Biggest Bass Swimming in the North

[SBM-RL]

What do think the biggest bass swimming in Mi or Ma/NH. In Ma the state record is huge like 15-7 or something like that I used to fish with this guy who knew what he was talking about real sharp and he said during the spawn he had seen fish in gin clear water about 10 feet down during the spawn that weighed every bit of 11lbs but wouldnt budge or pay any attention to any bait. I heard a simaler story from the kid in washington I forget his screen name but he was a long time member and got into some scholarship program I beleive. He told a very simaler story about some 10+ lb bass in Washington that just would budge for nothin. Ive had a 9lb bass on my line in Mi and I got a real good look at it, and Ive caught an 8lber so I know what a 9er looks like so what do you think the biggest bass are swimming in these states up in the north. Our state record is right below 12 in Mi but I would have to say there are bass swimming somewhere in our 11000 lakes that have to be over 10. What do you think? any estimates or reports?

[Crestliner2008]

I know for a fact that MA has several lakes & rivers where a 10 lb. bass can be taken. You wonder why the folks, that have seen some of these monsters, have been unsuccessful in catching them? Simple. If a fisherman can see them, they can be seen by the bass; which puts the fish in a defensive, negative posture. To catch one, you have to treat them as you would a whitetail and hunt them carefully, paying attention to your environment and using a stealthy approach. Or, you can use grenades.  ;D (Just kidding folks!)

[Tokyo Tony]

There's gotta be a "teener", as Fish Chris calls them  , somewhere in CT, and I'm gonna find her.  I really do believe that there's a 13 pound bass somewhere in CT.

[Kozak]

Without a doubt there's double digit bass here in the waters of MA.

[JerseyBassin]

here in jersey the state record is 10 pounds..maybe a few ounces over. that said i doubt there's any bass that'll crack double digits in weight.

[brgbassmaster]

i have caught a few 7lbers out of michigan. so i know theres some monsters. now im stuck in new mexico where there is like 5 lakes. and there all 2 hrs or more away. when i was in michigan there was at least 20 lakes within 20 minutes.

[littlefisher]

The bass in my avatar is a 4 3/4 pounder about.  I was teaching my new girlfriend how to bobber fish with a mini little circle hook and I caught him.

I've hooked a couple well over 5+ but never landed them .

[Masshole Mike]

i'd be willing to put money down on there being DD bass in the quabbin.

[Tin]

DD's in CT are in East  :-X Lake Toyko.

[Dean]

Well he ain't no bass, but I recon he's a biggy...

[Tokyo Tony]

DD's in CT are in East :-X Lake Toyko.

I'll definitely be checking that lake out this year  8-)

P.S. If it hasn't been said enough, I'm dying here.  I need to catch some bass.

[fishizzle]

There have been several 10's that have come out of a Res in CT near me.  The lake is big and private.

Not much bass pressure....Most anglers troll for trout

I'm always looking for some bass buddies to fish there with me b/c I'm a member and my bass buds are too proud to fish in an aluminum with elec. motor.

I am still fishing for the new state record there.  Theres definately a 13 there!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Fishizzle- I'll keep you company.  I fish the same type of water, reservoir with public access,.......but no public parking  I'll NEVER be too cool to fish elec only,.....I know better

Say when

[fishizzle]

I'll let you know when the lake opens.

However theres always a chance that funding is cut so you never know.

I grew up fishin private lakes or limited access.

Its more fun fishin when a lake doesn't get hammered every wknd

PM me

[jwo1124]

Funny you bring this up, because I just posted about the MA state record. It was 15.8 lbs. in 1975, caught out of  apond too. I would have a heart attack if I caught a 15# bass. Hell, it would be worth it though. ;D

You gotta think how old that bass must be though, I remember Bill Dance talking about growth rates of southern and northern bass, and I think it takes like 3 seasons for a norhtern fish to get to a pound. I'm not sure how much it grows after that, but that thing must have been eating anything and everything she could fit in her big ol' mouth.

I think I may try the big bait approach this season and see if I can pull out a hawg out of any of the ponds I fish. I would take day after day of being skunked if it meant one huge fish for that season.

Like they say, catching the fish is easy, but finding them is another story. I bet if you find the absolute best bass environment for your body of water for that given time of year, you will find the big bass.

The biggest most dominant bass are going to dominate the best territory

[fishizzle]

Good point JWO1124

I wish I had more patience to throw big stuff for 1 bite a day.

