Some very interesting quotes from Ben Milliken, modern Big Bass guru....

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Like many, my oldest fascination has always been with the Big Bass hunters, not the all around greatest Bassmasters, but the folks who are dedicating their lives to catching the biggest Bass in the world.   As a kid it was the SoCal lakes, and folks like WRB.   Today it's Texas, FFS, and folks like Josh Jones and Ben Milliken.

 

What they are learning with FFS, and then confirming to the world with their catches is what I think many here have said, big Bass roam around in wolf packs, many times offshore in deep water.   

Anyway Jay Kumar has an email newsletter full of amazing info I've been finding, this recent one has an interview with Milliken and a few answers and questions are super informative, and I thought others would also appreciate this info.  Some real nuggets that I will be thinking about right away on the water.

 

4. Before forward-facing sonar, big-bass fishermen would either deadstick live crayfish in CA or fish big swimbaits there – not including random catches on "regular" baits in TX and FL. Are we in a new era of big-bass hunting?

 

> "My approach is based on a lot of that historical [big bass stuff]...couple of these guys catching big fish have been bass fishing for [a short time]. My approach takes a lot of my 25 years of bass fishing prior to this and applies the same [stuff, also things] outlined in Bill Murphy's 'In Pursuit of Giant Bass' book.

 

> "...apply natural, refined big baits with sonar in different parts of the water column or part of a lake where these giant fish have not seen a lure before."

 

Follow-up Q: Some guys have said that with forward-facing sonar they're finding bass in new places they haven't even considered before, and that bass spend more time there than the classic bass spots. Have you seen that?

 

> "Yes and no. I think the biggest thing I've learned since moving to TX is these big ones aren't necessarily solitary predators...not just one 15-lb blob in the middle of the lake by itself. The majority of fish I catch are in groups of 6-12 fish that, depending on the fishery, are all 7 lbs and bigger in open water...using size and numbers to overtake their prey.

 

> "Think more of them are together out in open water in schools, just big wolf packs, than we ever thought before.

 

> "I know for a fact that if you catch a fish, a 10-lber, on a point after dragging a Carolina rig there for 3 hours, it's not because he was there and didn't want to bite. It's because him and 6 of his buddies came by at that moment – because they're constantly moving."

 

5. What's one thing that's blown your mind about big bass behavior that you've learned?

 

> "It would definitely be what I just said – their propensity to live with other big fish in groups. And it's in every single lake...especially grass lakes...giant fish in wolf packs. I think it's nothing we could ever know with out forward-facing sonar."

 

Bonus Q 1: Do you have a favorite giant bass bait, or is it possible to have just one? Or is there a key to big bass baits?

 

> "Every lake is different, but one thing I've found is that the best lakes down here are the lakes that have a large population of big gizzard shad.

 

> "It's not possible to have just one bait, especially seasonally. A lot of LiveScope guys only fish one body of water for 3 months of the year in the winter, so they can just have an Alabama Rig. But a 6-8 inch line-through swimbait is a good bait to have, a 10-inch shad-style glide bait, and a jerkbait is also another one. That's one of the only small baits that can fool giant bass consistently."

[Zcoker]

I can't speak so much for the large deep lakes out in Texas, only the shallow marsh areas here in south Florida. But both are similar in that big bass move around in groups. I don't use FFS, either, just old school hunting. I've caught plenty of nice fish back to back in any given area just by moving around a lot. Often, the fish are all about the same size, which I find interesting. Nowadays if I come upon an area and catch a nice fish, I say to myself 'if there's one around, there's another biggun nearby!' Big bass aren't so much solitary creatures, as the saying goes. Guys like Milliken or Jones are just now proving this with their modern electronics. Nothing new to the bass. They've been doing the same thing forever lol. 

 

 

[Choporoz]

The depths at which they are finding and catching giants has been eye opening.   I have never targeted LMB deeper than 30 feet deep.  Josh Jones caught one at, I think, 60 feet not too long ago....(which, most unfortunately died before he could even try to fizz).

  Now, when I see big fish at 35+, I am a lot less likely to dismiss them as cats, stripers, drum, etc.

[Captain Phil]

Here in Florida, I don't consider a bass exceptionally large until it weighs 8 pounds or more.  It has been my observation that the behavior of large bass is significantly different than bass under 8 pounds.  There have been a few times in my 60 years of bass fishing in Florida when I got into a school of large fish.  Those times were few and far between and only lasted for an hour or less.  The majority of my bass over eight pounds have been solitary catches.  Most, but not all have come on live shiners or flipping heavy cover.   I once got into a school like that in Okeechobee just before a cold front.   We caught 8-10 pound bass one after another for 30 minutes, then nothing the rest of the day.  Those fish came on a weightless worm.  I didn't start catching double digit bass with any consistency until I started flipping.  All my double digit bass came from shallow water less than ten feet deep.  If you want to catch truly large bass in Florida, use 8"-10" native shiners.

[Jar11591]

8 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Now, when I see big fish at 35+, I am a lot less likely to dismiss them as cats, stripers, drum, etc.

