Anyone else struggling with big bass?

[PBBrandon]

I’ve been heavily bass fishing for 6 years now, and typically I average about 5-10 4+ pounders a year. So far in 2024 I’ve caught 0. I’m guessing my PB this year is a mid 3 if I remember correctly. Spring I skunked out a lot, summer I didn’t fish a whole lot due to being a bit bummed from spring, and recently I’ve caught plenty of sub 2 pounders. Anyone else just having a bad year? I’m sure if I keep at it, things will average out, but it’s just been a grind lol

[MediumMouthBass]

3 years ago i had the best quantity bass fishing of my life.

2 years ago it was the best quality bass fishing of my life. A new pb each week.

This year was terrible. Pre spawn was nonexistent, biggest bass caught was 2 3/4lbs.

9/10 days there were 0 bass caught, myself and about a dozen other bass fishermen included.

I caught less than 15 fish the entire year since spring, and thats including panfish and trout....

Only thing different is the places were treated with a chemical to reduce grass and weeds.

The trout and panfish guys were barely catching anything either.

[LrgmouthShad]

I am hooking more large bass than in years past, but having a hard time landing them 

[Pat Brown]

Yeah this year I think I finally figured out the whole 'you can't catch em if they don't bite' thing but now I just need to start catching all these fish I get to bite just a little more consistently and I'd be a happy camper.

 

This year was definitely the toughest year of the past 4 that I've been seriously targeting bass.  I had to really *make* the fish bite a lot of times.  Not a lot of *toss jig next to log and feel a thump* this year.  

 

Seems like all the big fish I got to bite were some kinda violent reaction bite - very few where I was working a bait slowly or hitting targets.  Lot of moving baits just a little faster than I like this year.

 

Seems like a lot of fish are getting conditioned to the usual slower presentations around here and you really gotta make em react.

[FryDog62]

I think the added fishing pressure since Covid has taken its toll in many places..

[JHoss]

As a whole, I had a pretty solid year. But it certainly had its ups and downs. The first 1/3 of the year I caught a decent mix of size and numbers. When summer hit, I could find a couple good bites but rarely a limit. In late summer/early fall, I went on a two month stretch where I could catch 20-50 fish a day but didn't put my hands on a fish over 2lbs. By mid-October I was catching ok numbers and ok size but nothing giant. 

[Swamp Girl]

I was the queen of four and five-pounders in 2024. I just wasn't catching the six-pounders I caught in 2023, but to be frank, I really can't say for sure that I wasn't catching six-pounders this year because I wasn't weighing fish this year. I did catch some that were long:

 

 

And I caught some that were thick:

 

But I assumed that they were five-pounders. Maybe one or two reached six. I'll never know. I also caught my first seven or eight-pounder this year. I didn't weigh her, but she was unlike any bass I've ever caught and I have weighed high six-pounders. 

 

However, I caught one four-pounder per session many times and even two to three four-pounders per session quite a few times. So, it was a good year.

 

Quantity-wise, it was a great year with a 70-bass session and a 75-bass session and many 40/50/60-bass sessions, comprised of many 2.5 to 3.5-pounders. 

 

But, again, I was the queen of four-pounders. Like this:

 

[Catt]

The only problem I'm having is the ability to go!

[Swamp Girl]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

The only problem I'm having is the ability to go!

 

I give myself a Red Bull IV to get out the door.

[A-Jay]

Anyone else struggling with big bass?

My 5 heaviest Smallmouth this year were the best in a few years. 

31.23 lbs which included a 7.05, 6.48, 6.26, 5.86, & 5.58 lbs. 

 

11 hours ago, PBBrandon said:

I’ve been heavily bass fishing for 6 years now, and typically I average about 5-10 4+ pounders a year. So far in 2024 I’ve caught 0. I’m guessing my PB this year is a mid 3 if I remember correctly. Spring I skunked out a lot, summer I didn’t fish a whole lot due to being a bit bummed from spring, and recently I’ve caught plenty of sub 2 pounders. Anyone else just having a bad year? I’m sure if I keep at it, things will average out, but it’s just been a grind lol

Personally, I've been fishing for quite a bit longer than 6 years with some success.

So after 50 years and then some, I've come to some conclusions regarding success 

with big fish of any species; including bass.

Some of these came pretty early on, a few some time after that

and a few have been realized more recently.

A good majority of these lessons revolve around me, my expectations, my approach

and my over all mind set.

So for what it's worth, this is what I got.

Depending on what one considers a Big Bass,

(a scale or bump board helps keep track)

true big bass are hard to find and catch.

Which means 'struggle' is an inescapable aspect of the sport.

Learning to manage my expectations and results

and not to measure them against what other anglers might be doing,

(internet anglers, You Tube anglers, Bass Resource Anglers etc.)

can be very helpful.

Fishing my own way in the conditions I'm faced with. 

Each season / year is different and one has Nothing to do with the other.

So past results are fun to remember and share, they have virtually zero bearing on what happens this or the next season/year. 

Sometimes I can catch big bass in the same place at the same time of year

and even on the same baits. 

But not always.

And this is when I'm likely to start to 'feel' like the fishing's bad, or I'm struggling.

When in realty something's changed and now I need to figure out how to over come that.

I've done it successfully many times over, and I'll do it again.

If and when I don't chose to do that, these are times when my fishing feels like a struggle. 

Understand there's no time limit on it. 

My hours, days, weeks, months and even years on the water,

mean nothing to the big bass as they are not interested in or even on my schedule. 

So to me, that's the essence of bass fishing. 

