ago, fin said:

It can kind of wear you down, make you not as focused, etc.

Definitely. I experience this a lot when I muskie fish. There’s such long periods of time in between fish so I often just robotically cast without any focus.

[A-Jay]

9 hours ago, Mobasser said:

  I've decided to take my own fishing to the next level, and try to fish for trophy bass. It's a new challenge, and if it happens, I too can join the ranks of the Hawg Hunters. I'm looking forward to it.

Very Cool ~ 

If you allow us, I'd be most interested in following your journey.

The twists, the turns, & any changes.

Any changes you decide to make in locations, techniques & even baits to support your efforts. 

Best of luck to you and I have to say,

I for one will not be surprised by your success.

Have Fun & Fish Hard

A-Jay

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

Very Cool ~ 

If you allow us, I'd be most interested in following your journey.

The twists, the turns, & any changes.

Any changes you decide to make in locations, techniques & even baits to support your efforts. 

Best of luck to you and I have to say,

I for one will not be surprised by your success.

Have Fun & Fish Hard

A-Jay

A-Jay, you can bet. I'll keep you posted.

[Koz]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

I do my Hawg hunting at night during the Dog Days of Summer because I have the entire lake to myself. 

 

This is my plan for the coming summer. I took my kayak out in the dead of night once last summer and frankly, it was a bit creepy out there on the big lake.

 

On the flip side, I don't have to worry about party pontoon boats and jet skiers. And without as much wind and all of the boat wakes  it means less jogging my kayak and should make it easier to pick apart certain areas.

 

I foresee more than a few nights when I'm out there at 2 or 3 am, then pull into my hotel dock around 7 or 8 am, change my clothes, and then go to work.

[Catt]

37 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

A-Jay, you can bet. I'll keep you posted.

 

Excuse me!

 

You better keep us all informed!

 

3 hours ago, fin said:

Fishing too much at the wrong time is actually a bad thing for your skills, mentally.

 

Until big momma bites it's all the wrong time.

 

[Catt]

@Mobasser Couple things to keep in mind.

 

Conditions & timing, both are something we do not control...the bass does!

 

We act like we know when conditions are right by looking at the environment we live in. The bass doesn't live in our environment.

 

Same with timing, even though we think we know, we have no idea when big momma wants eat.

 

How do we overcome this?

 

Time on the water!

 

Instead of trying figure out the right conditions or time, I simply go fishing everytime I can. I ain't saying I don't try to go when the conditions should be right. But I understand everytime I think I have them figured out they prove me I don't!

 

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, Bigassbass said:

I have caught several DD bass 

I’m not jealous at all. Nothing to see here 

[Aaron_H]

12 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I've been reading about some anglers who have consistently caught huge fish, and earned a reputation for this.

 

That's the dream right there. I'm still trying to figure them out, but that's the end goal.

 

Looking forward to seeing your success.

[CrashVector]

That's why I think it's funny when I see people with 15-20 rods on deck.

 

I typically fish with two rods, MAYBE three.  One pit boss, one modified Ned rig, and one lighter lb/test with either a big trd or a baby brush hog.

 

Never have problems catching the big 'uns.

 

To be honest though, I consider anything above 4lbs to be "big" because realistically, 5lbs is generally considered to be about the biggest most casual fisherman (weekend warrior pond fishermen) can expect.

[thediscochef]

4 hours ago, fin said:

Fishing too much at the wrong time is actually a bad thing for your skills, mentally.

This here, this is absolute truth. Feeling it very much at the moment, having to remind myself that it's not my fault, it's just *my* fault. 

 

Most of my larger fish come about 2-4 hours before or after light level change, I noticed when I started going out around 9 most summer mornings. I see it as four to eight hour windows centered around sunrise and sunset. I generally prefer sunset as the crowding is less at my favorite football spots. 

 

I consider myself more of a numbers guy, though I've noticed that timing, location, and presentation will affect catch size. I don't like to fish around others if I can avoid it, I'm not really interested in organized competition. I'm really just trying to catch bass as often as possible, and I do that best without distractions. I'd do it better with a boat.

[garroyo130]

22 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I've been reading about some anglers who have consistently caught huge fish, and earned a reputation for this.

 

What would be considered consistent for trophy fish? 3 teeners a year for a couple of years? 

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

 

What would be considered consistent for trophy fish? 3 teeners a year for a couple of years? 

In my area, probably an eight to nine pound fish would be very good. Of course more than one of these would be excellent. My own PB I caught way back in 1989 weighed 8 lbs 9oz. I think it's important to set a realistic goal for the size of the fish in your area. There are probably some DD bass around here, but they are rare.