Taking A Quick Breather

[Mobasser]

Many members here may remember my post about fishing for big bass this year.      I believe A-Jay, Catt, Dwight Hottle, and a few more might remember my earlier post. I've been doing this on every trip this year so far, and I haven't connected with a truly large fish yet.           What I've realized is that I've burned myself out to this point. Last trip, I took a breather from the big bass hunting. I took a med spin rod, some smaller inline spinners, 4" plastic worms, small swim baits and one smaller top water popper.                I ran the moss edges on my lake, and caught not only bass, but bream and crappie also. This was a good thing to do. Just go and catch some fish. Period.         I'll continue pursuing big fish soon. If you become obsessed with a certain thing in your fishing, you can become burned out when it doesn't happen after so many trips. Now, I'll get back to hunting big bass, with a new outlook.  Taking a breather helped out immensely.

[Darth-Baiter]

gospel.  this translates across the spectrum for me.  it applies to everything. 

[gim]

There is an episode of River Monsters where Jeremy Wade is targeting muskies at Eagle Lake, Ontario.  He spends over a week straight trying to catch one.  His body and mind is completely worn out from repeated casts of giant lures, over and over.  Towards the end of the episode, he admits that he is now just casting mechanically without the expectation of catching a muskie, so he picks up a smaller spinning setup with a jig/minnow for lake trout just to get his confidence back.  Sure enough, he ties into almost a 50 inch muskie with this and lands it.

 

Sometimes when you lose the expectation that you are going to catch a large fish, you need to step back and re-think how to approach it.

[Mike L]

I remember…

It does help to step back once in awhile. 
 

I hardly ever go fishing anymore just to go and putz around trying new things and experimenting. 
I get so locked up in doing certain things certain ways every time, that I would loose focus on why I’m doin it in the first place. 
 

I’ve been very fortunate to have reached many of my fishing goals, so when I feel the fun part starting to wain I put it down and walk away for bit. 
Then when the itch returns I’m off again. 
 

Sometimes not doing anything can help clear the mind and be the best thing you can do to make you better. 

 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[LrgmouthShad]

Makes a lot of sense @Mobasser. For me, I enjoy pond fishing as a break from fishing larger lakes. I am moving though, and will have to find new places regardless. 

[MassBass]

42 minutes ago, gimruis said:

There is an episode of River Monsters where Jeremy Wade is targeting muskies at Eagle Lake, Ontario.  He spends over a week straight trying to catch one.  His body and mind is completely worn out from repeated casts of giant lures, over and over.  Towards the end of the episode, he admits that he is now just casting mechanically without the expectation of catching a muskie, so he picks up a smaller spinning setup with a jig/minnow for lake trout just to get his confidence back.  Sure enough, he ties into almost a 50 inch muskie with this and lands it.

 

Sometimes when you lose the expectation that you are going to catch a large fish, you need to step back and re-think how to approach it.

Great episode, but I think he got that bite because he finally went to some windy main lake rock... however how he fought and landed the fish on such gear was talented and lucky. 

 

As for the topic. yeah man. Last year was my first year at a new home river, didn't have much time to fish, so I would march around the bank on a hellfire mission to catch fish. Finally I sat down for a long while on a bench, and just vibed with the river, and the season, and nature. Tied on a spinner, and right away caught a white perch. There is life in the river! Since then I have had consistent success.  

[WRB]

Having spent nearly a lifetime pursuing big bass My advice is target prime pre spawn seasonal periods, day, night, low light and light rain. The rest of the year enjoy your outings by catching fish.

Tom

[Deleted account]

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

Having spent nearly a lifetime pursuing big bass My advice is target prime pre spawn seasonal periods, day, night, low light and light rain. The rest of the year enjoy your outings by catching fish.

Tom

That's great advice. I have 3 windows where I target big bass, the pre spawn, July ish, and then late fall early winter. The rest of the time, I'm just fishing for what's out there, and collecting bites and data points. 

[A-Jay]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

 My advice is target prime pre spawn seasonal periods, day, night, low light and light rain. The rest of the year enjoy your outings by catching fish.

Tom

Agreed ~

And I was dropping a comment here to say this very thing. 

For me the bold type above falls into the "timing" category.

Which I think most of us agreed in @Mobasser  February Hawg Hunter thread

plays a fairly important role in this deal and can be the toughest nut to crack at times. 

 

Finally, I'd encourage the OP as well as any and all bassheads on a similar pursuit,

Not to place a time frame on your success.

If we stay committed to this, and a big part of committed means fishing bodies of water that actually have the fish we're hoping to catch, it can very well happen.

But we must remember,

Nadine is and will always be, on Nadine time.

Good Luck

A-Jay

 

 

 

[Bird]

I'm doing exactly that Thursday, just fishing.

 

The guy I'm fishing with is only interested in panfish so I can leave all my baitcasters at home and bring a single UL spinning.

 

And very simple bait selection...... live worms ?.

 

[A-Jay]

46 minutes ago, Bird said:

I'm doing exactly that Thursday, just fishing.

 

The guy I'm fishing with is only interested in panfish so I can leave all my baitcasters at home and bring a single UL spinning.

 

And very simple bait selection...... live worms ?.

