Big Bass

[bigbill]

I'm going to start a topic that I have on other forums that some just don't understand or seem to get my message or point.  I mentioned it here years ago but i would like to get other opinions too and some may want try or have tried what i'm going to talk about "its about big bass".  Maybe your seeing what i'm seeing too?

I started bass fishing in the evenings waiting for that frenzy when it changes from light to dusk.  I found out this happens because the bass's eyes adjust to the changing light faster than the baitfishes eye's do so their easy prey for the bass at this time.  While i caught many bass during this time in the evenings I seem to catch even bigger ones when this happens in the early "am" at dawn.  I'm catching these big gals(up to 10lbs) in the shallows near the shore while their ambushing the baitfish for that last hurrah of feeding before they go to the deeper haunts when it gets lighter as the sun comes up.

Now here's my point I'm even seeing bigger bass(12lbs+est.) that come in like ghosts they will just appear where i can see them and just swim on.  I fish 5  places on a regular basis but i'm there most of the time, I spend many hours fishing.  Each place has these bigger bass that just appear.  So far i have had one big bass grab my sunfish had on my line.  At another place i had one chase a sunfish i had on my line as i pulled it out of the water.  It happened so fast I didn't think about what to do.  I should of let it take it so i may have hooked it too.  At these places i'm wearing polarized glasses and i'm fishing man made dropoff's like dams where roads were made across stream beds at one time years ago.  On average these dropoff's are about 10' deep.  I did miss one of these bigger bass on a BPS stick o worm 7 1/4" because i had no bigger hooks for it so i put in a 3/0 when i should of used a 6/0 hook in it.  So when i went to set it i missed it.  I actually seen it swim up and grab it and sit there with it.  Trust me I had no intentions of going after big bass I'm happy catching many 1lbers I could careless but when it started I figured why not go after them too?  I throw larger baits too sometimes like 9" castaic trout lures too.

Now do you look or watch the water often?  I'm thinking these big gals come in to see what the action is all about when its a frenzy when i'm catching smaller bass?  Now 4 of the 5 places I fish i'm seeing these bigger bass and these are in the smaller bodies of water.  It has me thinking there are larger bass all over but were not catching them because their smart, thats how they got to be that big in the first place.  I also think that anything out of the norm spooks them too.  When i do everything stealthy this is when they will appear sometimes.  I walk up to the shore very softly, I put my tacklebox down very softly, I open it very quietly and put my bait on without making a noise or a sound.  Then i will cast out and fish.  One day as I looked in the water and seen one I happen to coff and it swam away very quickly so any little noise spooks these bigger bass.  In a boat it has to be even worse with noise too.  These are tough fish to catch but i know they are out there, I see them often during the year.  At another place i fish at its very shallow and i can see the big bass off in the distance as black shadows in the water.  I know there big bass I can see them moving around then they will come close to me.  While they may not be big numbers of them I think each body of water has these big bass.  I'm seeing them in Ct. and there is a lot of water and distance between me and flordia too.  Each state may have these big ghost bass too but their just elusive and if your not looking for them in the water you'll miss them.  I scan the water often for them since i have seen them.  These bass are over 10lbs for sure.  I never sell any body of water short now too, you just never know whats in it.  Even small bodies of water have these big bass too and who knows whats in the larger bodies of water too.  I think its just one time slot to catch these bigger bass too its early in the am before the dawn or in the darker low light conditions.  I think when its light out there gone to deeper cover for the day and they only feed in the low light or dark.  This is exactly what i see happening.  Do you have any opinions?  BigBill

I have been cursed too I have lost many bigger bass since then too.  I just can't seem to land another one, they strike, i set the hook and down in the weeds they go like a 5 gallon bucket of rocks. I see the mouth on the strike too.  Since i'm shore fishing its tough when they go down in the weeds on a longer cast.  You probably need a stiff saltwater rod to keep their head up out of the weeds at that distance.  These big bass aren't so easy to land unless their close to shore.