Going into each year with an open mind and a clean slate, allows a me to be far more willing

to change it up.  Really helps if I actually expect this to be the norm rather than an unusual occurrence.  Where in the past I would beat up the same water for way too long,

doing the same thing for way too long resulting in the famous crash & burn scenario.

That "Change" can and often does include, a totally different and or new body of water, and or a different and new approach.  

Again, more time- but it's fishing time.

So it's the good stuff.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

(for now anyway)

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, PBBrandon said:

I’ve been heavily bass fishing for 6 years now, and typically I average about 5-10 4+ pounders a year. So far in 2024 I’ve caught 0. I’m guessing my PB this year is a mid 3 if I remember correctly. Spring I skunked out a lot, summer I didn’t fish a whole lot due to being a bit bummed from spring, and recently I’ve caught plenty of sub 2 pounders. Anyone else just having a bad year? I’m sure if I keep at it, things will average out, but it’s just been a grind lol

Sounds like fishing to me ! It’s like a box of chocolates. I got 2 LM this year that were 21+”, 4-5 lbers (one was 4.86 and the other I was in a tiny kayak without scale). I can go several years without getting a largemouth over 2-3 lbs, they aren’t common where I fish, I’m always in smallmouth dominated waters 

[DogBone_384]

My season was similar. Bass numbers and size were down compared to years previous.

 

I made up fir it by catching 3 species I never caught before.

[Swamp Girl]

35 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

My season was similar. Bass numbers and size were down compared to years previous.

 

I made up fir it by catching 3 species I never caught before.

 

Do tell!

[TOXIC]

I take whatever the body of water I’m fishing will give me.  Sometimes it’s great other times it sucks but I quit trying to keep count either by weight, length, or numbers long ago.  Takes the fun out of it for me.  Imparts competition that ruins my attitude on the water.  For example, we’ve been going to lake St Clair for 21 years straight and we have had tough years, bad years, good years and the vast majority are great years but in all that time we’ve only had 1 year that everything came together and we had the week of a lifetime both in numbers and size.  It in no way diminishes all of our other years and won’t affect our returning in the future because that’s fishing and we never know what the day holds until we get out on the water. 

[Rockhopper]

I didn't get out much this year compared to previous years due to personal reasons.  However, when I did go, I was able to catch fish every outing, and did not lose a single one.  Most were 1 to 3 pounds, and had one catch of 6+lbs.  Not too bad for only going a few times.

[Swamp Girl]

5 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

did not lose a single one

 

Whoa! Not my story, but my landing percentage did increase over 2024 and I had a few outings where I landed nearly every bass.

 

I like your attitude, @TOXIC.

[casts_by_fly]

It wasn't my best year this year, but a lot of it was due to time constraints.  When you can be on the water twice as much, you're going to have twice the changes of catching a big bass (or anybass).  You also get more variability in conditions that mean you can fish the conditions that suit you.  Case in point, I like cloudy, blowy drizzle kind days in April-June.  We didn't have that many this year and when we did I was often at a desk.  Last year I had more flexiblity to go fish them.

 

On top, lakes change year to year.  Year classes of fish change.  Those 4 lb fish in texas are going to be ~4-5 years old.  Was there a good spawn 5 years ago?  How about the baitfish- how have they changed lately?  Lots of variables.

 

Like Toxic said- you never know what a day is going to hold on the water so take them as they come, do your best in the conditions, and have fun.

[WRB]

There is a big change in LMB behavior when it becomes an adult size 4 lbs+.

Now the bass can eat and live wherever and what its desire's. This adult bass 4 lbs+ is more them likely a female and tends to hang out other adult size bass.

Juvenile size bass become a prey source and avoid adults occupying a different location for survival.

If you want to catch adult size bass fish for them where they are located with lures that replicate the prey they are targeting.

No panacea just a lot of time on the water armed with the knowledge what to look for and where.

Tom

[F14A-B]

Well ya gotta fish where big fish are.

 

Secondly, you gotta fish pre-spawn and spawn when you see & feel the weather becoming agreeable, you’re too late! Finally, there are exceptions to every lake, river, pond, highland reservoir, lowland reservoir, 

 

Anyway.. 🤪

[DogBone_384]

2 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

Do tell!

 

Nothing fancy, a couple catfish on Cape Cod, a tiger and brown trout from Plymouth.

 

@Mr. Aquarium told me the tiger is rare.

[Zcoker]

When I hit the water, I’ve already made up my mind that I will get a big bass, or, at the very least, a big hit. So everything that I do from then on is centered around getting that big fish, which most often happens every trip. So it’s hard for me to deny that thought process. It works. I stick with it. And I usually have positive outcomes. 

[Bankbeater]

This year I have done pretty good with catching numbers, but I don't think I have caught a bass over 3 lbs.  I have gotten skunked fishing in a lot of the water where I have caught bass over 4 lbs in the past.  Hard to tell if it is something with the lake or if the larger bass are just getting wise.

[geo g]

It’s been about 6 weeks since I have caught anything over 24”.  Lots of 12 to 17” fish but the big ones have been tough to catch:  every body of water has a lot more smaller fish then the bigger survivors, and they are quicker to the bait.  I’m OK as long as I’m feeling tugs on my line: I do I know I’m doing something right.  The bigger ones will come out to play when the conditions are right.  

[scaleface]

On 11/14/2024 at 5:51 AM, LrgmouthShad said:

I am hooking more large bass than in years past, but having a hard time landing them 

I  havent been hooking more but have not landed any.Caught  one five lber early on, a bunch of fours and several big ones that came off.

[DaubsNU1]

Caught PB for Nebraska, 5lb LMB on 6-October.

 

Landed three total 4lb LMB's and three total 3lb LMB's this year fishing in Nebraska.