That Big Fish Something

[roadwarrior]

You need to harvest ALL spots. This is the only fish we keep and donate

to the bank fishermen. But the point is, you need to kill them all. The species

has destroyed lakes in the South. 

[Big Hands]

I think some have more of it than others, and some have it more often than others. 

 

The same angler that caught 129 double digit bass in a single year has also gone more than a dozen trips in a row without a bite in the same body of water where he caught most of those 129 bass. Not every angler has that level of drive and determination day in and day out. 

 

I fish 'that way' occasionally, but certainly not all the time. Not even most of the time truth be told.

 

@WRB I can totally see that happening at Trout Point. That could make for a loooong drive home.

================

I thought I hooked 'the big one' once. Within a couple hundred yards of Trout Point actually ?. I was fishing offshore on the next major point to the west at 25' deep with a mudsucker. It took nearly 20 minutes to get it to the surface on spinning gear with 8 lbs monofilament. It kept coming up, and then sounding. My line was singing and I wondered if I would ever get it to the surface.

 

I also allowed myself to wonder where the mount was going to look the best. . . above the fireplace or on the wall directly across from it.

 

Turned out to be a 39" long, 22 lbs channel cat, LOL.

 

Which brings me back to the topic and this is a rhetorical question because I already know the answer: If I was fishing where she lives, and fishing with the big one in mind, why was I fishing with 8 lbs monofilament?

[Catt]

 Perseverance is not giving up. It is persistence and tenacity, the effort required to do something and keep doing it till the end, even if it's hard. 

[thediscochef]

38 minutes ago, Catt said:

 Perseverance is not giving up. It is persistence and tenacity, the effort required to do something and keep doing it till the end, even if it's hard. 

Honestly persistence is responsible for all of my decent sized fish. Being in Texas and maxing out at 7-10 I still feel like I haven't yet caught a truly big bass, just good ones. But I know it's a matter of time if I go to the right places, which I've been working on.

[gim]

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

But the point is, you need to kill them all. The species

has destroyed lakes in the South. 

Why’s that?

 

I’m not familiar with spotted bass as we have none here. Just northern strain largies, smallmouth, and rock bass. Rock bass are junk.

[Pat Brown]

It's a popular thought that spotted bass have ruined largemouth fishing in the south.

 

I for one love catching spotted bass but I understand the concern.

 

I simply don't believe the concern is that warranted.  Spotted bass are non existent in my lakes currently and I'm okay with that but my family always does a little 'hooray' when we catch a nice spot visiting paw paw in Charlotte.  Plenty of big largemouth still out that way, just gotta know how to catch em but what else is new.

[Woody B]

I enjoy catching spots but bad mouth them in regards to Largemouth all the time.   Fishing pressure probably has more to do with the demise of really big bass than anything.   In my cast it could be my memory thinks there were more big largemouth before spots.   I sold my boat in 1992 and didn't fish until I bought my current boat in Dec 2021.    My biggest last year was 7 pounds 13 ounces.   So far this year I've caught 2 that were 6 pounds even.   Except for my lone DD (in 1990) I honestly couldn't say how many 6 lb + bass I caught a year (in the carolinas).  My recollection is I'd hear of a DD from Lake Norman once of twice a month at Piedmont Bait and Tackle.    It could have been 5 pounders passed off a DDs though.   

 

Lake Wylie, where I fish most of the time has plenty of forage.  Largemouth aren't starving because of spots.   I call myself targeting Largemouth but I catch spots about 5 to 1 when compared to largemouth.  

[scaleface]

Big bass have a way of getting off. I have lost more than my share.  Maybe I'm cursed.

[Dirtyeggroll]

I know a guy who does NOT have the big fish juju. Fishes lakes with big fish and fishes about twice per week. The issue I think is he fishes virtually the same way expecting different results. 90+% of the time. it’s fishing lay downs with a green pumpkin magic colored worm of sorts (senko type or trick worm type). 
 

I fish with him a few times per year and have caught multiple bass 5-7lbs in the waters he rarely catches a 4 lber and have offered him the techniques and tried to detail my thought patterns as we fish. I’ve even called my shot a couple of times fishing a type of structure pattern with a certain pattern. I’ve also taken him to new waters that are RIPE with 4-6 lbers and he simply does not go to fish them despite catching multiple 4Lb+ fish on days we’ve gone.