[Perfect Hook Set]

Too cool for an aluminum boat bah ha ha

I am so cool I usually fish from shore!!

I love fishing from a boat though any boat, my second largest bass came from fishing from an aluminum boat.

The best part about that location is that, I have never in my life seen any one put a boat on it besides my self and my 2 in-laws which was only about 6 times max.

If you are not too far away I will join you, I much rather fish a small body of water...

[fishizzle]

Too cool for an aluminum boat bah ha ha

I am so cool I usually fish from shore!!I love fishing from a boat though any boat, my second largest bass came from fishing from an aluminum boat.

The best part about that location is that, I have never in my life seen any one put a boat on it besides my self and my 2 in-laws which was only about 6 times max.

If you are not too far away I will join you, I much rather fish a small body of water...

thats cool

[bronzeback01]

I live in ma. and was fishing one day in one of the local hot spots . It was about 85 degrees out , the water was clear and the spot that i was fishing from was a rocky cliff abou 8' above the surface of the water.

as i walked up to the rock my buddy says to me look at the size of that bass , i looked and this bass had to be at least 8lbs . i casted a senko and twitched it by the bass (he didn't even look at it) just then my buddy yell NO NOT THE SMALL ONE! i look a few feet to the right of the monster bass was another bass that was at least 6" longer than the "small bass" and quite a bit fatter i'd say i was probably over 10 lbs. I threw almost everything in my tacklebox at the both of them and nothing . So to answer your question , there are definitly big bass in massachusetts.

[bronzeback01]

SORRY MY 2 Y.O. SON SPILLED JUICE ON MY KEYBOARD AND SOMTIMES IT DOESN'T TYPE SOME LETTERS.

[Kozak]

You should have thrown a shiny metal spoon or daredevil next to the bass, they usually eventually pick it up to move it and BAM

that's what my dad used to do anyways...

[ElGuapo]

Breaking the world record in CA seems a whole lot more likely than the 15 pound MA record.

In MA my favorite place to fish is a private 100 acre lake that's yielded me about three dozen 6 pounders. Just one over 7 pounds for me and the biggest fish tale I've ever heard out of there was just 9 pounds. I once saw a big bass pretty much die of old age. I had spooked it once but it swam away very slowly. The next night the same thing happened but it swam away even more slowly. This time I noticed its scales looked a little rough, almost like it was shedding. The next night it was dead and floating....and missing its tail. Snapping turtles were gnawing at it when I approached. It was 20 inches and I estimated that 5 inches of its tail were gone. It weighed 7 pounds. I dont know if being dead made it heavier or lighter (either way it was water-logged right?)

Some more data: I caught a 2.5 pounder there in 1988 with some pretty crazy looking markings on it. A few years later it was 3.5 pounds and TEN years later it was just under 5 pounds. This was on a healthy lake and it still took ten years to reach that size. It just shows how long a ten pounder would have to live.

If there's a 15 pounder in MA it would have to be feasting on stocked trout like in CA. Otherwise iId put my money on the Quabbin.

The state record was caught through the ice and I think thats because ice fishing is one of the few times New Englanders use live bait for bass. If they did all year round like in Florida we see some bigger fish. Not that there are any bait shops selling big wild shiners there anyway. Its usually 4 inch McMinnows at best.

[llPa1nll]

If anyone doesnt think that there are DD bass in NH, Ma, and Mi they are sadly mistaken. They are rare for the simple fact they are hard to catch and that it takes so incredibly long for a bass to grow that big up here in this colder environment than in warmer waters. I have good notion to believe that actually most healthy +100-200 acre ponds/lakes have DD bass in them in these areas.

[=Matt 5.0=]

Sigh, if they only opened the Scituate Reservoir for one weekend... just one..... :-/

[Josey Wales]

There were 3, 8 pounders caught outta fletchers pond last year that I know of, and I know there is a 10 or larger in just that lake.  There are some real toads out there.

We have the water here for it to be possible.. we have WAY more water then the other states in our region.  Minnesota might have more, but you see my point here... The only problem may be the winters here.  Ohio, Indiana, PA, and the eastern states thaw quicker then us.  And that fact may mean not only more opportunities to catch DD bass, but also a longer growing season.  I will say that there may be a DD smalie in erie that will challenge that TN record...  I believe that is out of Dale Hollow?