Big bass baits???

[Triptych]

If you only need to catch one big bass to win might as well use a big swimbait. 8" plus. A bait that you can cover a lot of water with. My theory is that if the big girls ain't biting, keep moving til you find one that is.

[Bankbeater]

I would start off with a 1/2 ounce jig around cover that is around some type of structure. 

[JediAmoeba]

The only problem with fishing big swimbaits without FFS is to fish them effectively and correctly for the biggest fish, you can't cover lots of water. They have great drawing power but I consider them a finesse tactic. Fish them very slow to get the biggest fish. 

 

Nothing makes me laugh more than all the dudes burning big swimbaits...

[Cbump]

1 minute ago, JediAmoeba said:

Nothing makes me laugh more than all the dudes burning big swimbaits...

Nothing? At all?

[JediAmoeba]

30 minutes ago, Cbump said:

Nothing? At all?

When it comes to swimbaiting - no.

 

It works if you are targeting young and dumb Florida strain LMB...but northern strain LMB - they didn't live 12-15 years and get that big burning calories by chasing down food.

[Cbump]

I agree. That was a “rule” I was told when I got started. Big girls ambush, they aren’t out chasing much. 

[WRB]

Started fishing big swimbaits long before they migrated out of SoCal north and east.

12” dinosaur Worm King soft trout swimbaits, original wooden Huddleston Castiac swimbait etc in the late 80’s about 25 years.

Big swimbaits are not a panacea to catching big bass and require a lot of time on the water to master.

”to catch big bass you must fish for them” a quote from my Rare Chance to Catch a Workd Record Bass article in 1985 In-fisherman on Lake Isabella.

True statement then and now. The best swimbait fisherman on the planet is Butch Brown hands down. Butch knows big bass habits and where they are located. Butch is a grinder spending days casting big swimbaits for 1 strike and catches DD bass consistently everywhere he fished, usually in poor conditions when few boats are on the water. It’s dedicated hard work.

When I was targeting big bass had the same routine.

Tom

 

 

[Born 2 fish]

I don’t know where you are or forage in the water your fishing. But for me I would stay my morning with a 9” slammer then switch to a 6” bullgill. That bullgill caught so many big bass for me last season.

[Ben77]

Maxscent general wacky rigged and a 6 inch magdraft that's usually my one two punch! 

[Scott804]

In my opinion, in April and May you are foolish to not have a wacky rig rigged up. It is one of the few baits where you can consistently fool a big bass into thinking it is real this time of year because it doesn't really have any true "tells". This is the same reason you hear people call a frog a big bass bait. Without more info it is hard to recommend anything else, but normally I would say a jig, but during the spawn i've always leaned more toward texas rig because I feel like when they pick up a jig it feels different and they most likely will not be prone to hang onto it as long, especially if you are casting to spawners you cannot see and they are doing that thing where they lightly pick it up and swim away and drop it away from the bed. But if you think you are mainly fishing for pre or post spawners then a jig is a very viable option. 

[scaleface]

  Whatever bait is chosen , it will not be much good if it cant be presented in the places bass like to accommodate.  I choose lures by what will work well in those spots and that I can effortlessly and efficiently cast. In public waters here a 6 lber is a nice fish  and any lure category can catch one . I dont even own a combo that will cast heavy lures well. 

[gim]

Sometimes when I am muskie fishing I occasionally catch a sizable bass.  We've all seen small fish go after big lures before, but I'm talking 12-15 inch muskie lures here.  Usually the bass is pretty good size for a northern strain fish.  It's always made me wonder if I should be tossing bigger lures if I want to catch bigger bass.

[Bankc]

Use your confidence bait.  

 

On a lake you've never fished before, you'll get yourself skunked trying to figure out lure AND location.  Narrow that down to just trying to target big bass, and you've pretty much guaranteed failure, barring a random stroke of good luck.  It would be best to stick to the lures you're most comfortable with and focus on finding the best spots.  

 

Or better yet, look for the best spots in the worst areas.  That often does me well.  The locals will know all of the best spots and will likely beat you to them.  But sometimes finding a really good spot in an area that's easy to overlook will produce a good fish or two.  Like at the boat ramp, would be a good example.  

[papajoe222]

Three baits I use that always seem to attract bigger fish 

Buzzbait

Paddletail swimbait 6in. on an underspin

1/2 oz. Siebert arkie jig/ rage tail craw

I always have the jig tied on and I’d estimate it’s in the water over half the time I’m on the water. 

[Zcoker]

First and foremost, big bass need to be hunted down. Gotta find out where they are staging, which can require long hours and long days and much longer nights lol To narrow it down, try to fish in places that are known for big bass. Big baits aren't the end-all for big bass, either. Finding them, hunting them down, fishing in places where they lurk is about as good as it will get to actually catching one. 

[KP Duty]

Winner will use Livescope and a well placed bait.

[Bluebasser86]

Big Bass Bash on LOZ was just won with a 7+ pound fish on a Ned rig. 

[JediAmoeba]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Big Bass Bash on LOZ was just won with a 7+ pound fish on a Ned rig. 

If you can believe them... I don't. 

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, JediAmoeba said:

If you can believe them... I don't. 

I guess I've caught enough big fish on a Ned rig to believe them, including recently on LOZ ?‍♂️

[JediAmoeba]

10 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I guess I've caught enough big fish on a Ned rig to believe them, including recently on LOZ ?‍♂️

I have seen some 1.5 pounders caught on the ned and many panfish.

[Bluebasser86]

3 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

I have seen some 1.5 pounders caught on the ned and many panfish.

Solid point, he should probably just fish big swimbaits and jigs now that you mention it. 

[Bass Rutten]

On 4/18/2023 at 5:16 PM, JediAmoeba said:

I have seen some 1.5 pounders caught on the ned and many panfish.

And that's the beauty of the Ned, it catches what's there. The Ned is just as likely to catch a big girl as any other bait if you put it in front of her, probably more so, but there are many times more little to average size fish than really big ones, so naturally the ratio of little to big fish is going to be high.

[optimator]

Hell, I’ve caught trout on a Ned 

[Hammer 4]

Many years ago, I was fishing a 6" Mattlures trout swimbait, as the lure got close to the boat, a started lifting out of the water, to my surprise a 4 LB rainbow trout came flying out of the water, tryin to grab my swimbait, that trout came a good 2 1/2 feet up to get it.