The Right Stuff

[Zcoker]

Everything is right until it’s wrong, meaning that when the fish are ON, everything seems right yet when the fish are OFF, everything seems wrong. Yep, the fish have a LOT to do with it! 

[Bankbeater]

It's part knowing the water you are fishing, part experience and trusting your gut, and part luck.  When all three are present you can't go wrong.  Remove one and you might as well go home.

[Swamp Girl]

15 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Everything is right until it’s wrong, meaning that when the fish are ON, everything seems right yet when the fish are OFF, everything seems wrong. Yep, the fish have a LOT to do with it! 

 

This comment made me laugh because...it's SO TRUE! There are times when I'm a wonderful angler and then, the next trip or even the next hour, I don't have a clue why I can't boat bass. And whether I'm successful or not, the bass have SO MUCH to do with it.

[Catt]

“When I’m not seeing anything I know why”

“When I’m not catching anything I know why” Larry Nixon 

 

You only get to that point by learning your waters. 

Understanding the why of things is key

@Mike L

[Swamp Girl]

On 12/7/2023 at 10:42 AM, ol'crickety said:

"Putting an average basshead on an above average body of water, can produce surprising results."

 

Looping back to the opening quotation, I don't think any of us can descry who does or doesn't have the right stuff...unless you've fished with that person...again and again and again, in varied environments and varied conditions. Even then, you'd need input from others because we all have our blind spots.

 

There are strong indicators, of course, that someone has the right stuff, such as consistently pulling fine bass from water that's pounded (@Pat Brown and @T-Billy) or catching multiples in the high teens,(@WRB), when countless other anglers attempted the same and failed. @AlabamaSpothunter long ago linked to a guy who'd caught more than a thousand DDs. That's a very, VERY strong indicator, even stronger than some golden arches indicating a Big Mac is near.

[Zcoker]

On 12/10/2023 at 1:51 PM, ol'crickety said:

 

Looping back to the opening quotation, I don't think any of us can descry who does or doesn't have the right stuff...unless you've fished with that person...again and again and again, in varied environments and varied conditions. Even then, you'd need input from others because we all have our blind spots.

 

There are strong indicators, of course, that someone has the right stuff, such as consistently pulling fine bass from water that's pounded (@Pat Brown and @T-Billy) or catching multiples in the high teens,(@WRB), when countless other anglers attempted the same and failed. @AlabamaSpothunter long ago linked to a guy who'd caught more than a thousand DDs. That's a very, VERY strong indicator, even stronger than some golden arches indicating a Big Mac is near.

 

The “right stuff” is all about stacking the odds in the fisherman’s favor, imho. Can do that with a lotta things nowadays, live scope included. Take Pat Cullen, as you alluded to, the man well known for catching over a thousand 10 pounders. Pat flew around in a friend’s private plane scoping out small ponds, most of which were on private property. Then he’d contact the land owners of those lakes to get permission to fish them. He then fished them practically every night all year long. The odds were stacked in his favor BIG TIME! He hit those virgin well stocked lakes at night with a black buzzbait and caught 10 ponders over and over. However it may be interpreted, it’s very clear how things can work out if the odds are stacked in the fisherman‘s favor! 

[Dwight Hottle]

@Zcoker Was Pat Cullen using a black musky sized Jitterbug before he started using a black buzzbait or do I have him confused with someone else?

[Team9nine]

26 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@Zcoker Was Pat Cullen using a black musky sized Jitterbug before he started using a black buzzbait or do I have him confused with someone else?

 

LJ Brasher was the big musky Jitterbug guy who also caught loads of 10 pound bass, mostly from small pothole waters in Georgia and Florida in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Pat Cullen did throw a few topwaters like the Jitterbug and the Hula Popper, but the buzzbait was his primary night lure (he had 4 different ones he'd rotate through). 

 

[RipzLipz]

Love the muskie size. Surprisingly subtle sounding. This runt got a face full one night.

[Zcoker]

1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@Zcoker Was Pat Cullen using a black musky sized Jitterbug before he started using a black buzzbait or do I have him confused with someone else?

 

Maybe so. From what I understand, he only used a custom made black buzzbait. He made them according to a specific sound, which I found interesting. He mentioned numerous times that the bigger bass at night were more attracted to a specific sound, as opposed to a trailer. I've also found this to be true. Little changes in the tune or the sound of the buzzbait seems to have a dramatic effect on the hits it gets, especially from the bigger fish. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@Team9nine   LJ Brasher was the most hardcore trophy Bass hunter I've ever learned about.....absolute madman.   He's an Alabama native, and a legend around the SE US.    