 

[Zcoker]

That big fish something or requisite is just a big fish mindset, imho, which anyone can acquire.  Remember, a big female bass underwater has no clue in the world exactly who is fishing for her. I'll say it again: it wasn't until I stated thinking big bass that I stated catching big bass! I'll swear by that motto forever. I can clearly see the change-over in my fishing life, from smallish fish daily to 7-8-9 pounders on just about every outing. Takes a lot of commitment to get these big gals, that's a given. To just go out to the convenient local lake on a Sunday morning and leisurely cast a line out just doesn't cut it, imho. There's a whole bunch of different levels to jump aboard in order to make things happen, the most important one being a big fish mentality--gotta have it, the mojo to get it done!  

[Bird]

I may very well not have a big fish mentality, don't specifically target big fish.

But as mentioned in an early thread , volume of casts, always being on the water will greatly increase the odds of catching bigger fish.

Since being retired for close to 4 years I've caught 1 citation Largemouth and many 5+ fish, more than the previous 50 years of fishing.

Not because I'm that much of a better fisherman, I'm always casting at something.

 

#2 EQUIPMENT:

Gotta have the equipment.

 

[TnRiver46]

I catch more big drum than anyone 

[Catt]

Location: personally I would select one body of water & fish it year round. I would also target both shallow & deep water. 

 

I would put in at least 100-150 days on the water. 

 

Lure & techniques are personal choices 

[Swamp Girl]

I had the "something" this morning. I'm normally fishing bogs that are two to ten feet deep and choked with weeds, which are at Peak Weed in August. This morning's bog was deeper with an extra five feet of water and that was the difference maker for me. I'll be posting a trip report titled "Alewife-fattened Bass" with plenty of pics of this morning's fish.

[Bigassbass]

I don't believe there is such a thing, fishing has a lot of luck in it, sometimes it's being at the right place and throwing something that looks like food and a big fish strikes.  If you fish for big fish, and you have caught many, you have taught yourself how and you're using the right stuff.  No such thing as a gene or any kind of human trait that just kicks in and brings you a big bass.  

[einscodek]

You know why people say a so and so fisherman has a gene for catching big bass?  Cause that fisherman aint tellin. 

[Susky River Rat]

I am not a big bass chaser. Nor do I care to be. If I get into big ones great if not I’m happy with any bass that was dumb enough to be tricked by me. It’s all about fun for me. 
 

Musky on the other hand I only wanted 40” plus and really was shooting for 45”. I live in an area where 45” are as good as s 50” other places. I caught 7 one year and none were under 40”. Truth be told anything that came into my figure 8 that was clearly less then 40 I would pull the bait out of the water.  This also took the fun out of it and why I switched to bass fishing.

[gim]

49 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I caught 7 one year and none were under 40”.

That's a solid season.  I caught 7 last year of various size.  My record is 8.  I've only caught one this season though.  Just been too warm and bass fishing has been really good so its tough to vacate from that.

[Susky River Rat]

@gimruis I caught 21 in a season. That was my best year. I haven’t fished for them in almost a year. Just not into it anymore.

[gim]

2 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I caught 21 in a season. That was my best year.

Did you fish for anything else or devote all your time to solely targeting muskies?

 

It would be very difficult for me to solely just target muskies.  For starters, our season is limited.  It doesn't open until mid June and closes on Dec 1.  Realistically I would be able to do it from mid June until about Nov 1 if I had the will power to, which I don't.  I like to bass fish, with some panfish and walleye mixed in sporadically.  And I hunt starting in early November too.

[Swamp Girl]

24 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

@gimruis I caught 21 in a season. That was my best year. I haven’t fished for them in almost a year. Just not into it anymore.

 

My dad caught 21 one week and that same week, I caught 19. We were fishing from a canoe in northwestern Ontario. The next summer, I caught 15 and he caught five and the two newcomers we'd brought caught zero. 

 

One evening, my dad retired to the tent and I was fishing solo in the canoe when a nice musky hit and took me for a ride.

 

"Help, Dad!" I foolishly yelled.

 

"What can I do?" he rightly responded. 

[gim]

5 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

My dad caught 21 one week and that same week, I caught 19.

So between the two of you, 40 were caught.  That's absurd.  Have to imagine that was a while ago.

[ironbjorn]

At the end of the day it's timing, location, and a little dumb luck more than anything. You have to be around and have access to big fish to catch big fish, and you have to be there at the right time, in the right moment, and that is a little lucky in itself. Many big bass have been caught by people who don't know squat about bass fishing.

[Dwight Hottle]

We spent a day fishing lake St Clair back in the 70's with a guide trolling an had 12 muskies in the boat for a day in late October. When they are feeding you can really score. 

[Swamp Girl]

34 minutes ago, gimruis said:

So between the two of you, 40 were caught.  That's absurd.  Have to imagine that was a while ago.

We were casting to muskies who'd never seen lures, but to reach them, we had to suffer: three lakes, three portage and two without trails, and one swamp.