[rumz3]

Man, you know that I see what you are saying has a lot of truth to it.  I'm from IL where 10lb bass don't happen very often, but I can tell you from 20 years of bass fishing experience that I have hooked and landed my big fish in low light conditions.  Like my father used to tell me when I lost a big one or it broke my line, those biggens' didn't get big by being stupid.  I think the older and wiser bass feed only when there body clock turns on and they are even more leary of surrounding conditions.  If something is not right, then it's back to the darkness until I feel comfortable.  I think they can sense even when lures don't react like the real thing.  I would bet that if one could night fish all the time, he would do much better size wise than a day person...

[BassMaster]

i read something in this month's bassmaster magazine that big bass are like big women (this was coming from a woman, so ladies please don't take offense to this)... they don't want to have to go find their food, they wait till it comes to them.  which is basically very true.  if you want to catch big bass in the heat of the day, you gotta run your bait right in front of them really slow.  i actually caught my biggest bass in the middle of july when it was about 95 degrees outside.  fish are more active when it's a little cooler outside in the summer, but there is that oddball every once in a while.  you just gotta fish the best you can and with all the confidence you have... confidence is what's gonna bring in the big mommas.

[bassackwards]

well if there are some more people who will confirm this theory, I'ma be up before dawn with big minners...

[bigbill]

Ok if your catching the bigger bass during the day like at 12noon its because its the hottest sunlite and the plants give off plankton which the baitfish feed on so they will come out of hiding to feed and this is when the bass make their move too. Like i said these bigger fish are smart so try to avoid making any noise of any kind not to spook them. Thats the key its being stealthy!!!! Don't walk up too hard with your footsteps too it sends vibrations thru the ground and the fish can feel it too. When you do it right you will sooner or later hang one of these big gals on your line. BigBill

The only thing i ask is to have a measuring tape and camera ready so you can have a wall mount made the taxidermist doesn't need the fish he just needs the measurements Length and Girth and a picture. So you can get her back in the water quickly so she can spawn so the population of bass will continue!!! I also believe its these big gals who keeps the bass population growing too in big numbers!!!

Every so often scan the water too you just may be surprised at what you may see in the water near you. Again they happen to appear during the action of catching the smaller bass I believe they come in to see what the action is all about. I was catching smaller pickerel one day they were about 15" to 18" when all of a sudden the action stopped. I was using a #3 mepps inline spinner and i had a gut feeling that something stopped these fish so i put on a #5 mepps inline spinner and i nailed a 27" pickerel. I believe the bass do the samething when the smaller bass are biting these big gals will pay us a visit this is when i see them in the water they happen to come close to the surface. It did happen to me twice so far I was catching smaller fish when these ghost bass appeared in the water near the surface so watch the water too. Being close to shore everyone has a shot at these awesome fish!!!! Since most of us are from all over this great country lets just see how many of these big ghost bass are out there. Its going to take time to catch one but you just may see one first too. You have to stay motivated and focused on doing this. Like i said before if i see them up in CT. they have to be in more places too and the southern places should be better with the longer growing season think about it? I think there is big bass all over and were not catching them because they don't do the 9 to 5 feeding I think low light is the key. I think that fishing in low light raises our percentage of nailing one of these awesome fish!! Remember 12noon is another time to fish too but i think the percentage is lower.

FACT: I never caught a larger bass yet on using livebait in my area. Livebait may work for you where you are. My hottest big bass bait has been a Rebel BIG Claw Crawfish Crank in green black back. I use a very slow presentation because these big bass want an easy meal with very little effort. But remember each place we fish their main diet changes too we just have to figure out which bait their feeding on the most of too.

[BassMaster]

FACT: I never caught a larger bass yet on using livebait in my area. Livebait may work for you where you are.

i don't believe i have either... i've caught several large crappies on minnows, but not big bass.  big bass are after big baits.  unless you're actually fishing with a crappie or a bream on a bass bed, i don't think you're going to catch very many big bass.  big bass need big fish to meet their motabolizm needs.