 

" “If you can get that Phillips’ fellow to fish with me for three days and three nights, I’ll put a bass in the boat 10 pounds or bigger,” the late L.J.Brasher of Opelika, Alabama, told a friend of mine, Joe Price of Birmingham Alabama. Now that is a big boast for even the nation’s best anglers. "

 

Night Hawk Publications - John's Journal

 

Dude believed that if you stayed on the water for 72 hours straight you'd eventually run into a big fish biting window....absolute madman!!!!!!

[Dwight Hottle]

1 minute ago, Zcoker said:

 

Maybe so. From what I understand, he only used a custom made black buzzbait. He made them according to a specific sound, which I found interesting. He mentioned numerous times that the bigger bass at night were more attracted to a specific sound, as opposed to a trailer. I've also found this to be true. Little changes in tune or the sound of the buzzbait seems to have a dramatic effect on the hits it gets, especially from the bigger fish. 

 

I was confusing LJ Brasher with Pat Cullen. It turns out they were both extremely successful night fisherman using topwater baits & mostly fishing smaller bodies of water. LJ Brasher caught over 500 DD bass using a black musky sized jitterbug which he also modified to change the sound & action. He had a mounted stringer displaying five DD's caught in one night.  

[Zcoker]

1 minute ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I was confusing LJ Brasher with Pat Cullen. It turns out they were both extremely successful night fisherman using topwater baits & mostly fishing smaller bodies of water. LJ Brasher caught over 500 DD bass using a black musky sized jitterbug which he also modified to change the sound & action. He had a mounted stringer displaying five DD's caught in one night.  

 

Yes, I've heard of Brasher and the Jitter bug, just wasn't sure if Cullen used the same lure or not. Both those guys were off the charts with the big girls. Now if we can only duplicate that! Even today with forward facing sonar and all the modern goodies, I've yet to hear of anyone coming close to those numbers. It was like a normal fishing day (or night) for them but with DD bass ALL THE TIME, like every outing. Crazy. 

[Pat Brown]

I think big fish biting windows are a huge deal and one of the most illusive mysteries of the small pond.

 

On larger bodies of water, I feel like big fish are more willing to eat when there's food around but the small ponds, it seems like the more pressure they receive and the more the bigger older fish are caught and released, the tighter those windows get.

 

I feel that the exceptionally large fish also learn that they prefer to eat a specific thing on smaller bodies of water and if you aren't around the big fishes favorite snack, you're wasting your time.

 

I have witnessed gargantuan females simply hovering in a couple feet of water, watching a school of baitfish.  Following the food around and eating when they please.

 

Getting a lure in their face when they're eating is TRICKY!

 

I think they mostly eat at night.

[ironbjorn]

Visualizing in my head my lure in the water and what it's doing and how it's behaving, and the subsurface of the water itself changed everything for me and allows me to "work" and place my lures the best. That's it. That's all I can explain. That's what I do and it works. 

[Zcoker]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I think big fish biting windows are a huge deal and one of the most illusive mysteries of the small pond.

 

On larger bodies of water, I feel like big fish are more willing to eat when there's food around but the small ponds, it seems like the more pressure they receive and the more the bigger older fish are caught and released, the tighter those windows get.

 

I feel that the exceptionally large fish also learn that they prefer to eat a specific thing on smaller bodies of water and if you aren't around the big fishes favorite snack, you're wasting your time.

 

I have witnessed gargantuan females simply hovering in a couple feet of water, watching a school of baitfish.  Following the food around and eating when they please.

 

Getting a lure in their face when they're eating is TRICKY!

 

I think they mostly eat at night.

 

Cullen would fish all night 320 nights a year. Although excessive, in my opinion, it still shows that in order to get these bigger fish, one must put in the time, not to mention the total dedication. I can attest to this, not so much to the extremes of fishing every night but more to do with fishing all night long. This is the only way to be ready for those tricky bite widows that you mentioned, which may be short lived, very short lived, and only in specific areas. So being there and being ready, right place, right time, is what it's all about. I've gotten more big fish 8 and up by fishing all night long until the sun comes up. Then it's time to go home and go to sleep! lol 

[Pat Brown]

And sometimes at 4:00 in the morning. You're there at the right time and the right place but they catch you staring off into space thinking  about how nice the morning is and you don't feel them pick your bait up and swim 20 feet away from the bank in the pitch black with your line and the second you feel them, they drop it and there goes your chance for the next 6 months.  Hi, my name is Pat and this happened to me.  😂😂😂

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

And sometimes at 4:00 in the morning. You're there at the right time and the right place but they catch you staring off into space thinking  about how nice the morning is and you don't feel them pick your bait up and swim 20 feet away from the bank in the pitch black with your line and the second you feel them, they drop it and there goes your chance for the next 6 months.  Hi, my name is Pat and this happened to me.  😂😂😂

 

It was that half-tail monster, giving you a third chance to catch her!