Yup. This past fall I was fishing on my home lake, driving over the middle of the lake to fish a different spot. Water was 40’ deep, flat bottom and then a small hump came up to 35’ and it marked several fish right on that hump. In years past I would have considered them to be some hold-over trout from Spring stocking, but given all the new revelations FFS has shown us, I’m now not so convinced they weren’t bass sitting on that hump. I’ve caught them up to 23.5” in that lake, so maybe that’s where they haunt. This spring I’ll be going back to that 35’ hump and really probing it. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

11 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

The depths at which they are finding and catching giants has been eye opening.   I have never targeted LMB deeper than 30 feet deep.  Josh Jones caught one at, I think, 60 feet not too long ago....(which, most unfortunately died before he could even try to fizz).

  Now, when I see big fish at 35+, I am a lot less likely to dismiss them as cats, stripers, drum, etc.

Wow, I didn't know that he pulled one from 60ft.

 

Wonder if he stops targeting when they are that deep like that given the mortality risk.  What's the point of trying to catch sharelunkers if they are gonna die.   Not only does it not help another lake, it hurts Ivie.   

[Catt]

10 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That's one of the only small baits that can fool giant bass consistently."

 

Josh Jones #1 bait in any body of water is a 3/8-1/2 oz swim jig, no trailer with the skirt cut short.

[A-Jay]

6 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Wow, I didn't know that he pulled one from 60ft.

 

Wonder if he stops targeting when they are that deep like that given the mortality risk.  What's the point of trying to catch sharelunkers if they are gonna die.   Not only does it not help another lake, it hurts Ivie.   

 https://www.facebook.com/JoshJonesFishing/posts/pfbid024qE8RvyKamMNRFW9wWb94SRFBST21UazyfT5Z8QpTXd8c8jKtnN27QzFSX33GpyZl

 

A-Jay

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

Yup. This past fall I was fishing on my home lake, driving over the middle of the lake to fish a different spot. Water was 40’ deep, flat bottom and then a small hump came up to 35’ and it marked several fish right on that hump. In years past I would have considered them to be some hold-over trout from Spring stocking, but given all the new revelations FFS has shown us, I’m now not so convinced they weren’t bass sitting on that hump. I’ve caught them up to 23.5” in that lake, so maybe that’s where they haunt. This spring I’ll be going back to that 35’ hump and really probing it. 

Heck yeah, target those fish.

 

Catching a quality fish from the middle of the lake makes you feel like you tapped into the secret truth of the Bass fishing universe ?

 

On smaller less pressured bodies of water, you know at least right now in Bass history, very few people are targeting these fish.    

 

[Catt]

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 https://www.facebook.com/JoshJonesFishing/posts/pfbid024qE8RvyKamMNRFW9wWb94SRFBST21UazyfT5Z8QpTXd8c8jKtnN27QzFSX33GpyZl

 

A-Jay

Thanks!   Out of reactions for the day and it's not even 9am ?

1 minute ago, Catt said:

 

Awesome, I know what I'll be watching tonight.   Thanks!  

[Choporoz]

13 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 https://www.facebook.com/JoshJonesFishing/posts/pfbid024qE8RvyKamMNRFW9wWb94SRFBST21UazyfT5Z8QpTXd8c8jKtnN27QzFSX33GpyZl

 

A-Jay

If you scroll down about 3 weeks, you'll find the one that died.  Like so much in social media, the entertainment is in the comments.  So much virtue out there on the interwebs...lol

[Deleted account]

Fish school? Who knew? Interesting....

[Zcoker]

16 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

  Josh Jones caught one at, I think, 60 feet not too long ago....(which, most unfortunately died before he could even try to fizz).

  

 

That's the only downside, other than catching a true trophy breeder fish like that but killing them in the process. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

59 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Fish school? Who knew? Interesting....

Solid takeaway from that bit of information.

[Deleted account]

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Solid takeaway from that bit of information.

"Yes and no" seemed too obvious...

[RHuff]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Josh Jones #1 bait in any body of water is a 3/8-1/2 oz swim jig, no trailer with the skirt cut short.

 

 No trailer..  that's interesting.... 

[Reel]

Maybe they don't live with other big bass, they just hunt with other big bass because it's easier.

[Deleted account]

20 minutes ago, Reel said:

Maybe they don't live with other big bass

Only one bass' name is on the lease, she then throws several mattresses on the floor of the extra bedrooms and everyone else is month to month paid in advance. 

[RHuff]

I think that some mature bass are very dominate and territorial..  They find a particular spot they like usually around an isolate piece of cover and they run off smaller less dominate bass..  

[DaubsNU1]

Always appreciate the words of wisdom here! I never would have thought groups of fish would roam and chase meals. Interesting concept!

[Catt]

I didn't hear any revelations but rather validations of what many of us already knew. 

 

There's bass shallow, there's bass deep, & there's bass that move in between. 

 

Bass are where they wanna be, when they wanna be there. 

 

Josh said his approach to finding big bass was to launch his boat, put the trolling motor down, turn it on high, & start graphing at the launch. Sounds like something I read on bassresource!

[Dirtyeggroll]

Many  in this thread writing like they’ve caught over 50 DD bass and multiple teeners.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I think this thread has run its course sadly mods.    I'll think better about posting in the future

 

 

[Captain Phil]

11 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Many  in this thread writing like they’ve caught over 50 DD bass and multiple teeners.

 

Most DD bass are actually 6-7 pounders.  ?