[roadwarrior]

I have caught all my 10 lb bass between 10 AM and 2:00 PM on the hottest, brightess days of summer. I have caught five in small ponds and one in a big body of water. All were caught on a 6" Senko, weightless and weedless. Two were caught in open water on the back of a hump in approximately ten to fifteen feet of water. Two were caught staging ten to fifteen yards off the bank, five yards or so out from heavy vegetation. One was caught in open water fishing over a freshwater clam bed and the bass caught on big water was staging in the middle of an old creek bed in ten to fifteen feet of water that was surrounded by shallow flats.

Here's my point: Big bass may hunt in shallow water in low light and that's probably why you see them there at those times. However, they spend the majority of their time staging in deep water on structure that is close to even deeper water, an escape route. At least that's my theory.

I only fish for big fish and I catch my bigger fish, not just the six 10s, in deep water around structure, not cover. That's how I think it works in the Midwest and the Midsouth, but big fish in Florida seem to be concentrated in heavy cover. In the deep, clear lakes of California, I would think the key would be deep structure.

Regarding live bait, I fish artificials exclusively for largemouth bass, but I fish live shiners almost exclusively for smallmouth. Live bait catches big fish and lots of 'em!

[bassin4life]

Iagree with both RW and Bassmaster good posts!! ;D

[Rattlinrogue]

I catch all of my 10+ bass in the hottest part of the summer.I fish from 5:00 AM to9:00 AM .Usually catch them from 5:30 to 7:00 AM.I use big hard baits for the big boys and spinnerbaits and soft plastics after the sun gets up.I caught a12.2 on july 5,2004 at 6:35 and a 10.5 on july 6,2004 at 6:35.I mounted the 12.2 and released the 10.5 after taking a pic of her.

[roadwarrior]

Rattlinrogue,

Deep or shallow? Structure or cover? Big water or pond?

[Raul]

90 % of my biggest bass were caught in pretty much the same conditions RW described ( and I 've caught a bunch of them ), in the middle of the day between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, in cloudless days, during March and April with temps well above 80° ( the normal temperatures for spring down here in central Mexico ), most fish were caught in "transition" points, in the very common deep lakes where I fish ( RW has seen an example of what I 'm talking about , pretty much like Californian lakes ) those transition points are always deep and the transition is created by two or more different types of structure composition, in the other case, the shallow ponds and lakes ( not many in my neck of the woods ) where the transition point is created when two different types of cover meet ( weeds and trees or two different type of weeds ).

One thing that all fish have in common is that none of them have been caught with fast moving baits.

[bigbill]

All my big bass have been caught in low light conditions right near the shore in the shallows. That means early mornings in the dark and cloudy overcast days too. This give the shore fisherman a big chance at poking one of these "BIG"awesome fish too!!! My point is you don't need a boat to do it. So fish those coves, fish those points and just get out there and FISH!!! You just maybe surprized at what you just may hook up with. BigBill

Please take note: Going after these big bass can be very habit forming and very addictive and there just maybe many smaller bass inbetween too but gosh its fun!!!!!!!!!! Just don't target big bass just fish too and inbetween something wonderful will happen that just may surprize you!!!!!

[roadwarrior]

Fishing for big bass is a whole different ballgame. I know guys occasionally catch a lunker when they're just "fishing". But to consistantly catch bigger fish, you have to target them in different water, with different bait and a different presentation. This basically means deep, big and slow.

[bigbill]

I'm finding them mainly near the shore and i think the boat spooks them your more stealthy from the shore.                                             BigBill

I mentioned about big bass in Ct. on a local website lastyear when I read the loacl little tornie guys saying there are no big bass in Ct and they only catch 6 to 7lbers them being the biggest bass here.  I chimed in and told them I caugh a 10lber and i'm even seeing bigger fish and i had a few of them poked too but i couldn't land them.  I got ripped a part by the so called little pros for it.  This past weekend TWO 9 LBERS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT SO FAR!!!!!  One 9lb 1oz and the other 9lb 10oz!!!!! The future of catching big bass in CT looks really good!!!!!  Just about every place i have fished here I have seen big bass.  I'll bet that many have probably died from old age too!!!!  Were going to be in the "10's" soon too.  My word is as good as gold If I say I caugh a big bass and i'm seeing ever bigger fish and i lost a few i had hooked you can take that to the bank.  The past weekend here proves i'm right and the future will only add to what i'm saying too.

