Big Bass: What I Do Different

[roadwarrior]

I'm not a tournament fisherman, so I only fish for big fish. Fishing for big bass is not always productive, but when it is, it's exciting. I know big bass are caught occasionally on just about any lure, in any water, but to consistantly catch big bass you need to target them.

Location

The lake, pond or river you fish must be capable of producing big bass. You can't catch 'em if they aint' there! Target water that is known for big bass. It takes lots of fives to produce an eight, and lots of eights to produce a 10 lb bass.

Depth and Structure

Yeah, I know, most big bass are caught in shallow water in low light conditions, but only one of my 10s has been. Big bass occasionally hunt shallow and that's often early morning or late afternoon. The rest of the time they LIVE in deeper water on or near structure or cover. I fish deep structure and there is vey little fishing pressure out there.

Lures and Bait

Big... Large bass prefer a large meal that they don't have to work too hard to catch. They are opportunists and often feed off the spoils of their smaller neighbors. Bank runners injure and scare baitfish that often become disorientated and vunerable. Suspending out in deeper water, big bass ambush their prey. Structure and cover provide stealth for the predator. Big lures imitate the prey these big girls need to survive and big baits, well, that's what's for dinner!

Speed

I like slow. I target a feeding strike. That's not to say that a fast moving lure won't trigger a reaction strike from a big bass, sometimes that is the best strategy. Most of the time, slow is the ticket and soft plastics and jigs fit the bill.

Live Bait

I just had to throw this in. I don't use live bait fishing for largemouth, but I fish live shiners for smallmouth almost exclusively on the Tennessee River. I catch a lot of fish, some are huge, although most aren't bass! Some of them are smallmouth and most of those are big. Live shiners, yep, they work.

[bassackwards]

live bait, lol.   thanks for throwin it in there.  I am going to try live crayfish some day with the stictching method.  I got to find crayfish somewhere here in NC.  maybe stock my pond with a mass amount of crayfish after I get the bass out.  gotta find 'em first.

thanks for the post RW.  I have got to get a depthfinder!  I want to fish for big bass, but I don't know what type of structure is where and what kind of structure is there....   :-/

[Nick]

RW,

In those clear waters  like the Tenn River area, I'll bet most of the giant smallies are caught at night.  Would you agree?

[Madhouse27]

Road, I share your love and many of your techniques for chasing giant smallmouth. One area that I could use some guidance in is fishing with live shiners. Do you lip hook them or go through their back? What are you using for a hook and a rig? Any weight? My plan is to encorporate some large live bait into my deep water game.  

[Redtail]

RW uses 6 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid on a medium/fast spinning rod.  The hook is a #1 Gamagatsu Circle Hook.  The split shot is a #4 or #5 or whatever it takes to maintain occasional contact with the bottom.  Set it up 18 to 24 " from the hook.

Bait the hook with the biggest shiners you can buy.  Run the hhok through the lower jaw and up through the upper lip, NOT in the head.  He must stay alive.

He fishes from a boat positioned so you can cast 5' or so from the bank. Cast straight to the bank and fish at no more than a 45 degree angle upstream, never downstream.

I asked the same question 2 weeks ago and this was his reply!

[Madhouse27]

Red, I'm picturing myself fishing a seven or eight inch shiner, breaking the Maine State record for smallmouth and going on to fame, glory and full sponsorship. Thanks for the info!

[Redtail]

Good Luck with catching the Maine State record - I'm glad I could help a fellow New Englander - I live in central MA.

RW has been a huge help to me and I always try what he recommends.  I only use Yo-Zuri ultra soft 6lb test on my spinning reels and the Fat Ika is by far my best go to bait.

I think most people on this site have a lot of respect for the Roadwarrior!

[roadwarrior]

One correction: #6 Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hooks for smallmouth.

Nick:  The Tennesse River and the reserviors I fish on this part of the river are stained, not clear. Cumberland River lakes like Dale Holow are crystal clear and I'm sure night fishing rules a good portion of the year.

Madhouse: Like Redtail said, except #6 not #1 hooks (my mistake in the post).

[Madhouse27]

If you guys were going to fish a live shiner out in some deeper water would you stick with a few split shot or would you go with a carolina or drop shot set up? About the only time I use live bait is trolling for salmon and togue and when I'm ice fishing. I'm pumped about the possibilties that big bait for big fish poses.

[TWP]

BASSACKWARDS, i live in N.C. And i fish a live bream when i want to catch a big bass. i float him on a big cork  a split shot, and i gold good sized crappie hook. try it and you will not regret it.

[Rattlinrogue]

I agree that big baits catch big bass although I've caught several on spinnerbaits and 6" worms.I've caught about 95% of my big bass between dawn and 6:30 AM.I've caught a few during the middle of the day.

[roadwarrior]

Madhouse27,

Split shot always, you want the minnow to swim and look natural. You want to use the minimum weight, but enough to get to or very near the bottom. This is not the same technique guys use in Florida, so with bigger baits fished in cover, you may want to try free swimming with no weight. However, that doesn't work for me on the river.