 

And that's When It Happened !

#crazybigbass

?

A-Jay

[Bankbeater]

The size bass I am targeting will determine where I go fishing. On some trips I go after numbers, and on some trips I go after size. On a few rare trips I have been lucky enough to get both size and numbers.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

Seems like targeting the biggest fish in the lake or river still produces a lot of

little tournament bass. If they are not 3 lbs, I don't care. Dinks don't tickle me.

I have never understood why tournament guys want five bass they hope to

release. I say, "Go BIG or go home." 

 

 

[Zcoker]

I agree with the GO BIG OR GO HOME motto, we use that same thought process in land based shark fishing, probably even invented it! As for bass fishing, it wasn't so much a matter of going big but changing my thought process to BIG. Once I started "thinking" big bass is when I started catching big bass. Now it's the norm, each trip, my whole being is finely tuned towards catching big fish automatically. I don't even have to think about it, which I think is where all the exhaustion comes from. Every single cast, all lures and tackle, every single aspect of my hunt is subconsciously targeting big fish....period! With that mindset firmly in place, I can still enjoy the little things, best of both worlds, so to speak.

[LrgmouthShad]

18 hours ago, A-Jay said:

and a big part of committed means fishing bodies of water that actually have the fish we're hoping to catch, it can very well happen

Yeah man, that’s a great point to bring up. There’s a thread floating around about small vs big lakes, but I think fishing for hawgs could mean fishing a 10 acre pond or fishing a 5000 acre lake. 
 

I have enjoyed fishing larger lakes this summer because I feel like I am learning more. And I think they offered me a better chance at catching a hawg based on where I am and what lakes I know. Up where I was in NY, pond/small reservoir fishing wins, no contest. 

[scaleface]

I dont even know how to target big bass . I know they hang around structure and cover , so thats what I concentrate on . There are a few lures that catch a bigger than average fish such as a jig , other than that , I dont know . 

[Mobasser]

41 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I dont even know how to target big bass . I know they hang around structure and cover , so thats what I concentrate on . There are a few lures that catch a bigger than average fish such as a jig , other than that , I dont know . 

Yes. I've begun to think the more I fish for them , the less I really know.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I like to change it up every once in a while too. 

[Zcoker]

5 hours ago, scaleface said:

I dont even know how to target big bass . I know they hang around structure and cover , so thats what I concentrate on . There are a few lures that catch a bigger than average fish such as a jig , other than that , I dont know . 

 

A big bass will bust on ya least expected, like Wham-O! It's not always where one thinks they are, either. Because I've caught them in the most untraditional places and conditions imaginable. Think big, go out and fish big, and start catching big is all I can say. 

[scaleface]

5 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 

A big bass will bust on ya least expected, like Wham-O! It's not always where one thinks they are, either. Because I've caught them in the most untraditional places and conditions imaginable. Think big, go out and fish big, and start catching big is all I can say. 

I catch the occasional lunker but like you say  the times and places are so varied that concentrating on  cover and structure is about the extent of my knowledge .

[DitchPanda]

So my definition of a big bass around here is 5lbs and up. Last year I put some serious focus on big bass...I only got one and it took until November. This year I'm focusing on just fishing and enjoying the experience...I've caught a 5, 5.5 and a 6 plus lost one that would have been close to 5. Sorry I'm no help.. At one time I thought I knew what I was doing but clearly I was wrong.

[LrgmouthShad]

38 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

So my definition of a big bass around here is 5lbs and up. Last year I put some serious focus on big bass...I only got one and it took until November. This year I'm focusing on just fishing and enjoying the experience...I've caught a 5, 5.5 and a 6 plus lost one that would have been close to 5. Sorry I'm no help.. At one time I thought I knew what I was doing but clearly I was wrong.

I ain’t really help either. I can think of many times when I didn’t expect to hook up with a bigger fish, but did. I think it is because I am not adapting enough on the water. I might have a fixed plan for the day, or a fixed idea of how the bass are going to bite, but not enough flexibility in my approach or enough knowledge to recognize what makes a good area a good area. But I can reflect on where these bigger fish bit and it makes so much sense after I just think about it for a bit. 

[A-Jay]

5 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I ain’t really help either. I can think of many times when I didn’t expect to hook up with a bigger fish, but did. I think it is because I am not adapting enough on the water. I might have a fixed plan for the day, or a fixed idea of how the bass are going to bite, but not enough flexibility in my approach or enough knowledge to recognize what makes a good area a good area. But I can reflect on where these bigger fish bit and it makes so much sense after I just think about it for a bit. 

Because the places you fish Have bigger bass.

Keep taking note of where when & how you caught them.

And then just keep doing that.

A-Jay

 

[Columbia Craw]

And sometimes, where there’s little fish, there’s big fish. 

[The Bassman]

By this point last year I had caught two over 6 lb. and one over 7. My best this go around has been one just short of 6 with more than I remember 3's and a few 4's. I let it frustrate me then stop and ask what am I griping about. I fish pretty much every day and am starting to think that I need to take a break. My techniques aren't focused specifically on large fish. I fish neighborhood lakes exclusively so big ones come along when I happen to be in the right place at the right time. Lots of honey-do's at home but they'll still be there the day after tomorrow.