[Pat Brown]

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

It was that half-tail monster, giving you a third chance to catch her!

 

 

I think somebody here said it best and I'll paraphrase and make it my own:

 

I can find the biggest bass in the pond any day of the week, but whether I catch her or not is up to her!  😂😂😂😂

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Dude believed that if you stayed on the water for 72 hours straight you'd eventually run into a big fish biting window....absolute madman!!!!!!

 

That's the angling version of one of those 100-mile marathons where you run through the mountains at night.

 

2 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

I think somebody here said it best and I'll paraphrase and make it my own:

 

I can find the biggest bass in the pond any day of the week, but whether I catch her or not is up to her!  😂😂😂😂

 

Okay, you get a second...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RipzLipz]

48 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I have witnessed gargantuan females simply hovering in a couple feet of water, watching a school of baitfish.  Following the food around and eating when they please.

 

Getting a lure in their face when they're eating is TRICKY!

 

I think they mostly eat at night.

When I see bluegills muddying up shallow spots in the strip pits, I know it will soon be time to start heading out at night. This will often begin around the time bass are close to being or completely done with their spawning. Once the bluegills have their larger bedding colonies established (more like subdivisions in some pits) I will begin to observe larger bass cruising the shallows nearby, probing the perimeter of the colonies. Probably making their plan of attack during the daylight in preparation for the slaughter to come once the sun goes down.

[Pat Brown]

5 minutes ago, RipzLipz said:

When I see bluegills muddying up shallow spots in the strip pits, I know it will soon be time to start heading out at night. This will often begin around the time bass are close to being or completely done with their spawning. Once the bluegills have their larger bedding colonies established (more like subdivisions in some pits) I will begin to observe larger bass cruising the shallows nearby, probing the perimeter of the colonies. Probably making their plan of attack during the daylight in preparation for the slaughter to come once the sun goes down.

 

 

But what if the BIG bass like the golden shiners and the tilapia???  🤔😉

[Swamp Girl]

I've never seen a bluegill in the water I fish or seen one listed in the Game & Wildlife surveys. Pumpkinseed, however, are common, but I expect that the bass feed more on our golden shiners and alewife than bluegills simply because they're numerous and easy to swallow.

[RipzLipz]

@Pat Brown @ol'crickety The point wasn’t the species of baitfish - the point was the behavior of the big bass watching their prey, noting I’d witnessed similar behavior as Pat mentioned but probably involving different prey species. We are in 3 different states - I wouldn’t begin to assume all of our lakes fish exactly alike, down to the preferred prey. However, if you were to come across bedding panfish (bluegill, red ear, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, bream or whatever the local name might be) it might be worth your time checking out what haunts the waters close by those beds at night. Simple as that. Does it mean you’ll catch a new PB? No clue. But it works well for me in the waters I fish. Only meant as suggestions which I feel have put nice one in my boat, take them or leave them (hope you both know by now that’s not a smart mouthed reply).

 

@Pat Brown golden shiners are supposedly present here but I’ve never seen one in the belly of a bass that went under the fillet knife. I wouldn’t necessarily rule them out as prey but probably not top of the menu. Shad, panfish would be my first instincts for baitfish but craws will get bit just as well. Gizzard shad might also draw big bites but those can often get too big. If you want to find tilapia around here, my best guess would be a menu, grocery or pet store. 🤣

ETA: Also the comment Pat made about those fish eating at night - my response was all tied into the watching of the bait & night feeding. Have seen it here also. Not going to concern myself with what more than likely, in the waters I fish, isn’t at the upper portion of the menu in regards to baitfish.

[Pat Brown]

@RipzLipz This isn't even a regional thing it's like limited to a very specific body of water hence the winking. 

 

Tilapia and golden shiners and crappie and gizzard shad all get munched along with mosquito fish, perch, red ear, bluegill, greenies, frogs, crawdads, small rodents and baby birds at this particular pond but the exceptionally giant bass definitely follow the shiners and shad around offshore when it's not the spring.

 

There are big ones that hunt the bream up shallow but they're a size class below the ones I have identified that feed primarily on larger pelagic baitfish species throughout the mid summer and mid winter.

 

Primary forage is often a confusing puzzle to unfurl for the biggest bass at tiny bodies of water is all I meant to point out.

 

99% sure these strange species were all randomly stocked or released renegade by aquarium owners at this pond over the years.

 

On the big lake I fish, giant bass definitely take advantage of the sunfish spawning more than the small pond because they get away with it but what really drives the big girls crazy at that particular time of year around here is the mayfly hatch.