catching the big one

[el_jewapo]

i've found a lake that alot of big bass come out of. the first time i was there i caught a 6 lb bass, my biggest to date. i know of 7's and 8's pretty regularly. i heard of an 8 and a half pounder sunday. i've been fishing it alot and about 3 1/2 lbs is my biggest after that.

it's super stumpy over half of it. you can't get a boat in the last 150 yards or so. the other half is pretty deep with not much visible structure. i catch most of my bass around the weedy bank and in the first bit of standing timber before it gets really stumpy. i've had success with buzz baits and crank baits in the timber. not too many on jigs and worms in the timber, but you can catch them around the banks all day with a worm or jig.

to date, i have only fished it in the afternoon when i get off work. 4:30-dark:30. would my chances of catching a bigger bass be in the morning?

how would some of you guys fish this? for big bass.

sorry i can't really give accurate detail about the size in acres because i don't know a 10 acre lake from a 40 acre lake.

[Will]

Fishing the early morning or later in the evenings will open a bigger window of opportunity to catch the big fish. You should also try fishing some bigger lures (swimbaits, 10" worms, buzzbaits,topwater frogs, and jigs.) You can still catch big fish will smaller baits, but chances are greater when you throw the larger baits. Always be alert while fishing the larger baits since you will most likely catch fewer fish making it easy to not pay enough attention and lose a once in a lifetime fish.

[5bass]

I'd try it at night.Fish arent nearly as spooky at night and most times big fish will only move shallow to feed while it's dark.Otherwise,the big'uns usually hang deep during the day.

[el_jewapo]

it's really small. most of you would probably call it a pond. i fish it in a 14 foot aluminum boat with a trolling motor. i could spend a day fishing out in the middle even though i don't have a depth finder. i could cover it pretty thuroughly in a few hours.

i've been thinking about using a live bream or something. but that would be a pain in the standing timber wouldn't it?

for now i like my chances of a buzz bait in low light conditions.

[roadwarrior]

I catch almost all my big largemouth on soft plastics, specifically 6' Senkos and Fat Ika. All of my biggest bass have been caught between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on clear, bright, hot summer days. I T-rig, weightless and weedless, generally in 5-12' of water. I always fish soft plastics slow.

[Raul]

I 'm with RW, most of my big mommas are caught in the middle of the day on those hot spring days ( down here summer is not hot, it 's the rainy season ) when the temp reaches 95°+ ( just about when you feel your blood begins to boil ), if the place is almost impossible to navigate then you 're not the only one with the problem, since it 's impossible to navigate the place is most probably underfished and they seldomly see a lure in the thick stuff, on the other hand, the conditions when you caught that bigun were ...... ? since you have already identified the type of cover that produces the fish you have already struck gold: i catch most of my bass around the weedy bank and in the first bit of standing timber , on what are both types of cover standing on ? with what bait you caught that fish ? What I can recommend for big fish is with what I catch big fish on: jig n 'trailer combination, big 8 inch worms, walk the dog baits, jitterbugs, big creature baits. Jigs, worms and creatures should be fished slowly with an ocassional hard jerk just enough to change the pace of the retrieve.

[el_jewapo]

thanks for the replies,  i'll try it out. i caught the big one on a buzz bait, during the last hour of daylight. hottest part of the summer.

the same buzzbait in the same spot last time i went caught the only "keeper" of the day. i threw it back.

i haven't really been using larger lures. a fairly big crank bait. i've had pretty good success with that. jigs,worms,senkos. they bite most everything.

i've never thought it was a good idea to fish a spook through all that timber. but i'm going to try it.

how well can you use a super spook in heavy timber?

[el_jewapo]

i just got back from fishing there. caught a 6 lb 2 oz bass! my biggest yet. i let it go. i gotta get a camera to take with me.

i caught it on the same buzz bait in roughly the same spot as the one last year.

[2_Poppa]

el jewapo,

I fish a lake close to home that have a lot of big bass. I actually target these hawgs when I go. A four to five pounder is"run of the mill". I fish the jig and pig combo when a front moves through, but most of the time I use a custom made shallow running crankbait.

I use a large shad crank with a little bit of gold. I call it my" flash and dash" bait. I have an area where weeds grow up from the shallow water 4 to 6 feet deep and meets an area of stumps. Usually I run my crank down to hit the weeds. As soon as it hits the weeds I stop it dead... 30 to 40 seconds later I twitch it just a little. This is where the bite comes.

No matter what bait I use on this lake ,when I catch a fish I throw a "memory marker" because there is always a stump or some wood nearby. The next time I come back I most always hook something at the same piece of wood. Don't be hesitant to bounce your crank off of the wood... Hard... Most of my hook-ups with large fish come this way.

Last Tuesday I caught a 5.5- pounder. Thursday I come back, a 4 -pounder was home at the same stump.

I always toss to the front of the stump first, then to the shaded side, then the sunny side. Generally, I can tell on my first cast if Mr. Bass is home.

I believe I can catch my first 10 pounder or better, off of these stumps this year. I'll keep you posted. Good Luck.

[el_jewapo]

the lake is more popular this year. i am afraid it won't last long. around here people don't generaly throw a good fish back. i kept the one last year. it was my first big bass. before that it was a 4 and 3/4 or 5. this fish just seemed so much bigger. it was 22-1/2 inches long and i could fit my fist in its mouth. it was pretty skinny though. i just had to find out how big it really was. i plan on having it mounted. it's still in the freezer.

the one i caught today. i released and it felt pretty good. i didn't mind not having a picture of it. it wasn't as long and i couldn't fit my fist in its mouth, but it seemed a couple ounces heavier.  the one last year rode in the back of my truck for 20 miles and lost alot of weight. she weighed 5 lbs 8 ounces when i finaly weighed her. i just estimated around 6 lbs. more or less. i weighed the one today on the water.

i doubt the lake will stay good long though. 3 boats in there is enough to consider it crowded. two is pretty bad. i could be wrong though. it might stay full of big bass.

[Hot n Tot]

I hate to break the bad news, but the small water will not sustain a population of big bass under heavy fishing pressure.  There are a couple of lakes close to my house that were consistantly producing 6+ pound fish.  They were closed for repairs to the levies and stayed closed for about 5 years after the repairs were completed.  My uncle worked at the lakes and tips me off to the restocking efforts that went on during the repairs.  When the gates were reopened it was only about 10 people, including myself, fishing these lakes.  Within a year, you were doing good to find a parking stop before daylight.  That was about 7 years ago.  While the fishing pressure has drops dramatically, the damage was done.  Now you are lucky to catch a fish that weighs over a couple of pounds at either of these lakes.