If there is big bass in Ct. I wonder whats in the waters south of here???  In the warmer states that have a longer growing season??  Were hitting 10's here and i think we will hit 12 to 13lbers soon too  its a matter of time.  You guys south of here have to have even bigger bass too!!!!

[Raul]

You guys south of here have to have even bigger bass too!!!!

Dunno, what do you think ?

;D ;D ;D

[Bassin101]

Raul, nice pics.  I wonder what would happen if I hooked one of those babies while in my 9.5 ft kayak.    It would be like surfing. ;D

[tie1on]

I do not understand why some of you say that you cant catch big fish with fast moving baits.I know of several 10 pound plus bass that have been caught on buzzbaits and spinnerbaits.I live in Texas and the two lakes I like to fish are Lake Conroe and Lake Sam Rayburn.If you look up the lake records for both of these lakes the records were caught on spinnerbaits( a fast moving bait).

[abelfisher]

Thanks, Raul... You just HAD to show those to us, didn't you ? ;D

[BD]

Raul those fish are sick!!!

What were they caught on?

And to someones post above about big fish on spinnerbaits, they absolutely can be caught on spinnerbaits.

Last month the new OK state record for a smallmouth was caught from the BANK, on a yellow spinnerbait....talk about fish *** from me....lol

[roadwarrior]

WOW! Raul, those are some mighty fine bass.

Regarding spinnerbaits, cranks and other fast moving or reaction baits, it's not that you can't catch big bass with them, that's ridiculous. What I meant and what I think others are saying is that your chances of catching big bass are greater, that is, the probability is higher using lures/ baits fished slow. Jigs, plastic worms and live bait catch the vast majority of big bass.

[bigbill]

Now thats what i'm talking about BIG BASS!!!!!

                                               BigBill

[BD]

RW, your last post makes sense.

I am trying to get more into jigs, you got any tips you want to share with me? I have a thread started in the fishing tackle, on jigs.

[roadwarrior]

Skeeter6598 has a great response on your other thread: Slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Read all the jig fishing articles on this site, there is great information from guys that really focus on jigs, especially Craig Defronzo, aka, earthworm77.

[Raul]

BD heaven is on this side of the border.  ;D

Most big fish here are caught with worms, jigs and jerkbaits, swimbaits work but not many fish with them, the reason is pretty simple, huizache brush, man that thing is really tough, it uses braided line as dental floss just to keep it 's teeth clean and sharp, since swimbaits have dangling hooks they hang up very fast.

I never said that you can 't catch big fish with a fast moving bait it 's just that they lack of enough consistency to catch big fish and it 's not me saying it, some years ago I saw a statistic chart on which baits are more productive with big fish, don 't ask me where I saw it because I can 't remember, but statistically plastic worms and jig n 'trailer are the number one and number two baits, followed by jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits fall in the last place, personally I don 't consider spinnerbaits for big fish fishing for a reason, the biggest fish I 've caught with a spinnerbait has been a 9 pounder in a farm pond, in the lakes the biggest fish I 've caught with spinnerbaits is a 7 pounder, however in the same lake I 've caught 10+ pounders with the baits I mentioned.

[BD]

Yeah I fish 96% of the whole day with worms, and have been using worms for a decade.

I just thought I would try out some jigs, some new cajun line, and these "tricks" I read from *** and here on how to get the jig more 'ready' for setting up. I could feel the fish pulling on my jig all day yesterday, but never could hook up with them.

Slower is the first and foremost thing I will do starting tomorrow morning!